Sunlit midday hall at a Buldang-dong Cheonan Korean restaurant

Today I visited Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch, a Korean restaurant in Buldang-dong, Cheonan that's become a local favorite! Every time I walked past, the place was packed and sometimes even had a waiting line, so I'd been curious what kind of restaurant it was — and I finally made it in.

Where is Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch? Hours and parking

Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch is located at 1F 110, 109-ho, 192 Buldang25-ro, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do. It's open daily from 11:00 to 20:00, with a break time from 15:30 to 17:00, and last orders at 15:00 and 19:30.

• Address: 1F 110, 109-ho, 192 Buldang25-ro, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–20:00
• Break time: 15:30–17:00
• Last order: 15:00, 19:30
• Building parking free for up to 2 hours (registration required)
• Spacious building parking lot, easy to park

The sunlit wood-toned hall at midday

Since Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch is newly opened, the space felt spacious and clean. It had that crisp, tidy Korean restaurant vibe that I really liked. The overall interior was warm wood tones. There were bar seats, 2-person tables, and 4-person tables, and visiting at midday meant the sunlight came in beautifully.

Aprons were also available inside the restaurant.

What's on the Hyangtaek menu, and the weekday review event

Hyangtaek's signature dishes are mackerel gondre rice, eggplant doenjang rice bowl, deodeok mushroom skewers, and mushroom platter. There's also yukhoe bibimbap, perilla squid rice bowl, herring roe bibim noodles, galbi platter, and Cheongsong-style spicy chicken stir-fry. With so many Korean dishes on offer, I liked that there were plenty of light, healthy options.

If you participate in the Naver receipt review event, you can get a free mushroom platter — though it's only available on weekdays, not weekends or holidays. If you're visiting on a weekday, it seems worth trying.

How to eat Hyangtaek's rice bowls the best way

There was a guide on how to best enjoy the food at Hyangtaek. First, mix the toppings on the rice or noodles evenly. Since the mackerel is hand-filleted, there may be small bones, so it's best to eat carefully! Next, add gopchang gim (thick roasted seaweed) and bibim jeotgal (seasoned fermented seafood), then mix in the special sauce. They recommend adding the special sauce little by little, since using it all at once can make the seasoning too strong.

The basic banchan (side dishes) came out neat and tidy. We were given doenjang soup, bibim jeotgal, gopchang gim with soy sauce, egg yolk, and the special sauce. The gopchang gim, soy sauce, egg yolk, and special sauce seemed to vary depending on the dish ordered.

Mackerel gondre rice and yukhoe bibimbap, 14,000 won each

We ordered mackerel gondre rice for ₩14,000 and yukhoe bibimbap for ₩14,000 — the two signature dishes at Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch. There were so many delicious-looking options that it was hard to choose, but we landed on these two.

The whole spread came out so neat and tidy that it felt like being properly taken care of. The ingredients looked fresh too, making it seem like a healthy, easy-on-the-stomach Korean meal.

Yukhoe bibimbap mixed with special sauce and egg yolk

Hyangtaek's yukhoe bibimbap had lettuce, bean sprouts, pear, and yukhoe (raw beef) piled generously on top of the rice. They recommend mixing the yukhoe, lettuce, and rice together first, then adding the special sauce later. The egg yolk goes in according to your taste!

The yukhoe was so perfectly round! The color was great and it looked really pretty haha. From the start, I poured in a generous amount of egg yolk and special sauce and mixed it all together with the yukhoe haha.

The special sauce was so delicious that mixing it in made everything even better. It wasn't too strongly seasoned, and it didn't overpower the natural flavor of the ingredients — I really liked that. The yukhoe was fresh and very tasty too. Finishing the whole bowl left me full and satisfied!

Mackerel gondre rice: were there many bones?

Hyangtaek's mackerel gondre rice had mackerel, gondre (dried aster greens), green onion, sesame seeds, and mushrooms. It was a great combination of fragrant gondre and mild, clean-tasting fish.

The ingredients were evenly distributed and neatly plated, giving off a calm, pleasant atmosphere.

They mashed up the mackerel and mixed it with the gondre and other ingredients.

Here's what it looked like all mixed together. Since mackerel is fish, there can be some bones, but there really weren't many.

One bite in and a 'this is good' just slipped out. The ingredients were fresh and healthy, which made it even more delicious. Topping it with the bibim jeotgal side dish was great too.

Wrapping bites of both the yukhoe bibimbap and mackerel gondre rice in gopchang gim made finishing a whole bowl no trouble at all haha. The gopchang gim itself was tasty, and dipping it in soy sauce was great too — refills of the gopchang gim are a must.

Final take on Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch in Buldang-dong, Cheonan

If you're looking for a good Korean restaurant in Buldang-dong, Cheonan, I recommend Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch — the menu is great, the ingredients are healthy, and the calm atmosphere makes it a lovely place for a meal!