Budae jjigae restaurant in Ochang, Cheongju: ₩34,000 set & meal kits

I was craving a proper Korean budae jjigae (army stew) for the first time in a while, so I went to Handmade Ham Gorae Budae Jjigae (수제햄 고래부대찌개), the go-to army stew spot in Ochang!

What is Handmade Ham Gorae Budae Jjigae Ochang Main Branch?

Handmade Ham Gorae Budae Jjigae Ochang Main Branch is an army stew restaurant on Jungsimsangeop 2-ro in Ochang, Cheongju, serving healthy stew made with ham they make themselves. It is open daily 10:30 to 21:20, with a break from 16:00 to 17:00 and last order at 20:40.

Is the seating spacious enough for groups?

The inside is really roomy! There are plenty of tables, enough for big groups, and I saw lots of families too.

Gorae Budae Jjigae Ochang reservation and review events

If you reserve in advance on Naver for 3 or more people, there's an event running too :)

There's also an Instagram and Naver receipt review event! Gorae Budae Jjigae gives and gives... a half plate of handmade sausage and extra ham too, haha.

What's in the ₩34,000 Flower Galbi Companion Set for two?

The two of us ordered the Flower Galbi Companion Set for ₩34,000! It comes with flower army stew for two plus a juicy handmade tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty), so it's just right for two people, right?

These are the basic side dishes, and they set out a bowl of rice for each of us too.

How does the handmade garlic tteokgalbi taste?

The handmade six-clove garlic tteokgalbi in the set is full of juice when you bite in, perfect with rice, haha.

Flower army stew for two: how much ham, and how's the broth?

The flower army stew for two arrives half-cooked. And there is SO much ham in it, wow.

Just bring it to a rolling boil and it's done in no time. That spicy smell... I'm getting hungry... The broth isn't harsh either, it's spicy but clean-tasting! They say it's made with a mushroom stock, and it tastes like a healthy army stew, which I liked.

The fillings are generous too! It's packed with handmade ham, wow. At most army stew places the amount of ham is disappointing, but Gorae Budae Jjigae is super generous, lol.

Maybe because it's handmade ham, it just tastes better ✨ The ham quality is really good! It's not cheap ham, so it never got tiresome and I kept eating, lol. A total rice thief.

Are rice and ramen noodles unlimited?

At Handmade Ham Gorae Budae Jjigae Ochang Main Branch you can get rice and any side dishes you run out of from the self-serve bar, and even the ramen noodles are free and unlimited. So good, right? I fished out the ham, poured in more broth, and now it's ramen noodle time, haha.

Ramen noodles really are the best way to finish army stew... ✨

Those chewy ramen noodles were so good, hehe. After the noodles I was completely stuffed, lol.

Army stew meal kits (2+1) to go and dessert

Handmade Ham Gorae Budae Jjigae Ochang Main Branch is running a 2+1 event on army stew meal kits ✨ They sell the handmade ham too, so it'd be nice to take some home, haha.

On the way out, coffee and ice cream are ready as dessert. A cool finish to the meal 🍀 I recommend it as a good-value place for a meal in Ochang :)