Cheomdan Chinese restaurant, grapefruit cream shrimp for two: Mayway

Today I visited Mayway, a new Chinese restaurant in Cheomdan! It was way better than I expected, haha.

Where is Mayway in Cheomdan, Gwangju, and what are its hours?

Mayway is located at 6 Cheomdangangbyeon-ro 87beon-gil, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Korea. It's open daily from 11:00 to 22:00, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00 and last order at 21:30.

• They have baby chairs
• Group seating is possible
• You'll need to use alley parking (a bit tough)

It's on the main road in front of Lotte Mart in Cheomdan, Gwangju, so it's easy to find. There's also a promotion running where you get tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) for ₩1,000 if you order 2 or more draft beers!

What is the seating like at Mayway? Groups and sports on the TV

The seating at Mayway is made up of 4-person tables, but pushing them together makes it more than enough for group dining. You can see the TV from any seat, so I could totally see coming back for soccer or baseball season!

I heard it's only been open about a month, but it was already packed. Word travels fast for good restaurants — if you haven't tried it yet, go quick.

Each table comes stocked with small plates, water cups, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and soy sauce!

Mayway's self-serve bar: the scallion kimchi is the cheat code

There's a self-serve corner near the entrance, plus a coffee machine you can use for dessert!

They have onions, corn mayo, pickled radish, unlimited rice refills, and even baby dishware. But in my opinion, the real cheat code at Mayway in Cheomdan is the scallion kimchi (pa-kimchi) — the scallion kimchi!

I scooped up a generous helping from the self-serve bar~! Already piled it high, but that wasn't enough — I went back for more a few times, haha.

What two people ordered: solo set meal, half grapefruit cream shrimp, perilla-leaf stone jjajang

Check out the menu!

You can order super easily through the QR code on the table. We got the solo set meal (jjajang + jjamppong + tangsuyuk), a half order of grapefruit cream shrimp, and the signature perilla-leaf stone jjajang. That was our order for 2 adults, and we ate until we were extremely full.

This was the sweet potato fritter they gave us as a starter — not the thick-battered kind I expected, but a thin-battered version! It tasted similar to a sweet potato stick, but warm, moist, and crispy, basically an upgraded version.

Solo set meal at Mayway: jjajang, jjamppong and tangsuyuk

The first thing to arrive was the solo set meal — jjajang, jjamppong, and tangsuyuk. At Chinese restaurants I'm always torn between jjamjjamyeon and tangjjamyeon (half-and-half combos), but this 3-in-1 set completely solves that dilemma!

We already knew from the sweet potato fritter that they're good at frying, but this place is truly a fried-food spot. See the tangsuyuk — thin batter packed solid with meat? My husband took one bite and insisted we absolutely had to get a photo of the cross-section.

You all know that dipping tangsuyuk in a mix of red pepper flakes, soy sauce, and vinegar is amazing.

The jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) definitely wasn't a throwaway item just because it came in a value 3-piece set. It was packed with vegetables and meat. The broth was full of smoky wok flavor, and the noodles were perfectly seasoned.

I didn't dip the jjajang noodles in anything separately. Why, you ask? I'll explain in a bit, haha.

Signature perilla-leaf stone jjajang, with the set meal's jjajang noodles added to the griddle

Before our perilla-leaf stone jjajang arrived, a piping-hot stone griddle showed up first. They even carefully check the temperature.

Once it hit the right temperature, they poured it on — sizzle! The sound was insane, such a delicious sound. Listen to the jjajang noodles cooking on the stone griddle.

If you're looking for jjajang noodles with real smoky wok flavor, you have to go to Mayway in Cheomdan. The smoky jjajang plus the aroma of perilla leaves creates a full-on party in your mouth.

And the corn kernels pop every so often for great texture, and the pineapple pieces fit right in too, no complaints. Staying hot on the stone griddle, it never got cold even after eating for a long time. The one slight downside was the noodles stuck to the griddle, so the griddle kind of stole some of my noodles.

Look at the jjajang sauce sizzling away on the griddle... We combined in the jjajang noodles from the earlier solo set too! That way we could eat them warm.

Everyone knows jjajang ramyeon goes with scallion kimchi, right? But here it's smoky, perilla-scented, warm jjajang noodles plus proper Jeolla-do-style scallion kimchi. There's no way that combo isn't delicious... no way...

How was the half order of grapefruit cream shrimp?

My husband, who genuinely loved the tangsuyuk, went back and forth before trying the grapefruit cream shrimp. That's just how he is — if a restaurant is good, he figures even the unusual menu items will be good too.

And honestly, the grapefruit cream shrimp was surprisingly, shockingly delicious — my husband took one bite and quietly muttered, this is insanely good... haha.

You know that pop when you bite into a plump, juicy shrimp? That's exactly this shrimp. It's not one of those tiny shrimp hidden under thick batter either — the batter is thin, just like the tangsuyuk. The bitterness of the grapefruit cuts right through the richness of the cream, and it pairs really well with the cabbage too. I think a lot of people would love this. Total recommendation!

Finishing with rice fried on the stone griddle

And I'm known among my friends as a serious rice person. Is there any rice person out there who could resist stone-griddle jjajang fried rice???????? Time to wrap up with this K-dessert of sorts.

While I was scooping rice onto the griddle, the staff asked if I wanted them to fry it for me. From the owner to every staff member, everyone here is kind and kept giving us tips on how to eat it best, so even first-timers can eat well without any guesswork.

This is exactly the kind of place you want to just lie down after eating — everyone, go lie down~!

Here's the story of the time I went to heaven and back thanks to scallion kimchi and stone-griddle jjajang noodles.... ★

Verdict on Mayway: parking is the only letdown, but we're going back

Honestly I went in thinking I'd just have a quick, simple lunch since it's a Chinese restaurant, but the incredibly kind service and menu items that set it apart from other Chinese restaurants had me ordering all sorts of things! The parking situation is a bit iffy, but this area allows alley parking, and the food is good enough that it's worth putting up with. I'm definitely planning to come back next time!