Yangju budae-jjigae with water dumplings and plum tea: Choi Budae

I was passing through Yangju on the way to see sunflowers at Horogoru, so I stopped for lunch at Choi Budae Jjigae. Looking up reviews, it seems the budae-jjigae (army stew) and budae-bokkeum (stir-fried army stew) are the famous items here. Best pick for Korean food lovers 👍

Choi Budae Jjigae 📍 Location 51 Okjeong-ro 10-gil, 1st floor (partial), Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea ⏰ Hours Closed every Saturday / Mon–Fri 10:30–21:00, break time 14:30–17:00, last order 20:30 / Sun 11:00–14:30, last order 14:00 🚗 Parking available

Outside and parking

The exterior is clean and well put-together, so it stands out even as you're passing by. The sign is easy to spot too, so first-time visitors shouldn't have trouble finding it.

You can park behind the building, so driving there wasn't a problem at all.

Inside the restaurant

Walking in, the interior was bigger and much cleaner than I expected. The tables were spaced comfortably, and the overall bright, tidy atmosphere made it easy to relax and enjoy the meal. ☺️🍽

Self-serve bar with unlimited rice and plum tea

The self-serve bar has side dishes and rice, and rice refills are unlimited if you order one menu item per person! 🍚 Aprons are also provided, so if you're wearing white, definitely grab one haha

Another great thing about this Okjeong favorite is that iced plum tea is available for dessert, so you can pour yourself a glass after the meal.

Menu and ordering

The main menu has five items including budae-jjigae, budae-bokkeum, and raw pork kimchi stew, and true to a budae-jjigae specialist, there were plenty of add-in options too. There are also set menus, and you can mix a set with an individual order. Since the set is portioned for one, adding just a single extra dish worked out really well.

We ordered one budae-jjigae roll set, added an individual budae-jjigae, and got one ramyeon add-in and one water dumpling add-in each. For reference, glass noodles already come standard in the budae-jjigae. Still, ramyeon add-in is a must for budae-jjigae, right? Hahaha

How the food tasted

The basic side dishes and egg roll came out first, then the budae-jjigae, served heaping full in the pot! Just the sight of it made me hungry 🤤 Once it started to boil a bit, a staff member came over, opened the lid, and gave it a good stir.

Before diving into the stew, I tried the egg roll first as a kind of appetizer, and it was so soft and delicious. The other side dishes were good too! haha Definitely order the set menu and try it! 👍

The budae-jjigae was quite hearty, packed with various hams and sausages, kimchi, tofu, meat, vegetables, and glass noodles. At first the broth looked fairly clear, but as it kept boiling and the ingredients mixed together, the color deepened and the aroma really came through. We thought it might be a bit salty, so we added more broth and kept boiling.

Once it had boiled enough, the spicy, savory, salty flavor really came through. The ramyeon add-in soaked up the broth beautifully and was delicious.

Eating it with rice and kimchi and ham was the best!!! And I didn't expect much from the dumpling add-in, but it went surprisingly well and was tasty!! I refilled my rice and had more... hahaha, diet who? 😅

After thoroughly enjoying the rich flavor of the budae-jjigae, I had plum tea for dessert. The sweet, refreshing plum tea felt like it cleaned my palate nicely. It was also convenient being able to serve myself as much as I wanted. You could really tell the owner put thoughtful care into every detail 🩷

Who would I recommend this to

Spacious inside, clean, and tasty too! There's no reason not to go. haha And the staff were so kind, which made it even better. As they say, Koreans run on rice power, so if you're a Korean food lover, you really should check this place out 🤭 For anyone looking for a spot for family meals, group gatherings, or lunch/dinner, I recommend this Okjeong favorite, Choi Budae Jjigae.