Byeongjeom dinner with draft beer: two-person squid pork set at Haetan

You know those days at work where you absolutely have to blow off steam with something delicious after clocking out? Today I was craving something spicy, and I ended up so happy with both the taste and the portions that I have to tell you about this Byeongjeom restaurant — Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom! Here's my honest review from a two-person dinner where we ate ourselves happily stuffed.

Where is Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom, and where do you park?

Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom is on the 2nd floor of 1024 Hyohaeng-ro, Byeongjeom-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, right in the middle of the commercial district where all the good restaurants are clustered. It's great for a second round after dinner too, and there are plenty of cafés nearby, so it's a solid spot for meeting up with people!

Whenever you're heading out to eat, parking is usually the first thing you worry about, right? Circling around looking for a spot before you've even eaten can drain all your energy. But at Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom, you don't need to worry about that at all! There's a spacious public parking lot right next to the restaurant, so parking was incredibly convenient. Being able to park with peace of mind and just walk straight into the restaurant already earned it a perfect first impression.

What the restaurant feels like inside

The moment we walked in, my first thought was, "Wow, this place is really spacious!" The tables were spaced generously apart and the space felt open, with no cramped feeling at all. The interior was clean, making it great for a cozy meal for two, and given how large the place is, I thought it would also be excellent for a group work dinner or family gathering. Eating somewhere noisy and cramped can ruin your appetite, but this place was so comfortable that I loved it.

Here's the menu :)

The self-serve bar: free rice, bean sprout soup and sungnyung

The real killing point that impressed me most at Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom was something else entirely — the incredibly generous self-serve bar!! These days, most restaurants make you order rice separately as an extra, right? But here, you can take as much free rice as you want from the self-serve bar. When you're eating spicy, rice-devouring side dishes, one bowl is never enough — being able to eat your fill without any hesitation is honestly the best.

On top of that, the side dishes are unlimited refills, and what really made my heart skip was seeing bean sprout soup and roasted rice tea (sungnyung) prepared and ready to go!

Before the meal, the cool, clean bean sprout soup whets your appetite, and after finishing the meal, a warm, nutty bowl of roasted rice tea soothes your mouth after all that spice, giving the meal a perfect finish. Honestly, this self-serve bar alone is reason enough to come back — I was completely satisfied.

What comes in Haetan's two-person set for two people

Sitting down and looking at the menu, one item immediately caught my eye — the "great-value two-person set"! With a name like that already promising great value, how could I not order it? Haha. The combination was excellent: the main dish, hot-plate squid pork, comes together with a sample of bossam (boiled pork) and a sample of fried squid, all in one set.

Usually when dining out as two, you either have to agree on one dish, or ordering several feels like too much in portion or price. But this set is designed perfectly for two people to taste a variety of things, so our satisfaction was already climbing before the food even arrived.

Hot-plate squid and pork (dolpan ojingeo jeyuk)

First up, the main dish, hot-plate squid pork, arrived sizzling loudly on a hot stone plate, stimulating both sight and smell at once. The sweet-and-spicy sauce, chewy plump squid, and tender pork combined for an explosion of savory flavor in every bite. The sauce soaked into everything nicely, so it was delicious eaten plain or wrapped in lettuce.

Taster plate of boiled pork (suyuk)

The sample bossam may be called a "sample," but the quality was every bit as good as a main dish. It was boiled so tenderly it practically melted in my mouth. Pairing the cooling, savory bossam with the spicy hot-plate squid pork balanced out the heat perfectly — the combination of meat and seafood was fantastic.

Taster plate of fried squid

And you can't leave out the sample fried squid! The outside was crispy and well-fried, and the inside was packed with the squid's signature chewiness — the texture was a work of art. Dipping the fried squid into the spicy pork sauce was pure bliss! Being able to enjoy such a variety of dishes together as two people made me so happy.

Which dish paired best with the draft beer

Another appealing thing here is that they sell draft beer! Every dish paired well with the beer, but the fried squid in particular was the perfect match! It's great as a drinking snack, and just as good as a meal with family :)

Final verdict on Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom

Great-tasting food is a given, but add in a spacious, comfortable restaurant, easy parking, a generous self-serve bar, and a great-value two-person set that truly lives up to its name — nothing was missing. It was a day I finished feeling completely satisfied and happily full. If you're looking to enjoy varied, delicious food near Byeongjeom in Hwaseong without any parking stress, definitely give Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom a visit. I'll definitely be running back the next time I crave spicy squid pork!