Bucheon Korean restaurant with a rice-milling counter: Gim Myeongju

This time I visited Tteuranchae Bapsang, a well-known Korean set meal restaurant in Bucheon. It's been getting a lot of word-of-mouth buzz for its healthy, home-cooked style meals, so I'd been curious for a while. Long story short: the hype is real, and I confirmed it firsthand.

Where is Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang in Bucheon, and where do you park?

Tteuranchae Bapsang is located in downtown Bucheon, and the building itself has a hanok-style roof, tiles, and dol hareubang stone statues, so the atmosphere feels special from the entrance. Walking up the stairs leads straight to the entrance, decorated with palm trees and potted plants that make it feel like you're walking through a little garden.

No need to worry about parking. There's parking space on the 1st floor of the building, and if there's no room, there's also a nearby public parking lot, so it was convenient to visit by car.

Inside the restaurant and the fresh-milled yellow rice counter

Stepping inside, the clean, calm interior with wood elements and gray-toned walls stands out. There are room-style seats too, and group reservations are apparently possible on the 3rd floor, so it seems perfect for family gatherings or company dinners.

On one side of the store sits a milling machine that mills yellow rice fresh on the spot, selling for 10,000 won per kg or 20,000 won per 2 kg — impressive that you can buy freshly milled rice right there. They actually cook the rice fresh every day using this yellow rice, which really built up my expectations for the rice.

There's also a corner near the entrance selling scorched rice, yakgwa (honey cookie), peanut brittle, and chrysanthemum-shaped pastries, which looked good for buying as gifts after a meal.

And there were green disposable aprons here and there printed with the phrase "I protect my restaurant's guests," which were comfortable to use.

Tteuranchae Bapsang menu and prices

Looking at the Tteuranchae set meal menu, the rice is freshly cooked in a pressure cooker after ordering, using yellow rice milled that same day. It takes about 10 minutes to cook carefully, and you can feel the effort put into it.

• Dried yellow corvina set (per person) 31,000 won
• Soy-marinated crab set (per person) 31,000 won
• Charcoal-grilled pork set (per person) 31,000 won
• Octopus set (per person) 31,000 won
• Cockle salad set (per person) 28,000 won
• Grilled mackerel set (per person) 28,000 won

Besides the set meals, there's also a basic table setting called Tteuranchae Bapsang (13,000 won per person), which requires ordering at least one additional single dish. For single dishes, dried yellow corvina, soy-marinated crab, charcoal-grilled pork, and stir-fried octopus are each 18,000 won, while cockle salad and grilled mackerel are each 15,000 won.

Extra rice, side dishes, and water are freely available at the self-service corner, so you can enjoy the meal to your heart's content.

Tteuranchae Bapsang for two plus cockle salad: what the table looked like

We ordered two Tteuranchae Bapsang and a cockle salad. The pot rice with cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) was so delicious. The amount of cockle salad was insane — not just enough for two, but plenty for three people too. Overall the side dishes were clean and simple, and it felt like being treated to a healthy home meal.

But we ordered for two people and only got 1 leaf of lettuce, which was a bit... Still, it would've been a waste to leave it uneaten, and there was plenty more at the self-service corner, so it was fine.

The cheonggukjang was so delicious I finished it all~~

The scorched rice we ate at the end was the real deal~~

The side dishes and the yellow-rice pot rice

When the side dishes were set on the table, I was first surprised by the quantity and composition. About 8-9 neatly arranged side dishes — namul (seasoned vegetables), kimchi, braised dishes — came out on two trays, and in the center sat bubbling cheonggukjang along with fragrant seasoned namul. Each dish had a mild, unassuming flavor that let the ingredients' natural taste shine, so it felt like eating a healthy home-cooked meal. In particular, the yellow-rice pot rice was glossy and fluffy, so good I kept eating it even without side dishes.

Coffee after the meal at Tteuranchae Café

After the meal, it was nice to relax with a cup of coffee at Tteuranchae Café, located in the same building. Being able to handle both the meal and tea time in one place was a big plus.

Is Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang worth it?

The prices aren't exactly cheap, but considering the rice cooked from same-day milled grain, the thoughtfully composed side dishes, and the pleasant store atmosphere, the price felt justified. It's a great place to visit with family on a special occasion, or whenever you're craving a healthy home-cooked meal. If you're looking for a neat, well-composed Korean set meal in Bucheon, I highly recommend Tteuranchae Bapsang!