Budget Japanese restaurant in Bokdae-dong, Cheongju: Myeonsikdang

I found a great-value restaurant near Jiwel City Mall and wanted to share it — it's Myeonsikdang Jiwel City.

• Lots of menu options and it's tasty
• Prices are low too
• Parking is convenient

I ended up more satisfied than I expected, haha. Here are the details below!

Where do you park at Myeonsikdang Jiwel City?

You can use the building's underground parking for 2 hours free! Just head to the LK Triplex commercial building underground parking lot.

Finding Myeonsikdang: the storefront and directions

After taking the elevator up from the parking lot, you need to exit toward the outside. The storefront looked small, but the inside wasn't as cramped as I expected!

Myeonsikdang menu prices and current events

There was an easy-to-read menu board outside the restaurant too.

Inside, you can also order via tablet. They're running a Naver receipt review event and an Instagram event, so try joining! If you show a review, you seem to get a canned drink right away, and they're also giving away free 1-person set meal vouchers through a raffle. The events are amazing, haha.

I took photos of the menu just in case! It's basically Japanese food — katsu, butadon (pork belly rice bowl), ramen, mazesoba, and rice noodle soup — plus lots of side dishes like mini curry rice, mini spicy pork rice, and fried shrimp, so there's plenty to pick from. Even though we looked online beforehand, there turned out to be even more set menus and other items than we expected. If you're planning to check the menu in advance, keep this in mind! 〰️

Inside Myeonsikdang: window bar seats for solo diners

Most of the seating inside was 2-person tables, with about 3 tables for 4.

This is the vibe looking in from the inside of the restaurant.

There are also solo dining bar seats by the window, so you can eat comfortably even alone. There are even outlets, so it's great for charging your phone while watching videos and eating.

Looks like there's a new menu item too — spicy kimchi udon looks perfect for this cool weather, slurped down quickly. I love kimchi udon from Tudari, and I have a feeling this gives off that same vibe.

On your way out, just settle your parking at the counter.

Tasting the tonkotsu ramen, pork loin katsu and karaage curry rice bowl

At Myeonsikdang Jiwel City we ordered three things: tonkotsu ramen ₩8,400, handmade pork loin katsu ₩10,500, and karaage curry rice bowl ₩9,500. Here's what we ordered!

Isn't ramen these days always over 10,000 won? I came expecting it to at least be around that, but it wasn't even ₩8,900 — it was ₩8,400. I was genuinely moved. And it was actually delicious too! The noodles were thin, there were plenty of bean sprouts, and the broth wasn't too salty or bland — I really liked it.

I didn't expect much, but for me this was the tastiest dish! I'm not usually the type to eat curry outside, but the curry here was richer and had a subtle kick that I really liked. It went so well with the karaage, and the rice portion was hefty enough that I ate until full. The value for money is insane — other places usually charge ₩15,000 as the baseline for something like this, but here it's only ₩10,000.

The katsu was solidly tasty too! The sauce had that familiar, reliable taste.

We ordered it alongside the curry, and dipping it in curry was such a good combo. I think I ate most of it dipped in curry, haha.

They also gave us salt and wasabi, which was perfect for me since I love the salt-and-wasabi combo. Overall, this is roughly the vibe.

Honest verdict: is Myeonsikdang worth it after shopping at Jiwel City Mall?

I stopped by Myeonsikdang Jiwel City while shopping at Jiwel City Mall, and I was really satisfied with the value for money. I usually don't expect much when prices are low, assuming the food won't be great, but this place broke that bias of mine, haha. With prices being high these days, I've been cutting back on eating out, but this is a place I can visit without feeling burdened even in that situation. The menu is also really varied, so it's good for groups to share, and there are set menus too so you can eat until full, haha.

Maybe it's because I went in with such low expectations. There's parking too, which was great, and the food was delicious. If you want an easy meal near Jiwel City Mall or don't want the hassle of choosing where to eat, I recommend Myeonsikdang! 👍