Bongdam Korean restaurant: mackerel set with extra suyuk, Hwadamga

Today I went to Hwadamga (화담가), a well-loved restaurant in Bongdam, Hwaseong :)

It had been a while since I did a full house cleaning, and I had zero energy left to cook, so I came out for something delicious.

Where is Hwadamga? Parking and break time in Bongdam

Hwadamga is a set-meal (jeongsik) restaurant on Nangnaegi-gil in Bongdam, Hwaseong. Parking is conveniently available right in front of the store~

Break time is 3–5 PM haha

They use sujanghyangmi rice here!!

Hwadamga seating: from family meals to group dinners

Hwadamga had a lot of customers, but there was also a great variety of seating, making it a restaurant that works for everything from family gatherings to group dinners!

The overall atmosphere was clean and tidy! Besides table seating, there are also partitioned seats and separate room-style spaces, so I'd strongly recommend it for a meal with family or for a get-together haha

Hwadamga's self-serve side dish corner and barley rice

I visited in the evening, and I was tempted by pork belly, but the set-meal menu pulled me in, so I ordered a jeongsik (set meal)! All the side dishes shown above are available self-serve haha

The default rice is barley rice, and it's perfect for mixing with these side dishes. Tossing in various namul, gochujang, and sesame oil to mix it up is also a nice treat ^^!!

Ta-da~!! Here are the side dishes I happily scooped up. Isn't the variety amazing?! For anyone looking for a spot to eat with their parents, the wide range of Korean dishes makes it easy to find something for everyone.

Changing the rice to suhyangmi hotpot rice

I added an upgrade to hotpot rice! I'm a hotpot rice fanatic^^..haha;

Maybe because they use sujanghyangmi rice, the color was incredible. The stickiness was just right too, and the rice tasted amazing~~!!

Wood-fired mackerel set, flame-grilled pork set and a side of suyuk

For the set meals, we ordered the wood-fired mackerel set and the charcoal-grilled pork set!! And we added boiled pork (suyuk) as a side order.

The pork set was just the right amount!!

The mackerel was bigger than expected, and being wood-fired made it truly delicious!! The outside was grilled to a golden brown while the inside stayed moist and tender — a dish that went perfectly with rice.

And here comes the boiled pork we ordered as a side!!

The charcoal-grilled pork was, of course, delicious! There were lettuce wraps at the self-serve corner too, so eating it with vegetables made it even better~

The meat was huge, and eating it with rice filled me up fast haha

The boiled pork also had an insane meat yield, seriously!!! Wrapping it up in a perilla leaf and eating it neatly, haha

Tender, with just the right ratio of fat to lean meat!

Finishing with doenjang jjigae and nurungji sungnyung (scorched rice tea)

This is the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) that comes as a default. The flavor was appropriately rich and paired well with the set menu~!

The nurungji sungnyung (scorched rice tea) at the end — isn't this exactly the charm of hotpot rice~haha

The grilled mackerel is a must-try no matter what!! Being wood-fired makes it genuinely delicious. I find myself reaching for grilled fish more than meat, haha. I think the older generation would love it too :)

There was also a drinks corner at the end, so we enjoyed a little something extra haha!! At lunch you can enjoy a clean Korean-style spread, and in the evening you can enjoy a meal with meat, so it's a nice place to visit at different times of day for a different feel. If you're looking for a hearty meal in Bongdam, Hwaseong, I hope you'll give Hwadamga a try~~!!