Nonsan Korean course meal, welcome dish to dessert: Sonamu Hanjeongsik

Sonamu Hanjeongsik hours, closing day and parking

Sonamu Hanjeongsik is a hanjeongsik (Korean set-course meal) restaurant at 357 Nonsandae-ro in Nonsan-si, Chungnam. Hours are 11:00–20:00, break time is 15:00–17:00, and it's closed every Wednesday. Parking is available too.

I visited Sonamu Hanjeongsik in Nonsan. The place has this calm, hanok-style atmosphere, and just walking in gave me the feeling I'd be able to enjoy a relaxed meal.

It felt especially fitting for a family meal, a get-together with parents, or an important gathering. The interior looks upscale too.

What arrives in the Sonamu-jeongsik course, one plate at a time

What I ordered was the Sonamu-jeongsik. True to hanjeongsik style, the food doesn't all land on the table at once — it comes out course by course, so I could focus on each dish as it arrived.

Even the wet towel came with a lemon slice. I loved that thoughtful touch.

The welcome dish: pumpkin porridge and small bites

The first thing to arrive was pumpkin porridge and snacks. The warm, soft pumpkin porridge settled my stomach nicely, then came pine nuts, cashews, purple sweet potato, and dried jujube.

It was a nice, light way to start before the real meal began. With hanjeongsik especially, it matters that the first dish feels neat and tidy, and this had that clean feel throughout.

The first courses, tasted one by one

Now the food really started coming.

The first dish was Andong sanma (mountain yam) tomato pickle. The tartness of the tomato with the yam felt like it cleaned my palate. Next came Ganggyeong seed jeotgal (salted seafood), chilled chicken salad, and bangajgan perilla oil buckwheat noodles.

The chilled chicken salad was tangy yet clean, great for waking up the appetite, and the perilla oil buckwheat noodles had a subtle nutty aroma rising up — personally my favorite of the bunch. Then came glutinous rice buchimgae and a seasonal salad. The glutinous rice buchimgae had a nice chewy texture, and the salad was fresh and light, pairing well with everything before it. Having so many little dishes come out like this is really the fun part of a hanjeongsik course.

Hot-pot rice made with rice the owners grow themselves

Along with the first courses came a hot-pot rice made with rice grown by the restaurant itself, plus soybean paste soup. When the rice is good in a hanjeongsik meal, overall satisfaction jumps way up — and with the warm hot-pot rice paired with hearty soybean paste soup, I was reminded that rice is where Korean food really shines.

The hot-pot rice was good on its own, but eating it together with the side dishes made everything work even better.

The main course: 24-hour low-temperature braised beef short ribs

Then came the main course I'd been waiting for.

What caught my eye first was the 24-hour low-temperature braised beef short ribs. Cooked carefully over such a long time, it was tender and easy to eat, and true to a main dish, it was filling.

Eating it with cheongyang peppers cut through the sweetness of the short ribs, and the spicy kick kept it from feeling too rich.

Next came Geumsan ginseng fritters, grilled fish, soy sauce shrimp, and stir-fried octopus, one after another. I liked getting to taste such a range of ingredients — meat, fish, shrimp, and octopus — all in one course. The soy sauce shrimp especially paired well with rice, and the grilled fish was clean and light.

The stir-fried octopus had a spicy kick that kept reviving my appetite along the way!

The ginseng fritters were fried up crispy, so I thought even someone who doesn't usually eat ginseng could enjoy this without much hesitation.

Dessert at Sonamu Hanjeongsik: yuzu yanggaeng and Nonsan strawberry juice

After eating my fill of all the good food, the meal finished with yuzu yanggaeng (sweet jelly) and Nonsan strawberry juice. The yuzu yanggaeng was a nice light way to end the meal, and the strawberry juice was refreshing and cool, clearing my palate. It felt more like a smoothie than a juice.

Starting with the pumpkin porridge, moving through the snacks, first courses, hot-pot rice and soybean paste soup, a variety of main dishes, and finally dessert — it really felt like I'd enjoyed a proper full course.

Who is Sonamu Hanjeongsik best for?

Overall I liked how varied the dishes were while still letting me taste a little of everything, and since the food came out in sequence, it was also nice for a relaxed conversation over the meal.

This seems like a great spot for a special-day family meal or for taking your parents out. Highly recommend it if you want to treat someone. If you're looking for a Nonsan restaurant and want a clean, well put-together hanjeongsik course, definitely visit Sonamu Hanjeongsik.

A photo after finishing the meal