Bucheon Korean restaurant for borigulbi with Mom: Gim Myeongju

On a suddenly chilly autumn day—one that felt perfectly fair to call fall already—I took my mom, who works hard making side dishes every day, to Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Bucheon Main Branch, a well-known restaurant in Kkachiwool, Bucheon. It is such a famous place that it is the first one that comes to mind when I think of Korean set meals in Bucheon. I wanted to treat her to delicious food made by someone else. You can find it near the Wonmisan entrance, beside Bucheon Sangnok School.

Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang near the Wonmisan entrance

As you enter the food alley near the Wonmisan entrance, you will see the sign. Go toward the standalone building nestled against the mountain, with the sign for Tteuranchae Bapsang, a Korean set-meal restaurant.

Things to check before visiting

• Daily 10:30–21:00; last order at 20:00
• Closed the day before and the day of Chuseok
• Large parking area available
• High chairs available

When you enter the building, you will see stairs. Go up and there is a waiting area. We got a reservation number through Catchtable and waited, and it was lovely to look out at the green mountain behind us.

They also sell borigulbi gift sets. As we waited our turn and looked around the restaurant, it seemed to be maintained spotlessly, without a dirty corner in sight. Whenever I take my mom to a restaurant, I get nervous as though it were my own place, so I was glad it looked so clean.

There seemed to be a steady stream of guests both when we arrived and when we left. I saw many people bringing older family members, and perhaps because it was weekday lunchtime, there seemed to be lots of church and family gatherings. I tend to trust a restaurant when it is popular with homemakers.

What did we order?

Most visitors order the Tteuranchae table set for each person plus one à la carte dish, or the Tteuranchae set meal for each person. There are also options to enjoy with children, such as children's pot rice.

My mom and I ordered the Tteuranchae table set for two and borigulbi (dried, salted yellow corvina). Not long after ordering, the neatly arranged food arrived. My mom is so good at making side dishes that I was nervous, but thankfully she found every one of them delicious. That is absolute proof this is a good restaurant. The kimchi, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), fried eggplant, spinach, burdock root, and more were all nicely done, but the interesting one was garlic scapes sliced thin and seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar. Mom said she had never had them prepared like this before, and she really enjoyed them.

The combination of refilled side dishes and borigulbi

At the self-service bar, you can refill every side dish. There was even extra mulkimchi (water kimchi), which had not come out with our meal. The mulkimchi was so cool and refreshing that we ate it with great enthusiasm.

The borigulbi, such a prized dish, was absolutely packed with flesh. And since even lettuce—which is expensive these days—was unlimited, we indulged in wrapping it up together. The borigulbi was pleasantly firm and chewy yet tender, so even Bbangul's mom, who does not usually enjoy grilled fish, ate it very deliciously.

Then there was another rice thief after the borigulbi: cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew), savory and lightly spicy, making it wonderfully refreshing to eat. The other side dishes were seasoned so well that even with the cheonggukjang, nothing tasted overly salty. It was not smelly and had such a deep flavor that the two of us finished it all.

Proper dolsotbap (hot stone-pot rice) for the first time in a while. On a day with a slightly cold breeze, the scorched rice softened with hot water—nurungji (scorched rice tea)—was just so delicious. It made a perfect match for the salty borigulbi.

A great Kkachiwool restaurant in Bucheon that even serves dessert. We left satisfied after having premix coffee and Americanos. I was truly happy that this meal out with Mom was such a success.

There is a way for visitors to Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang, a great Korean set-meal restaurant in Kkachiwool, to enjoy an even tastier and fuller meal. Since it is the kind of good restaurant you will want to return to, it might be nice to write a Naver review and receive points.