Insadong Japanese restaurant with free rice refills: karaage bowl

This time I got a great chance to visit Insadong Jemyeonso!! I went with a friend for a stroll around Insadong after a while apart, and we were both hungry when we spotted this Japanese-style udon and rice bowl place, so we walked right in haha

What kind of restaurant is Insadong Jemyeonso Annyeong Insadong Branch?

Insadong Jemyeonso Annyeong Insadong Branch is a Japanese-inspired fusion noodle restaurant on the 3rd floor of the building at 49 Insadong-gil. You can enjoy udon, tonkatsu, and rice bowls all in one place, so if you're looking for restaurants near Anguk Station, Insadong, or Ikseon-dong, write this one down 📝

Once inside the building, we took the elevator up, and right at the entrance there was a big menu board standing there. It had photos and prices for all the signature dishes like the karaage rice bowl, gyudon (beef rice bowl), and tonkatsu udon, so it was great for browsing ahead of time.

The interior has a wood-tone look with soft, pretty lighting, so it felt like a comfortable spot for solo diners as well as friends.

Free rice refills and spice-level options at Insadong Jemyeonso

There was a sign next to the menu board saying to let them know if the seasoning is too salty or too bland, and apparently spice level can be adjusted on every single menu item! And if you order a single-person menu, you get free rice refills too — that's a golden tip ✨ There was also a kind note for the rice bowls suggesting you put the pickled ginger and yuzu sauce on the lid and mix them in well down to the bottom.

What we ordered for lunch and what it cost

• 🍗 Karaage rice bowl ₩12,000
• 🍜 Tonkatsu cold soba ₩14,000
• 🍊 Citrus juice (hallabong-pressed) extra

Karaage rice bowl, 12,000 won

It came out with big chunks of karaage (Japanese fried chicken) piled generously on top of the rice, and the look alone was pure Instagram material.

Mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce were drizzled zigzag-style all over the karaage, and one bite in, the crispy-outside-juicy-inside fried chicken paired beautifully with the sweet and tangy sauce.

The fried cucumber on the side was crunchy and refreshing too, doing a great job cutting through the richness haha. Mixed with the rice, plus the seaweed flakes and sesame aroma, I polished off the whole bowl.

Tonkatsu cold soba, 14,000 won

This is a refreshing cold soba with buckwheat noodles rolled up, and since the broth is a rich soy-sauce base, the first taste was salty with a subtle buckwheat aroma rising through it.

Grated radish, green onion, and fried tofu were on top as toppings, giving fun texture, and mixing in a bit of wasabi added a sharp kick that really blew the summer heat away.

The tonkatsu (pork cutlet) that came alongside had a really crispy, thick coating that was tasty and salty even without sauce, but dipping it in the included sauce added a sweet and tangy note that gave it a whole different charm. Sharing it with my friend, we couldn't help but say 'this place is legit good' haha

Hallabong citrus juice

Sweet and tangy, perfect as a palate cleanser!! They gave us a cup of ice, so we finished it off nice and cold.

Who Insadong Jemyeonso suits best

✅ To sum up the overall review

• ☑️ Anyone looking for a Japanese-style rice bowl or udon restaurant near Anguk Station and Insadong
• ☑️ Anyone who wants tablet ordering so there's no waiting stress
• ☑️ Both the karaage rice bowl and tonkatsu cold soba are solidly tasty, working well for solo lunches or dates

Next time I'd love to try the gyudon and the daechang (beef intestine) rice bowl. Highly recommend! Somewhere I'd definitely want to come back to (⁎˃ᆺ˂)