Tanbang-dong Korean restaurant, 3-person octopus lunch: Chongil Nakji

A restaurant near Daejeon Lotte Department Store I finally got to try again with my mom and sister after a long time! We were debating what Korean food to get and ended up at Chongil Nakji, which is super popular with the office workers who grab lunch in Tanbang-dong. If you like Korean food, I wanted to recommend this one right away, so here's the post :)

Where do you park at Chongil Nakji, Tanbang branch?

One great thing about this restaurant near Daejeon Lotte Department Store is the parking — there's a parking tower in the building, so we parked easily and walked right in. There's also a café right next door, so you can grab dessert after the meal >...<

Fully booked before 1pm: what the wait at Chongil Nakji looks like

Here's the inside of Chongil Nakji, a lunch spot in Tanbang-dong. We got there a bit before 1pm, and it was fully booked until 1!!! So many customers — truly a well-known octopus restaurant in Daejeon. There's a baby clothing store in the same building, so we browsed there and went back in once the crowd cleared out a bit.

What's on the Chongil Nakji menu?

At this Tanbang-dong restaurant, the main dish is octopus stir-fry, and you can make it heartier by adding beef, pork, scallop and more. Besides the octopus stir-fry, there's also octopus hot pot and soy-marinated pork belly. Dinner-only, there's also a hot pot plus beef shabu-shabu — I want to come back for dinner next time! This place would also be great as a hearty meal for office workers, or as a side dish with soju - 🫶

Pork octopus, 3 servings: ₩40,000 Added scallop: ₩5,000

Since we wanted something more filling than the basic octopus stir-fry, we debated the menu at this restaurant near Daejeon Lotte Department Store and picked pork octopus, which has pork mixed in :-) My sister loves scallop, so we added that too. Getting to eat so much seafood packed in was really nice. It cooked really fast too "_" We were starving, and the food came out right away, which was great 👍

Rice included, plus seasoned greens, pickled onion and cheonggukjang

At Chongil Nakji, a Tanbang-dong lunch spot, rice comes included when you order the octopus stir-fry. The rice portion was generous too, and the side dishes — seasoned greens and onion pickles — were both so good! +_+ Oh, and the cheonggukjang served as a soup was so rich and delicious, I could've finished a whole bowl of rice with just that ㅎ_ㅎ

How much food is 3 servings of pork and octopus stir-fry?

Three servings of pork octopus stir-fry, and the portion at this restaurant near Daejeon Lotte Department Store was massive!!! It was seriously plenty for three women. There were tons of bean sprouts, which I love, plus octopus, pork, and the added scallop — truly generous all around.

How does the medium-spicy octopus stir-fry taste?

At this Tanbang-dong restaurant, piling the seasoned greens onto the octopus stir-fry and mixing it all together is so good ㅠ3ㅠ Seriously a rice thief. We ordered it medium spicy, and it was just the right amount of spicy with a savory kick underneath — so delicious~ This place has earned its reputation in the neighborhood! There was a wait because so many customers came, and now I get why — this is the kind of Korean food flavor that people of all ages would love ♥️♥️♥️

The pork wasn't just small bits of belly — it was cut into big, hearty pieces, which I loved, and the scallop was really chewy and plump too. And the octopus, of course, speaks for itself 👍👍 We wrapped it in lettuce and also mixed it straight with rice, and before I knew it I'd polished off a whole bowl! I love Korean food in general, but I especially love stir-fry dishes like this — the seasoning and fresh ingredients at this restaurant near Daejeon Lotte Department Store really won me over, and I'm definitely coming back :)

5th-visit coupon and opening hours at Chongil Nakji

They even have this kind of coupon!!! A free octopus hot pot on your 5th visit 🥹 Next time I want to try the special octopus stir-fry, which is loaded with even more — apparently it comes with beef added, so I can only imagine how good that is >..< If you want a hearty Korean lunch in Tanbang-dong, I really recommend Chongil Nakji, Tanbang branch.

Address: 23-19 Gyeryong-ro 571beon-gil Hours: 11am – 9pm (Break time: 3pm – 5pm)