Pheasant dumplings and Wando abalone in Suanbo: Suanbo Daejanggun

My partner and I went to Chungju, which has been getting famous lately as 'Chungju Man' territory, and heard Suanbo pheasant cuisine was a big deal there — so we had to try it! This place, a Chungju Korean food spot highly recommended for its pheasant course menu, is called Suanbo Daejanggun. Here's a detailed rundown of what we ate and how it tasted!

Parking and first impressions at Suanbo Daejanggun

Suanbo Daejanggun is a pheasant course restaurant at 105 Mireuksonggye-ro, Suanbo-myeon, Chungju-si. There's a spacious, comfortable private parking lot right across from the restaurant!

With plenty of parking space, new drivers don't need to worry, and there's zero parking stress even if you're bringing elderly family members for a meal. (There's also a separate private lot right in front of the restaurant!)

This place with its clean, impressive exterior is Suanbo Daejanggun. Just seeing the sign hanging at the entrance — 'House of a Certified Pheasant Cuisine Master' — made me feel like I'd found the real deal for Chungju Korean food.

Inside Suanbo Daejanggun: hall and private room

Inside, Suanbo Daejanggun is a large, comfortable hall done up in white and wood tones. There's also a separate room in the back where you can eat privately.

Walking in, the spacious, comfortable hall in white and wood tones greeted us. Toward the back there's a well-set-up private room, making this a great Chungju course restaurant for a cozy meal of Suanbo pheasant cuisine.

We ordered the signature menu here, the 'Daewang Surasang' (Great King's Royal Table). It's a course with 12 different pheasant dishes served in sequence, so we were excited even before it started!

What comes with the Daewang Surasang course, in order

The Daewang Surasang at Suanbo Daejanggun starts with pheasant dongchimi (radish water kimchi) and a health porridge. The dongchimi, made with pheasant broth, reportedly won top prize at a kimchi competition.

First came the pheasant dongchimi to perk up our appetite! Made with pheasant broth, it won the grand prize at a kimchi festival — the deep, refreshing flavor really stood out and I liked it a lot.

The health porridge is so nutritious that people come from all over the country specifically to buy it when they're feeling unwell — I'd really recommend trying it!

Next came the pretty, colorful five-color pheasant salad! It's made from the small amount of tenderloin from a single pheasant, prepared salad-style and refreshing — I found it fascinating...

The crisp vegetables and tender tenderloin made a fresh combination — perfect as an appetizer for the Suanbo Daejanggun course!

Raw pheasant: why you eat it within 10 minutes

The highlight of the Daewang Surasang is raw pheasant sashimi sliced from the breast meat. The owner told us it's best eaten within 10 minutes for freshness, health, and taste.

Finally, the raw pheasant sashimi arrived beautifully plated — arguably the highlight main dish of this Chungju Korean food course. It's a precious cut of sashimi from the pheasant breast, and the glossy, deep red color made me want to dig in right away!

Since this place is known for its Suanbo pheasant course, the owner gave us a helpful tip: eat it within 10 minutes for the freshest, healthiest, and most delicious experience. Dipping a piece into soy sauce, it melted softly in my mouth like raw salmon — surprisingly good!

If you can't eat raw food, no problem — you can lightly cook it shabu-shabu style in the hot pot instead.

Wando abalone with poached octopus

The next course at Suanbo Daejanggun was Wando abalone, slow-cooked at low temperature for 2 hours, served on one plate together with boiled octopus.

Dipping the abalone in the rich innard sauce and pairing the octopus with a nutty sesame oil dip made the flavor incredible! My partner especially loved dipping the abalone into its own innard sauce!

Empress pheasant dumplings: plain and buckwheat wrappers

The empress pheasant dumplings are handmade pan-fried dumplings packed with pheasant meat, served in two versions — regular wrapper and buckwheat wrapper. Fried golden-brown, they were crisp outside and juicy inside like nothing else.

The golden, crisply fried empress pheasant dumplings were another must-try delicacy — pan-fried dumplings are one of my favorites, so I was especially excited. The Suanbo pheasant-style empress dumplings are handmade and stuffed full of pheasant meat, served in both regular and buckwheat wrapper versions, which my partner and I devoured happily! (That crispy-outside, juicy-inside texture was incredible...!)

Pheasant and wild-greens pancake with four side dishes

Next came a pheasant wild-greens pancake topped with pheasant meat, along with a neatly arranged set of four-color basic side dishes. The fragrant wild greens and savory pheasant meat, pan-fried until crisp, were so good my hand kept reaching back for more.

The side dishes were clean-tasting without any heavy seasoning — I'd recommend eating them alongside the course dishes!

Court-style pheasant japchae (glass noodles)

Next up is a dish that can't be missing from a hearty Chungju Suanbo Daejanggun Korean course meal — court-style pheasant japchae! Topped with pheasant meat and a colorful array of vegetables, it passed the visual test right away. The chewy glass noodles and lean meat combined with a sweet seasoning kept my hand reaching back for more.

Pheasant sinseollo hot pot and three-color sujebi to finish

We'd been bubbling away and eating from the pheasant sinseollo (traditional hot pot) throughout the meal, and it filled us up nicely! The clear, deep pheasant broth, well-steeped with vegetables, had a clean, refreshing flavor.

At the very end, they added three-color dumplings colored with chestnut, broccoli, and sweet pumpkin, wrapping up the Suanbo pheasant course on a clean note! I personally love dumplings, and here they come in three different flavors, which made eating them fun as well as delicious — I finished every bite!

After enjoying the whole Suanbo pheasant course, they finished us off with a drink, which we drank up completely before heading out! If you leave a review, you can also get pheasant yeot (taffy) from Suanbo Daejanggun — be sure to join the event!

Suanbo Daejanggun hours, address and parking

• Address: 105 Mireuksonggye-ro, Suanbo-myeon, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–20:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last order: 18:30
• Closed: Wednesdays
• Private parking lot, indoor restroom