Weekday lunch army stew with 20% takeout discount in Seongsu: Songtan

I recently had piping hot budae jjigae (army stew) for lunch in Seongsu haha. During lunchtime, nothing beats a hearty dish you can eat with rice~ And you know budae jjigae has its own cooldown timer, right??? This time I went to Songtan Jindaegwang Budae Jjigae Seongsu Branch, so let me start my Seongsu Station restaurant lunch review — a generous bowl of stew plus fried sundae (blood sausage)!!

Songtan Jindaegwang Budae Jjigae Seongsu Branch SUN-SAT 11:00 ~ 21:30

How to find Songtan Jindaegwang: 2nd floor at Seongsu Station Exit 1

Songtan Jindaegwang Budae Jjigae Seongsu Branch is on the 2nd floor of the building right in front of Seongsu Station Exit 1. It's easy to find and hard not to notice. I kept passing by thinking 'I should go there someday' until I finally did haha.

Songtan Jindaegwang Budae Jjigae Seongsu Branch is located on the 2nd floor of the building.

Once you get up to the 2nd floor, the retro vibe hits right from the entrance haha. There's a huge Jindaegwang Budae Jjigae sign and old-school posters plastered around, so the concept is fully committed~

20% off takeout and no break time at Songtan Jindaegwang

Get this — takeout orders come with a whopping 20% discount!! After tasting it, I'd say it's definitely worth taking home~ No break time was another plus. Most places in Seongsu have a break time... so if you show up at an awkward hour it can be hard to get a meal ㅠㅠ

Once you step inside, the retro feel from the exterior continues! Checkered floors, wooden tables and chairs, and handwritten signs on the walls — it really nailed the old-school budae jjigae joint vibe. There are plenty of tables too, so it looks great for a group meal.

Unlimited rice self-bar, plus coffee and slushie for dessert

On one side of Songtan Jindaegwang Budae Jjigae Seongsu Branch there's a self-bar where you can grab extra banchan (side dishes)~ Rice is self-serve too, so you can eat as much as you want!! Mixing rice into the stew broth is basically the rule with budae jjigae, and it's such a bummer when you run out of rice haha.

And the really amazing part — coffee, slushies, and even yogurt drinks were all set up, so you can get dessert right after your meal! I couldn't believe how many dessert options there were haha. Thanks to all this thoughtfulness and generosity, anyone looking for a Seongsu Station lunch spot should definitely check this place out!!!

There's a guide on how to enjoy Jindaegwang budae jjigae best, plus a Naver review event, so definitely join in~!!! Apparently you can enter once per person in your party!

What we ordered: Jindaegwang budae jjigae for two with ramen noodles, sausage and fried sundae

Orders are paid in advance!!!

• Jindaegwang budae jjigae for two
• Ramen noodles
• Assorted sausage
• Fried sundae (blood sausage)

First, the banchan and rice arrived. The rice wasn't plain white rice but had millet mixed in — it reminded me of school lunches. The banchan were pickled onion, stir-fried fish cake, and green onion kimchi, all a perfect match for budae jjigae~!!!!

A 4-minute timer: staff cook the army stew at your table

Finally, the budae jjigae arrived!!!! The staff set a timer for us. Other places just say 'boil it a bit and eat~' but having a timer set was so much more convenient. Otherwise I'd have no idea when to start eating...

And if you order ramen noodles as an add-in, you actually get Jin Ramen spicy flavor as the noodle sarì haha. You can even add the ramen seasoning packet to taste..!!

After 4 minutes, the lid came off and — wow haha. The amount of ham was incredibly generous! There were round sausages, long sausages, and thick Spam-like slices of ham, all different types. As it started boiling, the broth bubbled up between the ham pieces and it looked so mouthwatering,,, yum. And the staff didn't just lift the lid — they stirred it with a ladle to check it was properly cooked.

How does the budae jjigae taste? Picking out the ham

Above all, this place's budae jjigae was fun because of all the ham to pick through. Not only was there a wide variety, but every single type of ham was delicious, so my chopsticks kept going back for more~ Sometimes with budae jjigae you run out of ham and feel disappointed, but here the portions were generous, which I loved haha. The broth had a rich, spicy flavor from the ham and sausage blending together, but it wasn't overly intense — I loved that so much!!

Is the fried sundae worth adding at Songtan Jindaegwang?

And you absolutely must order the fried sundae (blood sausage)! It comes fried crispy and coated generously in a sweet-spicy sauce, kind of like tteok-kkochi (rice cake skewer) sauce. The sauce clings to the outside while the inside keeps that chewy sundae texture, giving it a perfect sweet-salty-spicy combo haha. I told myself I'd only have one or two, but I couldn't stop reaching for more haha. Eat one while waiting for the stew, grab another while sipping the broth, and before you know it the plate's empty haha.

Verdict: is Songtan Jindaegwang a good Seongsu Station lunch?

If your budae jjigae cooldown is up and you're looking for a good lunch spot near Seongsu Station, I highly recommend visiting Songtan Jindaegwang Budae Jjigae Seongsu Branch~!!!