Buldang-dong Korean restaurant with high chairs for babies: Hyangtaek

Why Hyangtaek in Buldang-dong works for a family meal with a toddler

Hyangtaek is a Korean restaurant that recently opened in Buldang-dong, Cheonan. It's a neat, tidy place made with healthy ingredients, so it was great for going out to eat as a family with a kid. Above all, the mackerel gondre rice (boneless mackerel and gondre — mountain thistle greens — rice bowl) was really delicious! The kind of taste I keep thinking about wanting to make at home.

The side dishes that came with the meal were also neat and something anyone could enjoy without complaint, so it was a good Buldang-dong Korean restaurant to eat out at with parents and kids together. There was about a 20-minute wait for weekend lunch, but even so, it's a Cheonan Korean restaurant I want to revisit!

Hyangtaek, a Buldang-dong Korean restaurant, looked great with its neat table settings. The main dishes were delicious, but the variety of side dishes was also tasty :)

Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch hours and parking

• Hours | Daily 11:00–20:00
• Break time | 15:30–17:00
• Last order | 15:00, 19:30
• Address | 192 Buldang25-ro, 1st floor units 109, 110, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
• Parking | 2 hours free at building parking lot

Inside Hyangtaek: the dining room and the high chair

Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch has 4-top tables, 2-top tables, and even 1-person bar seats, so the atmosphere felt comfortable whether eating out with a kid as a family or eating solo. Baby chairs were also on hand — just ask and they'll bring one out.

It was busy, but not too loud, so it was a good place for a proper meal.

Hyangtaek's menu and what comes with every meal

Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch's rice-based menu has 4 types plus noodles, and there are 4 side dish options. They're running a weekday-only Naver receipt review event, so we got a mushroom pancake with our meal.

The water at this Buldang-dong Korean restaurant is delicious too. A savory, clean, refreshing taste — kind of like oolong tea, kind of like cassia seed tea.

The basic side dishes that come with the meal are gopchang gim (seasoned laver seaweed), bibim jeotgal (mixed salted seafood), gungchae jangajji (pickled stem lettuce), and a light soup. Side dishes that paired well with Hyangtaek's neat rice bowls.

How to eat Hyangtaek's dishes for the best flavor

It's delicious just as it is, but it's even better when you follow Hyangtaek's recommended way of eating it with the gopchang gim, bibim jeotgal, and special sauce!

Mackerel gondre rice, 14,000 won

Hyangtaek's mackerel gondre rice is 14,000 won. It comes with a special soy sauce.

The mackerel meat was soft and generous in size, perfect for mixing into the rice. The combination of gondre, mushrooms, and green onion was great. It was lightly seasoned too, so it felt healthy and easy for both babies and elderly people to eat without worry.

Wrapped in gopchang gim with a bit of bibim jeotgal on top, it tasted completely different — and even better — than eating it plain.

Eggplant doenjang rice bowl, 13,000 won

Hyangtaek's other signature dish, the eggplant doenjang rice bowl, is 13,000 won. You mix it with gangdoenjang (thick soybean paste), eggplant, and green onion — the gangdoenjang had a spicy kick that cut through any greasiness well.

The eggplant doenjang rice bowl comes with kelp vinegar, and from about halfway through, I started drizzling on kelp soy sauce instead. The umami and tanginess hit at the same time for a different kind of flavor. Personally, I preferred it with the kelp vinegar over eating it plain.

Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi, 9,000 won

Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi is 9,000 won. I'd never seen this dish before so I ordered it out of curiosity, and it was better than expected! Loaded with chili oil, so it was spicy and rich, and the texture was tender and nutty. It was a bit too spicy to share with the baby, so only the adults ate it.

How did the 19-month-old do at Hyangtaek?

Hyangtaek in Buldang-dong had not just a baby chair but baby dishware too, so it was great for eating out as a family with a kid. The staff brought these out on their own without us even needing to ask.

When I mixed up the mackerel gondre rice for her, even my 19-month-old ate it happily! She also did well with the soup and gopchang gim — a Cheonan Buldang-dong Korean restaurant that the baby loved too!