Gwangsan Chinese restaurant for perilla-leaf stone jjajang: Mayway

Today, I went out for Chinese food with Kokko for the first time in a while!

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of noodles themselves—things like jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce), thin wheat noodles, or ramyeon. Even at a Chinese restaurant, I tend to choose a rice dish over jjajangmyeon, and I am not the type to seek out ramyeon first. But this time… I polished off stone-plate jjajang so neatly. Hahaha. Today’s spot was Mayway in Cheomdan, Gwangju.

We ordered the perilla-leaf stone jjajang + half tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour fried pork)! It was a pretty filling combination for two people.

Mayway’s exterior in Cheomdan, Gwangju—and the story behind it

When we first arrived, the exterior caught my eye more than I expected. It has an overall wood-toned façade with a bold red Mayway sign, so you can tell from far away that it is a Chinese restaurant. Rather than the usual old-school Chinese restaurant feeling, it felt like a more cleanly branded Chinese restaurant? We visited in the evening, and with the exterior lights on, the atmosphere was quite nice. The large sign out front said “specialist in authentic Chinese cuisine,” and it turned out this was not simply a newly opened Chinese restaurant.

There was a story about Mayway Cheomdan written inside, so I read it. It said the restaurant continues on from Daehung Banjeom, formerly in Chungjang-ro, Gwangju. Starting in the 1950s, it operated through Chungjang-ro and then for a long time in Bongseon-dong, Nam-gu, before reopening in 2026 under the newly branded name “Mayway.” Maybe that is why, although it is a fresh, tidy Chinese restaurant, there are old photos of Daehung Banjeom displayed on one side—it felt like the history of an old Chinese restaurant interpreted in a contemporary style. Eating without knowing that story versus knowing it feels different, right? Haha.

A bright, comfortable interior with a big TV for baseball

The interior was clean and comfortable! Once we walked in, it was much brighter and neater than I had expected. Some Chinese restaurants can smell strongly of oil or have sticky tables, but this place first gave me the impression that everything was well kept. With its white-and-wood palette, it looked nice for a family meal, while still being an easy, low-pressure place for a date-night meal! And the owner was kind too 🐥 Of course the food matters, but when restaurant staff are friendly, it somehow stays in your memory as an even better experience haha.

And there was one more thing that personally caught my eye… the TV is huge. Hahaha. Baseball fans, take note… 🫧🫧 Put a game on that big screen while eating stone jjajang and tangsuyuk, and if your team wins that day (?) it would be absolutely perfect. It seemed like a good place to come with friends during baseball season, eat Chinese food, and watch the game.

Will the perilla-leaf stone jjajang stay hot until the last bite?

Here came our order 🤎 After some deliberation, we ordered perilla-leaf stone jjajang + half tangsuyuk. When two people visit, it can feel a little sad to have only jjajang, but ordering a full plate of tangsuyuk can feel like too much, you know? That is why having a half portion was so nice. Is it a plan designed for food lovers like us, who want jjajang but cannot give up tangsuyuk either…? 🏝️

First of all, it definitely looked different from ordinary jjajangmyeon. Since the jjajang arrives on a hot stone plate, it comes out with that proper sizzling feel, and it stays hot for quite a while while you eat. The sign standing in front said:

Hot to the very end! Fire-kissed jjajang on a stone plate

That is what it said. Regular jjajangmyeon starts out hot, but as you eat, it quickly cools down; the sauce can set a little, or the noodles can get soggy and heavy. Being able to eat stone jjajang warm until the end was definitely an advantage.

And, as the name says, it includes perilla leaves, which were quietly a genius move. Jjajang sauce naturally has a rich, weighty flavor, right? Every so often the aroma of perilla leaf came through and felt like it reset my palate, so it was far less cloying than expected. “Perilla leaves in jjajang…?” It felt slightly unfamiliar to me at first too, but once you taste it, you understand why they go together hahaha. The savory, rich jjajang flavor was joined by the distinct fragrance of perilla leaves, making it much easier to eat all the way through. Truthfully, I am crazy about perilla leaves.

