Chungju pheasant restaurant's Emperor Tonic Course: Suanbo Daejanggun

A tonic dish fit for a king, and the best pheasant restaurant in Suanbo: Daejanggun raises its own birds and kills them the same day.

Where is Suanbo Daejanggun and when is it open?

Suanbo Daejanggun (수안보대장군) is at 105 Mireuksonggye-ro, Suanbo-myeon, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do. It is open 11:00 - 20:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00.

It is 1.3 km east of Suanbo Onsen Station. That's 3 minutes by car, or about 20 minutes on foot.

Getting to Suanbo Daejanggun and parking

Suanbo Daejanggun is a stylish, brand-new standalone building on the widest roadside stretch in the area. A stone monument stands out front like a village marker, so it's hard to miss.

The lot in front of the building and the one across the road are both for customers. Even though they're open-air lots, they've put up sunshades so your car doesn't bake, which is a nice touch.

What is the atmosphere inside Suanbo Daejanggun?

The interior is as sleek and clean as the exterior. But this is no newly opened flash in the pan:

It's a deeply rooted, 41-year-old restaurant that everyone agrees put Chungju's Suanbo pheasant cooking on the national map.

It has been featured on programs that introduce authentic Korean regional food, like Korean Table (한국인의밥상), 6 O'Clock My Hometown (6시내고향) and Baekban Travels (백반기행),

and many other food shows. This is the real deal of the real deals.

What are the menu and prices at Suanbo Daejanggun?

The pheasant courses at Suanbo Daejanggun come in two versions: the Daejanggun Traditional Course (대장군전통코스) at ₩49,000 and the Emperor Tonic Course (황제보양코스) at ₩69,000.

True to its reputation as a tonic food the king loved, the meal is laid out as a course, like a royal table.

• Daejanggun Traditional Course ₩49,000
• Emperor Tonic Course ₩69,000

How does the Janggunju house liquor taste?

Janggunju (장군주) is a traditional home-brewed liquor (gayangju, 가양주) made at Suanbo Daejanggun.

I usually drink Baekseju, and Janggunju is less sweet and more refined, so it won me over right away. What a distinguished family, to brew a liquor like this!

The side dishes are a salad and shredded radish.

In what order does the Emperor Tonic Course come out?

Pheasant-broth dongchimi and tonic porridge

The Emperor Tonic Course at Suanbo Daejanggun starts with dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) in pheasant broth and a tonic porridge topped with shredded pheasant.

I wondered why the dongchimi looked so fancy, and it turns out this pheasant-broth dongchimi won top prize at a kimchi festival.

The porridge, topped with pheasant that's just right for a gentle first bite, has ginseng, mung beans, ginkgo nuts, pine nuts and black sesame, everything good for you thrown in. I could feel the energy just from the smell. The nutty, soft porridge with that refreshing, easy-drinking broth is a great pairing.

Pheasant tenderloin cold salad

Next came a cold salad made from the pheasant's inner tenderloin, the most prized cut. Crunchy vegetables and a tangy-sweet dressing really woke up my appetite.

Vegetable and mushroom shabu hot pot in pheasant broth

Next was a vegetable and mushroom shabu hot pot (jeongol), a familiar sight. And of course the broth is pheasant broth.

What does the premium raw pheasant taste like?

The premium raw pheasant (프리미엄꿩회) is the main event and signature dish at Suanbo Daejanggun. It arrived while the shabu hot pot was boiling.

A signature dish you can only get at a true Suanbo pheasant restaurant.

Freshness is critical for raw pheasant, so only Daejanggun, which raises its birds and kills them the same day, can serve it.

The octopus and abalone, the difference between the traditional and tonic courses, come out alongside.

It was a plain, pure mildness I'd never tasted before. It's so soft and tender it's as if the bird never had muscle at all, so even elderly diners can eat it comfortably.

It melts mildly in your mouth, a lot like tuna sashimi, but with a cleaner taste.

Raw pheasant or shabu-shabu?

You can also cook the raw pheasant in the hot pot broth to your liking. It's definitely chewy, and you can taste the savory juices.

Personally, I found the raw version much rarer and more refined, so I recommend enjoying it raw and shabu-shabu-ing it in an 80/20 split.

The abalone and octopus are good on their own, but stack them with the raw pheasant as a three-way combo (samhap), dip it generously in the innards sauce, and you feel like more than a king: a Qing dynasty emperor.

Are the pheasant dumplings worth taking home?

The pheasant dumplings (꿩만두) at Suanbo Daejanggun are 100% pheasant, grilled crisp.

The mild sweetness of the meat and vegetables and the nutty aroma of the buckwheat wrapper make for a very rustic, local flavor.

They say nobody leaves this Suanbo restaurant without taking some to go (me included, haha). Honestly, nothing beats them as a gift.

Wild greens pancake and pheasant japchae

Next came a pancake of seasonal wild greens grown on the Woraksan range, Chungju's pride. The pheasant adds a chewy, mild texture, and you can catch the subtle fragrance of chamnamul, chwinamul and bori-su (Russian olive).

Japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), loved by every Korean. Only the pork was swapped for pheasant, and yet

it became a royal court dish with an entirely different flavor.

Closing meal of three-color sujebi and bori-su juice for dessert

The final meal of the Emperor Tonic Course at Suanbo Daejanggun is three-color sujebi (hand-pulled dough flakes) flavored with sweet pumpkin, broccoli and native chestnut.

Dropped into the shabu broth we'd been boiling at the center of the table all along, it was rich from the very first spoonful.

The deep broth, with a flavor and aroma that make you think, so this is what real pheasant tastes like, plus the chewy sujebi, made me wonderfully full.

For dessert came bori-su juice, which you can only drink around this time of year. Daejanggun is a Suanbo pheasant restaurant where you get to meet some truly rare and wondrous things.