Yongin bar with giant-ice Suntory highball and juicy squid: Bacha Suji

Bacha Suji Branch: a highball bar in Pungdeokcheon-dong, Yongin

Bacha (varchar) Suji Branch is a bar-restaurant (yorijujeom) in the Pungdeokcheon-dong eating alley that has become a word-of-mouth hangout among locals in their 20s and 30s. My friends and I hadn't hung out in ages, and we were hunting hard for a hip, stylish place in Suji to blow off some serious stress. Instead of a generic neighborhood pub or a noisy pojangmacha (tent-style street bar), we wanted somewhere with a classy, cocktail-bar feel where we could eat and drink at the same time.

And that's how we found Bacha Suji Branch! It's famous for overwhelming-looking snack pairings under stylish blue neon lights, so I'm sharing it with you~!

Where is Bacha Suji Branch and how do you get there?

Bacha Suji Branch is at 16-6 Pungdeokcheon-ro 129beon-gil, Suji-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi, on the 1st floor. It's about a 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Suji-gu Office Station on the Shinbundang Line, toward the Suji-gu Office eating alley, so public transport access is excellent.

After eating you can wander around the nearby Suji-gu Office sights, and it's a lovely route for couples in the flirting stage looking for a second-round date.

What are the atmosphere and seating like at Bacha Suji Branch?

Inside, slowly turning ceiling fans and big plants give it the mood of an exotic resort bar. There are counter bar seats that are good for drinking solo or chatting quietly, plus hall tables for 2–4 people spaced out comfortably, so it's pleasant for a company dinner too.

As the bottles lavishly displayed at the counter suggest, Bacha Suji Branch specializes not only in soju and beer but also in a wide range of highballs and cocktails.

It feels like a whisky bar or cocktail bar, so the mood is really nice for drinking.

When we sat down, they brought pretzel snacks as a basic side, hehe.

First, an ice-cold~~ Suntory highball!

Brisket seafood tteokjjim at Bacha Suji Branch: portion and taste

We ordered the signature dish, the bestseller that apparently every table gets, the 'instant brisket seafood tteokjjim' (a spicy steam-pot of rice cakes and seafood), plus the 'juicy squid', which is perfect as a second-round snack once you're full.

The squid is huge.... wow! See it? Haha

The tteokjjim is piled to overflowing with fresh sliced brisket, one big whole squid, scallops in the shell, fish cake, cabbage, and a mountain of bean sprouts.

Saero (soju) and highball are set to go with the seafood jjim!

As the broth boils, the juices of the vegetables, the savory sweetness of the seafood, and the rich fat of the brisket blend at roughly 8:2 into a deep, concentrated broth. The sauce isn't artificially hot from capsaicin; it's a pleasantly spicy, addictive sauce that soaks perfectly into the chewy long tteokbokki rice cakes and the wheat rice cakes.

The scallops and octopus are so plump~~

When do you add the ramen noodles to the tteokjjim?

When you've eaten about a third of the tteokjjim, the ramen noodles, boiled al dente, get added. The noodles soak up the rich seafood-and-meat broth, and the texture was so good it could rival any fancy jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) or ramen.

The portion is really big~~!! One instant brisket seafood tteokjjim is plenty even for 3–4 people.

Looking at it.... I get the urge to try them one by one.... hehe

Why the giant-ice Suntory highball at Bacha Suji Branch tastes so good

Ordered another highball, and cheers~~!!

The Suntory highball at Bacha Suji Branch is served in a special glass with the Bacha logo printed vertically, and the carbonation is lively, so it's wonderfully refreshing. What stood out most was the big, round giant ice (ice ball) in the glass, which keeps the drink cold for a long time without it getting watered down.

Is the juicy squid a good snack with a highball?

Next we added the 'juicy squid' at Bacha Suji Branch. It's grilled semi-dried so the outside is chewy, while the inside holds plenty of moisture, so it's tender rather than tough. Dip it in the special mayo sauce that comes with it (cheongyang chili, soy sauce and mayo) and eat it with the savory peanuts, and it's a perfectly balanced highball snack.

Who should go to Bacha Suji Branch?

Bacha Suji Branch goes beyond the limits of an ordinary neighborhood bar: it's a Suji drinking spot where you get restaurant-quality snacks in a stylish, hotel-bar-like interior. It was the perfect hangout for clinking glasses with friends after a long time and relieving stress.

• Office workers craving a cold highball with a spicy, soupy dish after work
• Couples looking for a nice date course near Suji-gu Office
• Anyone looking for a stylish place for a company dinner