Goyang Korean restaurant pairing mackerel and pork sets: Kim Myeongju

I wanted a hearty Korean meal around Wondang, so I visited Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Wondang Station Branch. When you order a set meal here, it comes with a bunch of side dishes — and while the main dishes were tasty, the side dishes were what really stuck with me.

At first I just picked at the sides a little, but there were so many good ones that I kept going back for more haha. It also struck me as a good place to take my parents for a Korean meal. It's fairly close to Wondang Station and easy to park at, so it worked well for driving over too.

The order at Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang: mackerel set and charcoal pork set

That day we ordered one mackerel set meal and one charcoal pork set meal. Ordering both together meant we got to eat fish and meat side by side, which was nice.

At a Korean restaurant it can be hard to settle on just one thing, so ordering fish and meat separately and sharing worked out well. We started with the mackerel, and it was better than I expected.

The mackerel flaked off the bone easily and had just the right seasoning with rice, so my chopsticks kept going back for more. Grilled fish can sometimes taste fishy or overly salty, but this one had none of that — it was just good. Put a piece of mackerel on warm rice and you could finish a whole bowl on that alone. The charcoal pork we ordered alongside it was also delicious.

Since the pork was grilled over charcoal, it had a faint smoky flavor that paired well with rice. The mackerel was light and worked well with rice, while the pork had a bolder taste from the charcoal, so alternating between the two never got old. If you're visiting with one other person, ordering one fish set and one meat set to share seems like a great idea.

But honestly, what I ate the most of that day wasn't the main dishes — it was the side dishes haha. When the table was first set, there were several kinds of side dishes, and I tried them one by one — they were all better than I expected.

So whenever I found a side dish I liked, I went to the self-serve bar and refilled it over and over. Having a self-serve bar where you can take as much as you need was really convenient. Usually at a Korean restaurant, even if there are several side dishes, you tend to only reach for one or two — but here I found myself picking a little of everything.

Eating the mackerel with rice and a side dish on top of it made the meal genuinely fun. It felt less like eating a main dish and more like sitting down to a full home-cooked spread with lots of sides.

How the self-serve side dish bar works, and how many refills we took

I really liked that Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Wondang Station Branch has a self-serve bar. At first I planned to just eat what was served, but once I tasted the sides I kept going back for more.

It wasn't just a one-time refill — you can take as much of whatever side dish you want, whenever you want, which was convenient. Above all, the side dishes themselves were so good that I kept refilling them haha. Looking over at the next table while eating, I noticed some people buying side dishes to take home separately. That's how much people seem to enjoy them here. Eating them myself, I could see how some of these sides would taste great taken home with rice too.

At a lot of Korean restaurants, the main dish is great but the sides are more of an afterthought — here, the side dishes were just as good, which made the whole meal feel more substantial. Take a bite of mackerel, add a side dish to a spoonful of rice, eat some charcoal pork, then add another side — before I knew it I was just eating rice nonstop. I honestly lost count of how many times I refilled sides that day haha.

The restaurant also didn't feel overly crowded — more like a comfortable place to eat, which seemed good for a family meal too. If you're looking for somewhere to eat with your parents around Wondang, this kind of home-style Korean food definitely felt like an easy, comfortable choice.

Why this Goyang Korean restaurant suits a meal with parents

Personally, this felt like a place better suited to visiting with parents than casually eating with friends. With both a fish dish like mackerel and charcoal pork available, you can pick based on preference, and with so many side dishes, anyone who enjoys Korean food should find it an easy, satisfying meal.

Ordering both the mackerel and the pork worked out well for us that day. The mackerel went well with rice, and the charcoal pork offered a different flavor thanks to the smokiness. And since you can grab more side dishes from the self-serve bar anytime, we never had to feel awkward about running low and could refill right away. More than anything, the main dishes were good, but the side dishes were so good that this is a place I keep thinking back to.

It felt like we went for a meal and ended up working hard through the side dishes too haha. I actually saw people buying sides to take home separately, and after eating them myself, I get why. If you're looking for a place to eat out with parents who love Korean food, I think somewhere like this would be comfortable and satisfying. It's a great spot near Wondang Station when you want easy parking and a hearty Korean meal, and we left happy after our mackerel and charcoal pork set meals that day.

If you especially love side dishes, you'll probably enjoy picking through the self-serve bar too. I think I refilled the side dishes more than I ate of the main dishes that day haha. The mackerel and the charcoal pork were both genuinely delicious, but what stayed with me most was being able to keep pairing rice with all those different side dishes.