Free self-serve rice with jjamppong broth near Cheomdan church: Mayway

There was a Chinese restaurant near Lotte Mart Cheomdan in Gwangju that I'd always been curious about — Mayway in Cheomdan! It's been running for over 70 years as a Cheomdan Chinese restaurant, so I honestly couldn't even guess how good it would be, haha.

So today's story: brisket jjamppong, a solo-size seafood scorched-rice soup, and domestic fresh sirloin tangsuyuk — a hearty feast, let's get into it!

Where is Mayway and is there parking?

Cheomdan Mayway is just a short walk from Lotte Mart Cheomdan, along the road toward Gyeojassi Church.

It's near a landmark on a main street, so it should be easy to find even for first-timers.

What caught my eye outside Mayway more than anything was the banner — tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) for ₩1,000? That's an unbelievable price! (Though you do need to order 2 draft beers.)

I already felt like they were looking out for customers' wallets with the ₩1,000 tangsuyuk, but seeing the solo set meal lineup completely won me over..

Jjajang + jjamppong + tangsuyuk, all for ₩12,900 — at this point I'm more worried about the owner's wallet, haha. And though it's not shown here, let me share a parking tip too!

• There's a small parking lot (about 4 spots in the back alley)
• Alley street parking is also possible

It's right by Lotte Mart, so it's great to stop by for a meal before or after grocery shopping too, right?

Interior vibe and the self-serve corner

Walking into Mayway, the dining hall is way more spacious than I expected — great for group gatherings too. I came today for a family get-together.

Old-school Chinese restaurants used to have sticky tables and that oily smell, but these days they're so clean. Mayway had neatly set wood-tone tables too. The lighting was a comfortable daylight tone, which felt nice.

I also liked that there were partitions between tables to block out the surroundings a bit. You know how it is when you're eating and the people around you get distracting, haha.

A history that started at Daeheung Restaurant on Chungjang-ro in 1950

On one side of the restaurant, you can see the history of Mayway's Cheomdan branch! I didn't know beforehand, but it turns out this place started as Daeheung Restaurant on Chungjang-ro in Gwangju back in 1950, and was reborn under the name Mayway — a place with real history, haha.

The name changed, but the owner's pride that the same care that went into an old-fashioned ganjjajang bowl remains unchanged really came through!

On one side there was even a celebrity's handwritten signature, haha. You could really feel the years of experience here.

Self-serve rice is free

The self-serve corner has pickled radish, scallion salad, and sauces on the side. There's also a separate rice cooker, so you can freely scoop as much rice as you want. In Seoul some places charge for a bowl of rice, but here it's free!

I scooped a full bowl of rice from the self-serve cooker, planning to mix it into the jjamppong broth.

Menu and prices via QR code

You can check the menu by scanning a QR code! You order from there too.

Cheomdan Mayway's signature dish is jjukkumi (webfoot octopus) stone-plate jjajang. It's served on a hot stone plate, so you can eat it warm down to the last bite! Beyond that, there's a wide range of dishes too — brisket jjamppong, fresh sirloin tangsuyuk, charcoal-grilled chicken, seafood scorched-rice soup. If you're curious, scan the QR code and take a look :)

Today we were craving jjamppong more than jjajang, so we ordered brisket jjamppong. And since we wanted to try a bit of everything, we also got tangsuyuk and the seafood scorched-rice soup, haha.

Going through each dish

Would you believe this is just the self-serve side dish spread? Pretty generous, right? By the way, the sweet potato fritters were on the house!

Corn salad and scallion kimchi are rare finds at Chinese restaurants, but the owner clearly has a give-it-all mindset!

1. Brisket jjamppong

The dishes started coming out one by one — the brisket jjamppong was loaded with seafood and vegetables, and the broth was seriously spicy and hearty!

I was craving something spicy today, and I was glad I went with jjamppong. Unlike regular jjamppong, it had a rich flavor like a spicy fish stew — perfect as a drinking snack or side dish with rice, haha.

After finishing all the noodles, I mixed the leftover broth with rice. The broth is seriously amazing!

2. Solo-size seafood scorched-rice soup

Next up was the seafood scorched-rice soup! I honestly didn't expect much from this one, but it ended up being today's favorite dish. They laid the scorched rice in an empty, heated stone bowl right in front of us and poured in seafood broth to boil it up on the spot... how could that not be delicious?!

Cooking it fresh at the table really brought out the soft, nutty flavor even more. The steam was boiling up so fiercely it kept fogging up my camera lens, lol.

3. Tangsuyuk (half order)

Another Mayway signature dish, tangsuyuk, arrived next! The batter was thinner than I expected.

Thick batter can feel greasy, right? But Mayway's tangsuyuk uses a minimal batter coating and domestic fresh sirloin, so the meat is really tender.

To wrap up the meal, they even gave us ice cream for dessert. My stomach was already so full, but I still couldn't resist dessert, haha.

After the spicy jjamppong, it was the perfect palate cleanser!

Overall verdict: who should visit?

We had a really hearty family meal out, haha. If you're looking for a historic and delicious Chinese restaurant, give Cheomdan Mayway a try! If you're Christian, it could also be a nice lunch spot after attending service nearby at Cheomdan Gyeojassi Church!