Yangju army stew with broth poured from the start: Choi Budae Jjigae

For a lunch in Ojeong-dong, or when you're in the mood for a drink in Ojeong-dong.

Budae-jjigae (army stew) really varies a lot from place to place, doesn't it? Some places have way too strong a ham flavor, others have such salty broth you can't eat it without rice. Personally, when I eat budae-jjigae, I prefer a style where the broth isn't too harsh and stays clean. This time, the place I visited through Superchart was Choi Budae Jjigae.

What is the broth like in Choi Budae Jjigae's army stew?

Choi Budae Jjigae's budae-jjigae comes with ham, sausage, tofu, and green onion — a hearty spread. From the visuals alone, it looked like a proper budae-jjigae. Once it started boiling, the flavors of the ingredients naturally blended into the broth, and it deepened gradually.

When it first arrived, the broth wasn't super red or intense-looking, but as it boiled, the flavor gradually got deeper.

A visual that calls for a drink :) So I ordered Chum-Churum soju...

Check the business hours! They're also running a receipt review event.

Why extra broth from the start makes the meal easier

One of the things I liked about Choi Budae Jjigae was that they bring out extra broth together with the stew right from the start. When you're eating budae-jjigae, the broth runs low quickly once you add ramyeon noodles or glass noodles, and sometimes it's awkward to ask for more broth when you want to keep simmering.

Here, since they give you the broth from the beginning, you can add as much as you need without worrying about it. It might seem like a small thing, but I really liked it, haha.

Unlimited rice refills: good for big eaters?

Choi Budae Jjigae offers unlimited rice refills. That's a pretty big plus for a budae-jjigae restaurant, haha. If the broth is good, one bowl of rice is rarely enough.

• A spoonful with ham on top
• A spoonful with tofu and broth on top
• Eat the glass noodles, then another spoonful of rice

Eat like this and the rice disappears before you know it. But since you can get more, it seemed like a low-pressure place to bring people with big appetites.

Enjoying the menu and photos on the wall!

Banchan and the thick rolled omelette at Choi Budae Jjigae

The banchan (side dishes) at Choi Budae Jjigae weren't a flashy, many-dish kind of spread. It was pretty simple overall, but instead you could take as much as you needed from a self-serve corner. Since budae-jjigae itself is already packed with ham, sausage, tofu and other ingredients, I actually preferred this simpler banchan setup over having too many sides. It let me focus on the main dish.

And the egg roll that came with it was more substantial than I expected. Even in photos it looks pretty thick. Since budae-jjigae was the main event, I didn't expect much from the other menu items, but the egg roll was fluffy and thick, making it nice to eat in between bites. With a generous amount of ketchup on top, it also had that nostalgic old-school bunsik (snack shop) egg roll feel. A spoonful of budae-jjigae followed by a bite of egg roll reset the spiciness a bit — the combo worked well.

The right moment for a soju with your stew

It wasn't that the broth was harshly salty and made you crave a drink — rather, the broth was clean while the ham and kimchi flavors blended nicely, making it a good match for a sip here and there. A spoonful, then a sip, fish out a piece of ham, then another sip, haha. The soju really went down smoothly.

It was especially good once the broth had simmered a bit and deepened in flavor. I also liked that the seasoning wasn't too strong from the start, so even after simmering longer, the saltiness didn't spike.

Choi Budae Jjigae in Ojeong-dong: the verdict

Overall, Choi Budae Jjigae felt like a place that puts its effort into the main budae-jjigae rather than flashy side dishes. The banchan is simple, but there's a self-serve corner, rice is unlimited, and the broth is generously prepared from the start. As someone actually eating there, these details were quite convenient.

Three things I liked best that day:

• Broth that wasn't too salty
• Unlimited rice
• Broth provided from the start

Add the thick egg roll on top of that, and the meal didn't feel lacking in composition at all.

You can't add extra noodles to the budae-bokkeum (stir-fried version)! But you can add fried rice instead :)

With budae-jjigae, the stronger and more intense the flavor, the tastier it can seem at first, but it sometimes gets a bit much by the end. Choi Budae Jjigae, though, I ate comfortably all the way through.

Not flashy, but the broth is clean, and it's a solid spot for a proper rice meal.

And for those of you who like a drink... don't add the extra broth too soon, haha. It was just right for a drink once the broth had gotten a little thicker.

On the way back, the sunset was pretty.