Dakgalbi restaurant in Chuncheon with baby high chairs: Hwagye

Coming all the way to Chuncheon without eating dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken)? No way haha. Chuncheon means dakgalbi, so on this trip too I went looking for a good dakgalbi spot — and ended up at Hwagye Dakgalbi!

Is Hwagye Dakgalbi comfortable with a baby? High chairs and a spacious dining room

Hwagye Dakgalbi has baby chairs and a pretty spacious store, so eating there with a baby was comfortable. This time we came with our baby, and honestly having a baby chair was already such a relief haha. And the store itself felt quite spacious, so eating together with the baby didn't feel cramped at all! When you're eating out with a baby, whether the space is big matters just as much as the food itself lol.

Griddle or charcoal? Hwagye Dakgalbi splits its seating in two

Hwagye Dakgalbi has a griddle-grilled section and a charcoal-grilled section, kept separate. What surprised me was that the griddle area and the charcoal area are actually divided up like that.

When I think of Chuncheon dakgalbi, griddle-grilled dakgalbi is usually the first thing that comes to mind, but this time we decided to try something a little different — charcoal-grilled dakgalbi haha.

What's in the Hwagye Dakgalbi two-person set, and what it costs

What we ordered was the two-person set! It cost around ₩50,000 and the portion was quite generous.

It came with salt dakgalbi and soy sauce dakgalbi, plus grilled deodeok (mountain bellflower root) and makguksu (buckwheat noodles)! The amount looked plenty for two, so it was perfect for us since we like trying a bit of everything^^

After we ordered, the side dishes came out first, and honestly I was already impressed at this point lol.

Side dishes: yeolmu kimchi and dongchimi (radish water kimchi)

Every single side dish was tastier than I expected~ Especially the yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi) and dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) were delicious! When you're eating charcoal-grilled dakgalbi, at some point you crave something tangy and refreshing, right~

Eating the yeolmu kimchi and dongchimi together cleaned up my palate and went really well with the dakgalbi haha.

Then the charcoal came out and we started grilling the meat, and it cooked much faster than I expected, which was great!

Grilling it over charcoal gives off a subtle smoky aroma, and I thought, ah, this is exactly why people eat charcoal-grilled dakgalbi haha.

Salt dakgalbi vs soy sauce dakgalbi: which to order

Finally, the dakgalbi feast begins lol. We tried both salt dakgalbi and soy sauce dakgalbi, and both were delicious!

The set also includes grilled deodeok (mountain bellflower root), and that turned out to be a real delicacy too? We lightly grilled the deodeok over the charcoal, and as its aroma came up it went so well with the dakgalbi, I could cry. The sauce was mildly spicy, so having a piece of deodeok between bites of the smoky dakgalbi made a really nice combination~

The salt dakgalbi was clean-tasting with a strong charcoal aroma, and I liked that, while the soy sauce dakgalbi had a sweet-and-salty flavor added on top, which went well with rice or other side dishes^^

I found it even tastier alternating between the two haha. Rather than eating just one flavor the whole time, going back and forth between salt and soy sauce meant I never got tired of it and just kept eating lol.

The chicken, grilled over charcoal, was slightly golden and crisp on the outside and moist inside, so it was delicious lol.

I'm also a fan of grilled deodeok, so I loved that it was included in the set❤️

If we'd only had the dakgalbi it might have felt a bit lacking, but eating the deodeok alongside made the meal feel even more substantial!

Finishing with the makguksu included in the set

How the makguksu tasted after the charcoal dakgalbi

Last but not least, makguksu (buckwheat noodles) haha. And once you've eaten dakgalbi, you can't skip makguksu, right lol. The set included makguksu, so we finished it off together at the end^^

I tend to care a lot about the noodles in makguksu, and the noodles here were exactly my style! I liked the noodle texture and the sauce was delicious too!

Eating a bite of dakgalbi and then slurping some makguksu — the meat and noodles came together so well haha. Especially since the charcoal-grilled dakgalbi has a slight kick and smoky flavor, it paired even better with the cool makguksu~

A proper dakgalbi meal on a Chuncheon trip with a baby

On our Chuncheon trip I really wanted to make sure we ate dakgalbi, and this time I got to enjoy it properly as charcoal-grilled dakgalbi haha.

If you're looking for a local favorite dakgalbi spot in Chuncheon, or want to have a proper dakgalbi meal while traveling in Chuncheon, or are searching for a good restaurant recommendation in Sinbuk, Chuncheon, I think Hwagye Dakgalbi is worth checking out :)

We visited with our baby and still ate really well and left happy❤️ Coming to Chuncheon really does mean you have to eat dakgalbi lol.