Cheonan chicken stew restaurant with extra udon: Sottture Dakdoritang

Rich dakdoritang worth returning for in Seongjeong-dong

I went out for dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken stew), a great menu choice for enjoying with a rich chicken broth and a bit of heat, at this Seongjeong-dong favorite. I’ve already visited this place countless times, starting with takeout. The taste has always stayed consistent, which I love. In particular, they use fresh Korean chicken. There has been so much talk about ingredients lately that I think I naturally seek out places using domestic ingredients!

You can feel the big cauldron from the entrance onward~ Best of all, they do not cook it ahead of time and serve it; they start cooking as soon as you order, so you get fresh, delicious dakdoritang. Once the broth cooks down into something thick and rich, it is so good whether you fry rice in it or add noodles.

A generous order of one and a half chickens

There are side dishes too, and I noticed lots of people ordering the potato pancake. So I debated getting one chicken and a potato pancake this time~ but then I thought, it has to be chicken! So I ordered the one-and-a-half-chicken portion, which is ₩45,000.

They open in time for lunch, so it is great for a Cheonan Seongjeong-dong lunch; I have come here with friends at lunchtime too. It is also convenient to park on weekdays, which is nice. This place gets seriously busy during the lunch rush. Weekends? No need to even say it~

The interior is neat and tidy. There is also a seating layout that would be great for company dinners. On weekends, though, it seems like lots of families come here.

There is a self-serve bar, so you can bring over more side dishes if you need them. There is ice cream next to it too, so you can have a scoop after your meal. It is too cold for that now, though.... haha, my teeth would freeze +ㅅ+

Wait until the chicken fat has fully infused the broth

After you order and wait, the one-and-a-half-chicken portion arrives. It really does seem to be exactly one and a half chickens. Pure generosity, isn’t it~

I always go back and forth over whether to get one chicken and fry rice, or have a potato pancake, but I cannot give up chicken, so I order the one-and-a-half portion. It is generous enough for a family of four to eat until they are really full.

There was even a recommended eating order: have the rice cakes and vegetables first, then the chicken. But for me, it tastes best after it has cooked a little longer and simmered well, when the chicken fat has properly infused the broth.

When the chicken fat rises to the top and everything starts to feel thick and deeply rich, that is when you should eat it. The broth is delicious then, and the seasoning has soaked into the chicken just right too.

It needs to release chicken fat like this to taste good~ You know how chicken broth tastes best when it has simmered for ages. Dakdoritang is the same. That is why, rather than just getting it already cooked as takeout or delivery, it is actually best to boil it once more at home while you eat it.

In the end, we added one more udon serving

We considered getting two servings of udon noodles, but decided we would be too full and should get only one....

But after eating one, we decided that would not do and added another—no secret there. I personally love udon noodles among all the add-ins, so that is what I usually have. At Sottture Dakdoritang, I think I would recommend extra udon noodles over fried rice. If you have room.... it would be even better to have the udon and then fry rice too, right?

We went for a late breakfast-early lunch, and there was so much that we nearly could not finish it all, but we cleaned up every last piece of chicken. I was sad that we could not fry rice. We had planned to go to a café afterward, but we were so full that we stopped by the supermarket and went home instead... So full.

After-meal ice cream and parking

After a delicious meal, you will find ice cream beside the self-serve bar on the way out, so just help yourself! It would be cool and delicious in the height of summer, perfect for refreshing your palate. I visited in the evening last time and had a glass of soju; it is great with drinks, but it also works beautifully as a rice meal at lunch. Compared with other places, I especially like the one-and-a-half-chicken portion. At this price point, it feels like great value too.

Oh, and the restaurant is on the main road. If you go around behind the building, there is a separate parking lot like this, so I never had to worry about parking~ Spaces might be scarce at absolute peak times, but from the several times I have visited, I do not think I have ever found parking particularly difficult. It is friendly and delicious, so this is a Cheonan Seongjeong-dong restaurant I will visit again. Dakdoritang is the only menu item, but it is prepared with such care—if you have not been yet, do go give it a try ^_^