Bongdam Korean diner for doenjang jjigae and barley bibimbap: Hwadamga

I went to Hwadamga, a well-known grilled fish restaurant in Bongdam, with my sisters. We were craving a home-cooked-style meal out, and Hwadamga turned out to be exactly the right choice~

Where is Hwadamga in Bongdam, and its hours and parking

Hwadamga is located at 58 Nangnaegi-gil, 1st floor, Bongdam-eup, Hyohaeng-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, before the entrance to Bongdam Xi Regent Apartments. It's open 11:00–22:00, with a break time from 15:00–17:00, and last order is at 21:30.

• 📍Address: 58 Nangnaegi-gil, 1st floor, Bongdam-eup, Hyohaeng-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do (before entrance to Bongdam Xi Regent Apartments)
• ⏰Hours: 11:00–22:00 / Break time 15:00–17:00 / Last order 21:30
• 🅿️Parking: Available right in front of the restaurant

What Hwadamga looks like inside and out

The building's exterior already has an upscale feel, like a fancy Korean restaurant. There's plenty of parking space right in front of the building, so you can park without any stress.

Sacks of Suhyanghmi rice visible at the entrance. They said they carefully cook rice grown in Hwaseong.

Here's the interior of Hwadamga. The tables are spacious with partitions, making it great for a cozy meal. It's the perfect atmosphere for a family outing or catching up over food.

There's also a large room-style space, good for group gatherings or company dinners.

Hwadamga's signature set menus and prices

• Wood-fired mackerel set: ₩18,000
• Wood-fired dried croaker (bori-gulbi) set: ₩27,000
• Fire-grilled pork set: ₩16,000
• Herbal traditional boiled pork set: ₩17,000

We ordered the mackerel set and the fire-grilled pork set. Then we headed straight to the self-serve bar~

Hwadamga's self-serve bar with about 20 side dishes

What surprised me most at Hwadamga was the large all-you-can-eat self-serve bar. You can choose between barley rice and white rice, and various fresh vegetables and wrap greens are also prepared.

It's full of about 20 fresh side dishes made daily, plus desserts. We only took as much as we could eat, but seeing all those neat side dishes reminded us of the ones our mom used to make with such care — we were genuinely touched haha.

There were so many side dishes that we didn't get greedy and only took what we could actually eat.

Here's what our modest plate of side dishes looked like. We were surprised a second time by how good they all tasted. There were so many delicious ones that we later realized we hadn't even tried some of them. We were too full to try them this time, so next visit I'll have to sample a wider variety.

How do Hwadamga's grilled mackerel and fire-grilled pork taste?

I tried a bite of Hwadamga's wood-fired mackerel first — a savory aroma rose right up, and the flesh inside was moist and tender. With a squeeze of lemon, there wasn't a hint of fishiness.

The pork stir-fry with real fire flavor was just as good — one bite and that smoky char filled my mouth, the meat was tender, and the seasoning was just right. I found myself saying 'this is delicious' right away!

Piled onto a wrap green and eaten in one bite, it was maximum satisfaction~ My sisters were full of praise too, saying it was so good.

Barley bibimbap and doenjang jjigae at Hwadamga

If you want to make bibimbap, you can mix various namul (seasoned vegetables) and barley rice in a large bowl. Since I usually love bibimbap, mixing it well and eating it with doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) genuinely felt like a home-cooked meal.

As expected, Koreans really do need doenjang jjigae every once in a while to feel at ease. These days it's not easy to find a good-tasting doenjang jjigae, but I found it here. The bibimbap and doenjang jjigae paired perfectly. It had been a while since I had such healthy Korean food, and I left feeling comfortable and satisfyingly full. Hwadamga is a place I'd love to visit again with the rest of my family.

✨Final verdict on Hwadamga, a grilled fish restaurant in Bongdam

If you're looking for delicious Korean food in Bongdam, I recommend Hwadamga. The side dishes at the self-serve bar, tasting like mom's cooking, are the best too.

I'd recommend it as a Korean restaurant for family outings or for treating honored guests. The wide tables and partitions make it easy to have a cozy conversation while eating.

I recommend it as good-value Korean food — a hearty, healthy meal you can count on.