Couple's lunch pot rice with a side-dish bar, Cheongju: Sorori Sotbap

These days, when I go out to eat, I find myself craving a warm bowl of rice more than something spicy or bold. (Guess I'm getting older, haha.) Especially at lunch. That day my husband and I were trying to figure out lunch and thought, let's actually eat a proper meal for once — so we headed to this place.

It's located right across from Gagyeong Xi in Cheongju, so the location was convenient, and what really pulled me in was hearing that they cook the rice after you order. Most restaurants have rice bowls ready ahead of time, but here they apparently don't even start the rice until you order, haha. So while looking for a good restaurant near Gagyeong-dong Ipark, this seemed worth trying if we wanted proper hot pot rice.

Where Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong is, and where to park

Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong Direct Branch is in the Seohyeon Plaza building across from Gagyeong Xi in Cheongju. Being right across from Gagyeong Xi made it easy to find.

If you're driving, you can use the commercial lot behind the building, and since 2 hours of parking is available, we didn't have to worry much about parking during our meal. When you get around by car like we do, bad parking can be a low-key stressor no matter how good the food is — but this part was easy.

What's on the menu at Sorori Sotbap?

The menu at Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong Direct Branch is quite varied, including beef rib, abalone, crab meat, Korean beef intestine, mackerel, cockle, mentaiko, and more.

So on a first visit you actually end up agonizing over what to order, haha. My husband went with beef rib, and I finished up going with mentaiko-butter!

Inside the restaurant, and what the name "Sorori" means

Walking in, the wood-toned interior gives off a warm feeling.

Maybe because it's a fairly new place, or because the owner keeps it well maintained, the overall condition was great. The tables are generally spacious, and there are window seats too, so you can eat comfortably.

The name 'Sorori' isn't just made up — it comes from Sorori in Cheongju's Oksan-myeon and the Sorori rice grains found there! (First time I learned that, haha.) Once I read that they treat rice as the main character of the dish rather than a supporting one, it made a bit more sense why they put so much care into the rice.

They use rice from the Chungbuk region, prepare fresh broth daily, and make their own rib sauce, so quite a lot of care clearly goes into putting together a single meal.

My husband's pick: how is the beef rib pot rice?

My husband chose the beef rib pot rice, said to be Sorori's signature menu. Finally, our order arrived.

Opening the lid, there was a generous amount of rib piled on top of the rice — the kind of visual that fills you up just looking at it.

The rib wasn't chewy at all — it fell apart softly when picked up with chopsticks. The seasoning leaned savory-sweet rather than overly sweet like braised rib dishes, making it good to eat alongside rice. I usually get sick of meat quickly if the seasoning is too sweet, but here, putting a bit of rib on top of a spoonful of rice let the seasoning soak lightly into the rice, and I just kept going back for more.

My husband, predictably, loves this kind of menu, and while I was busy taking photos he kept sneaking spoonfuls in, haha. (Sorry, not sorry.) If it's your first time trying the signature menu, the taste makes it pretty clear why it's so popular.

Is the mentaiko-butter pot rice too salty?

My pick was the mentaiko-butter pot rice. I debated between crab meat and this, and ended up choosing mentaiko-butter. Honestly, mentaiko plus butter is a combination where you can kind of predict the flavor.

I expected it to be salty and rich, but I was glad it wasn't overly salty.

Once you mix the butter into the rice, it melts softly through the warm rice, and the mentaiko's savory saltiness spreads through the whole bowl.

Wrapping it in seaweed on top of that, you get a flow of flavors — savory butter, then salty mentaiko, then the nutty aroma of the seaweed, if that makes sense.

It's not the kind of bold flavor that makes you go 'wow!' the second it hits your mouth — it's more the kind you keep thinking about after a spoonful, so you just keep eating.

I especially love eating rice with things like mentaiko or seaweed, so personally I was quite pleased with this one.

According to the menu description, the mentaiko-butter pot rice uses non-salty white mentaiko along with sesame oil and butter!

The self-serve side-dish bar and what's ready for kids

One thing I quietly appreciated while eating at Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong Direct Branch was the self-bar. Besides the basic banchan (side dishes) that come out with the table, there are additional side dishes set up separately that you can help yourself to, haha.

It was convenient being able to just grab as much as you need instead of constantly asking staff for more when you run a bit short on side dishes mid-meal. Especially if you're the type who likes to pair a little of this and that with your rice like we are, this kind of thing quietly boosts satisfaction.

They also apparently have baby chairs, baby tableware, and plain rice with seaweed ready for those visiting with kids. Eating out as a family often means stressing over what the kid will eat, but plain rice and seaweed alone can solve that problem.

The best order for eating pot rice at Sorori Sotbap

• Mix the rice and toppings together well first
• Scoop into your rice bowl and add soy sauce, butter, or furikake to taste
• Wrap it in the seaweed that comes with the meal
• Finish the remaining rice by adding warm broth

We started out just eating the rice and toppings together, then tried wrapping it in seaweed partway through, and finished by adding broth — and even though it was the same bowl, the flavor shifted a bit each time, which was nice.

When you want a warm meal in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju

Trying this place made me think that when looking for a good restaurant near Gagyeong-dong Ipark, it's better to first think about what kind of meal you actually want rather than just whether a menu item is famous. Rather than a quick bite, it's for when you want to wait a little and eat freshly cooked, hot rice, or when someone who loves meat dishes and someone who prefers something light or nutty are eating together,

and also when you're looking for somewhere comfortable to eat with a kid — it works well across the board. In particular, when you search for a good restaurant near Gagyeong-dong Ipark, a lot of similar Korean restaurants come up and it can be hard to choose where to go, so it's worth remembering this place for the day you think, 'I want freshly cooked rice today.'

Personally, I really enjoyed the mentaiko-butter pot rice, and my husband, predictably, said he preferred the beef rib. Next time, I'm curious about the other ingredients, so I think I'll try the abalone or crab meat.

One-line verdict on this lunch

A meal where the rice is so good, you keep reaching for the side dishes too.

On a day like this when you just want something warm and easy on the stomach, if you're looking for a good restaurant near Gagyeong-dong Ipark, it might be worth stopping by.

It's not a particularly bold or spicy flavor, but it's the kind of place that leaves you with the feeling of 'I had a proper meal of rice' :)