Mild cheese pork bone stew in Jorye-dong, Suncheon: Namdareun

I went to Suncheon after a while and had a really nice lunch date with my kid haha. I'd been craving a bone stew (ppyeojjim) piled high with gooey cheese lately, so while looking for a lunch spot in Jorye-dong where I could eat comfortably with my child, I ended up at Namdareun Gamjatang. Parking was plentiful too, which made it easy!

Where is Namdareun Gamjatang Suncheon Jorye branch, and when is it open?

Namdareun Gamjatang Suncheon Jorye branch is right near the main road in Jorye-dong, so it was really easy to find haha. It's open daily from 10am to 11pm, so it works perfectly for lunch, an evening drink, or a gathering. I stopped by on my way to Suncheonman Bay National Garden, and it was so convenient being within 15 minutes of there!

Walking inside, the interior was really spacious with generous spacing between tables, which I loved. When visiting with a kid, it can feel a bit awkward if the place is cramped, but here every table even had a tablet ordering system, so we could order at our own pace :)

Ordering the griddle cheese braised pork bones, medium 34,000 won, mild

The signature menu at Namdareun, my lunch pick in Jorye-dong, is without a doubt the pork bone stew and gamjatang!

Since we'd be eating with our child, we ordered the grilled cheese pork bone stew, medium size (34,000 won), which lets you adjust the spice level. We picked mild to suit our kid's taste, but if you prefer spicy you can order that way too, so it's easy to order to your liking. On top of that, our dumpling-obsessed kid begged for dumplings, so we added 2 king dumplings as a side. For 34,000 won at medium size, the portion was so generous that it felt like a reasonable price even for three people lol.

After ordering, crunchy seasoned bean sprouts and fresh peppers came out as basic side dishes, and the best part — a bubbling steamed egg custard came out for free! One salty, soft spoonful just melted in my mouth, and my kid loved it too haha.

How big is the portion, and how does the cheese braised pork bones taste?

Finally, the main dish, the grilled cheese pork bone stew, arrived! On a huge hot plate, there were thick chunks of meat along with sweet potato, mushrooms, cabbage, and rice cake, piled up generously.

On top, white mozzarella cheese was generously sprinkled all over, and just looking at it was already a win lol. Since we ordered mild, it had a sweet, salty soy-based umami flavor soaked in without much spice, and it went down so smoothly! The meat was so tender that it fell right off the bone the moment I touched it with my chopsticks.

I rolled the savory cheese around the meat soaked in sweet-salty sauce and took a big bite — happiness flooded my mouth haha.

The 2 king dumplings we added also came fresh out of the steamer, packed full of filling. The skin was chewy and the inside was juicy, and dipping them lightly in the pork bone stew sauce made them absolutely special!

Using the self-serve bar at Namdareun Gamjatang, plus the honest downsides

If you run out of side dishes while eating, you can use Namdareun Gamjatang's self-serve side dish bar set up on one side of the restaurant. Being able to freely help yourself to crunchy, well-fermented diced radish kimchi and kimchi was really convenient haha.

If you ask staff, when ordering hot pot or gamjatang, you can also enjoy unlimited refills of ramen noodles and dumpling soup noodles — the self-serve bar standards were well set up!

That said, honestly, there was one drawback I noticed. Because of how the grilled cheese pork bone stew works, it tastes best when eaten quickly while warm, before the cheese sets. If time passes, the cheese can harden a bit, so I'd recommend eating the meat and cheese together right when it comes out while the heat is still there haha. Also, even the mild version has a fair amount of sweet-salty seasoning, so if you're visiting with a kid, a bowl of rice is a must!

Who should eat at Namdareun Gamjatang in Jorye-dong?

Today's lunch at Namdareun Gamjatang, my pick for eating well in Jorye-dong, was overall a satisfying meal. I left feeling so good I'd say I'm 200% likely to come back haha.

• Families visiting with kids who want to enjoy pork bone stew without spice worries
• Anyone who wants a great-value lunch with generous meat and noodle add-ins
• Anyone looking for a spacious, comfortable restaurant to eat well in Jorye-dong

If you're craving a rich, sweet-and-salty pork bone stew on a weekend or weekday lunch, be sure to give this place a visit!