Cheongju Seongan-gil Japanese restaurant, yakitori-don set: Momo Lab

I'd been craving Japanese food for a while and started looking around Seongan-gil in Cheongju when I came across Momo Lab, a well-known Japanese restaurant here. There are so many restaurants in Seongan-gil that I was torn about where to go, but this time the charcoal-grilled gyukatsu at Momo Lab Cheongju Downtown Seongan-gil Main Branch — a spot famous as a date place in Cheongju — caught my eye, so I decided to visit.

Where Momo Lab Seongan-gil is and how to park

Momo Lab is located at 102, Art Avenue198, 9-1 Jungang-ro, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, and it's open daily from 11:00 to 21:20. This lunch spot sits right in the middle of Seongan-gil in Cheongju, so it was easy to find, and parking is available too — though how you park depends a bit on your vehicle.

Cars can use the underground parking tower, while SUVs can use either the ground-level or underground general parking spaces. EVs can apparently use the ground parking lot. If you're using the underground parking, you're supposed to visit the security office on the right and ask them to open the lot — worth knowing ahead of time if you're driving.

Is there a wait at weekday lunch? Inside the restaurant

The day I visited Momo Lab was a weekday, so I got in with no wait at all. That said, even on a weekday there was a steady stream of customers during mealtime, so I imagine you might have to wait a bit on weekends or holidays.

When you're looking for a date-worthy restaurant in Cheongju, the atmosphere matters just as much as how the food tastes, right? Since it's right in Seongan-gil, it's easy to get to and has a varied menu, which makes it a solid pick when you're after a good lunch spot in Seongan-gil, Cheongju.

Momo Lab's menu lineup and the omija tea served before the meal

Looking through the Momo Lab menu, there was more variety than I expected — gyukatsu, mazesoba, sukiyaki, cream udon nabe, and several à la carte items were all on offer.

Omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) came out as a pre-meal drink, served in a light single glass. It was tangy yet clean, which was nice for waking up my appetite before the meal. What I ordered that day was the premium beef black gyukatsu (140g base) and the yakitori-don.

Premium beef black gyukatsu 140g, grilled on your own brazier

Momo Lab's premium beef black gyukatsu (140g base) is lightly fried tender beef that you then grill yourself on a personal charcoal brazier, served with rice and salad. There were tips posted around the restaurant on how to eat gyukatsu the best way, and I was reading through them while waiting when the food arrived. The black gyukatsu comes with its own personal brazier, and that's part of what makes eating at Momo Lab Cheongju Downtown Seongan-gil Main Branch fun.

The black gyukatsu beef, grilled on the brazier with a bit of butter until crisp outside and juicy inside, comes with rice and salad on the side.

Since the gyukatsu is already fried when it comes out, you grill it on the brazier to your liking — following the instructions, I melted the butter first, then laid the meat on piece by piece. If you leave it on too long it gets tough, so it's best to eat each piece right away.

The gyukatsu tastes clean dipped in salt, and it also went well dipped in barbecue sauce. The kirimochi (grilled rice cake) turns chewy on the grill and is great dipped in jocheong (rice syrup).

The beef is crisp outside and tender inside, and grilling it briefly on the brazier brought out the savory flavor even more.

Unlike just eating gyukatsu as-is, grilling it yourself on the brazier adds a fun part to the meal. If you're looking for a Japanese restaurant in Cheongju and want something a little different, the black gyukatsu is a good choice.

What does the yakitori-don at Momo Lab taste like?

Breaking the raw egg into the yakitori-don rice

Momo Lab's yakitori-don is a rice bowl where the flavor of grilled chicken meets freshly cooked rice, and it came out right after being ordered alongside the black gyukatsu. Looking at the bowl, grilled chicken sits on top of the rice with a raw egg placed right in the center.

I broke the egg with my spoon and mixed the rice, chicken, and sauce together thoroughly. Once the egg mixed in with the nicely browned chicken, the rice became much softer and gained an extra savory note.

Why Momo Lab is worth it for a Japanese meal in Seongan-gil

The gyukatsu lets you enjoy the savory beef and crispy coating, while the yakitori-don — grilled chicken and egg mixed with rice — felt extra special. If you're in Seongan-gil craving Japanese food after a while and want to grill your own black gyukatsu on the brazier along with a filling yakitori-don, I'd suggest stopping by this Seongan-gil lunch spot in Cheongju.

It's also a good spot to drop into for lunch or dinner while shopping or wandering around Seongan-gil, and convenient for heading to nearby cafés afterward. If you're craving Japanese food but also want good atmosphere, give Momo Lab Cheongju Downtown Seongan-gil Main Branch a try as a date-course restaurant in Cheongju.