Seobu-daero, Cheonan jjamppong: rice in level 2 cockle broth, Bultina

Today my boyfriend and I went looking for a good jjamppong spot in Cheonan. We ended up at Bultina Jjamppong in Sinbang-dong, Cheonan, known for its rich, spicy broth and delicious sweet-and-sour pork.

Bultina Kkomak Jjamppong Sinbang Branch: location, hours, and parking

Bultina Kkomak Jjamppong Sinbang Branch is located at 285 Seobu-daero, Ilsong Building, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do. It's open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 20:30, and closed every Monday.

• [Address] 285 Seobu-daero, Ilsong Building, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do
• [Hours] Closed every Monday / Tue–Sun 11:00–20:30
• Parking available / Naver reservations available

Parking is available behind the building. You can also book through Naver Reservations, so keep that in mind.

Inside Bultina Kkomak Jjamppong: room for solo diners and big groups

Here's the interior. There were lots of tables and the place felt spacious. The seats were well separated, so some people were dining solo, and there was also room enough for group meals. There's a self-service corner too, where you can grab extra side dishes.

The Bultina Kkomak Jjamppong menu and its spice levels

Here's the menu board. From the signature cockle jjamppong to jjajang, jjamppong rice, and sweet-and-sour pork, it's all there. For the jjamppong, you can choose your spice level.

Here's what my boyfriend and I ordered. We were starving that day so we went all out haha. For the jjamppong, we chose level 2.

The basic side dishes were, of course, pickled radish and raw onion — classic at any Chinese restaurant, haha.

Ta-da~ our dishes arrived almost all at once. I'd been craving Chinese food so much, and the visuals alone were amazing. Since it had been a while, my expectations were sky-high ><

Level 2 cockle jjamppong: can someone spice-shy handle it?

I chose level 2 for the cockle jjamppong. Level 1 seemed like it'd be too mild, so I went with level 2. My first sip of the broth hit me with a rush of spicy flavor right away. As someone who can't handle much spice, it was just the right amount — mildly hot. That perfect rich, spicy jjamppong taste 👍🏻

The portion of noodles was generous too. I heard that with jjamppong, mixing rice into the broth at the end is the real way to enjoy it!

The noodles had soaked up the spicy broth and were really delicious, and the mushrooms were tasty too. There weren't a ton of vegetables or seafood, so I'd say the overall taste leaned clean rather than heavy.

True to its name as a cockle jjamppong specialist, there were plenty of cockles in it. I loved the spicy broth so much I basically inhaled it (?) haha. Seriously recommend the jjamppong!

Jjajangmyeon with a thick, yunni-jjajang-style sauce

Next up, jjajangmyeon. Bultina Kkomak Jjamppong is known for its jjamppong, but I heard the jjajangmyeon is great too, and I was craving jjajang so I picked it.

The jjajang sauce looked thick yet smooth. Taking a bite, it actually reminded me of yunni-jjajang (a fine-minced style jjajang).

The jjajang sauce was really tasty, haha. Personally I prefer a thick sauce over a runny one, and this jjajangmyeon was exactly my style. If you really love jjajang, the sauce was rich enough that you could mix it with rice and it'd still taste great. Recommended if you're into the yunni-jjajang style!

Sweet-and-sour pork: thin batter, tender meat

Here's the sweet-and-sour pork. No Chinese restaurant meal is complete without it! The portion was generous, but still just about the right amount to finish.

The crispy pork came out fresh and hot. The batter wasn't thick and the meat was tender, so I enjoyed it a lot.

It wasn't quite the old-school heavy-batter style, but a thin, soft version of sweet-and-sour pork. Light enough to enjoy alongside jjajang and jjamppong without feeling heavy.

The finish: a bowl of rice mixed into the jjamppong broth

Bultina Kkomak Jjamppong's broth was so good there was no way I could skip rice. We ordered a bowl of steamed rice and mixed it in. The combination of the spicy broth and fluffy rice grains was amazing. The jjamppong rice on the menu was clearly going to be delicious too. If you order jjamppong and then add rice at the end like this, you can really enjoy it to the fullest.

At Bultina Kkomak Jjamppong Sinbang Branch, I could really taste that delicious spiciness by choosing my own spice level. There was a clear reason the jjamppong is famous, and between the jjajang and the sweet-and-sour pork, nothing was lacking — a true jjamppong spot worth visiting in Cheonan.