House-made noodles that kept me eating, even though I do not like noodles

But the noodles here were really my style. Like I said earlier, I do not usually like noodles. I am not someone who goes out of my way to eat jjajangmyeon, ramyeon, or thin wheat noodles… I do not like that floury noodle taste or the texture when they swell as you eat and start breaking apart.

But Mayway had “house-made noodles” written prominently in the restaurant, so I looked into it. They said they manage everything themselves, from flour dough and aging to noodle-making. The dough is adjusted according to ingredient condition and the weather, then aged to bring out the noodles’ characteristic bounce and flavor. No wonder… the noodles were not simply soaked in sauce and turning limp; they still had a certain springiness. Even though they kept receiving heat from the stone plate, they did not feel as though they became overly soft too easily while we ate. That was really important to me…! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One reason I dislike noodles is that, as I eat, they soften and the texture becomes more and more unpleasant. But here, even eating them hot from the stone plate, they stayed quite good until the end. So at first I told Kokko, “I’ll only have a little~”… then I kept eating. And ate more. Hahahahahaha. In the end, I finished mine neatly, and Kokko did too.

I asked Kokko to lift some noodles for a photo, but way more noodles kept coming up than expected hahaha. As you can see in the photo, the strands lifted up in one long sweep, and that really completed the stone-jjajang visual. Since even I, someone who does not care much for noodles, enjoyed it, I think noodle lovers would enjoy it even more. Especially if you usually get tired of jjajangmyeon midway through, it might be worth trying this perilla-leaf stone jjajang!

A half tangsuyuk order that is perfect for two

And how can you resist tangsuyuk when you come to a Chinese restaurant? You think we were going to leave after eating only jjajang? No way.

We ordered the half tangsuyuk too. Hahahahaha. I actually loved that there was a half size. When two people are eating, the stone jjajang already has a good amount, so if you also order a regular-sized tangsuyuk, you may eat until you burst or have leftovers. But the half portion was just right as something to share alongside it.

The tangsuyuk looked obviously crispy as soon as it arrived! After one bite, the outside was crisp and there was meat inside, so it went well with the jjajang. Especially: one bite of stone jjajang, pick up one piece of tangsuyuk… then jjajang again… this route is quite dangerous. It just keeps going in. Hahaha. The plate also came with cabbage, and having some in between helped cut the richness, which was nice. If you visit as a pair like us, I would recommend the stone jjajang + half tangsuyuk combination. Having only one main dish feels slightly lacking, but you can properly enjoy tangsuyuk too, so it was a good pairing.

A conclusion from a writer who does not enjoy noodles

Conclusion: five important stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My straightforward Mayway review as someone who does not really like noodles. Personally, when I read food reviews, I pay closer attention to “someone who did not usually like the food tried it and thought it was good” than “someone who already loves the food says it is delicious.” By that standard, Mayway’s stone jjajang stayed with me.

Even though I do not usually like noodle dishes, I did not just taste one or two bites and stop—I kept reaching for them with my chopsticks. The stone plate kept it warm until the end, the texture of the house-made noodles was good, and most of all, the perilla-leaf aroma periodically balanced the heft of the jjajang, so it was less tiring than I expected. I finished mine. Kokko finished theirs. I almost carried the stone plate home too. Sell me the stone plate hahaha.

Recommended for

• Anyone looking for a clean Chinese restaurant in Cheomdan, Gwangju
• Anyone needing a place for a company dinner
• Anyone wanting something a little different from ordinary jjajangmyeon
• Anyone who loves hot stone jjajang
• Anyone who gets tired of jjajang easily
• Anyone who wants both jjajang and tangsuyuk for two people

Mayway is a clean Chinese restaurant we found in Cheomdan, Gwangju. Its connection to the old Daehung Banjeom was interesting, and as a newly branded restaurant, its tidy interior made it a comfortable place for a meal. Above all, the owner was kind, so we left after a pleasant meal :) I would happily reorder the perilla-leaf stone jjajang + half tangsuyuk combination we had! On a day when you are craving hot stone jjajang rather than ordinary jjajangmyeon in Cheomdan, Gwangju—or when you want to pair it properly with tangsuyuk—it could be worth a visit :) That is the end of my Mayway review from someone who does not like noodles but still ate very well! 💖