Grilled tilefish set with pot rice scorched-rice tea in Cheongju: Jeju

I wanted to blow off some weekend stress with a water-play trip before fall arrived, so I headed to Cheongju. The most important part of any trip is what you eat first, so I took my boyfriend — who's been obsessed with grilled fish lately — to a Cheongju spot everyone raves about.

Jeju Badang's location and parking

• Location: 28 Seohyeonnam-ro, 2nd floor, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea
• Hours: 10:30-22:00 (break time 15:00-17:00, last order 20:30)
• Parking: available

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor of the building, and there's a parking area with no barrier gate. There's space front and back, so parking shouldn't be an issue.

The vibe and a kids' play area

It had that classic Korean-restaurant interior. There was also a kids' corner with books and a slide, almost like a mini kids' café inside the restaurant.

Menu lineup — sets, lunch specials, single-portion dishes

From the signature set menus to lunch specials to single-portion dishes, the lineup was really varied. I was curious why the restaurant is called Jeju Badang (제주바당, "Jeju Sea") — turns out they use Jeju-caught silver hairtail, tilefish, and horn conch. Jeju hairtail is basically guaranteed to be delicious just by name alone, so I was already excited.

Order: boneless hairtail stew 1 + grilled black tilefish + pot rice x2 (₩59,000)

We couldn't give up braised hairtail, but we couldn't give up grilled fish either, so we went with the set.

A self-serve bar with 15+ side dishes, plus fried chicken

There's a salad bar with over 15 Korean side dishes, and the lineup genuinely tasted like something your mom would make — my boyfriend, who lives alone, loved it. And there's fried chicken too, need I say more? If you bring kids, they can eat fish and then move on to chicken. With iced tea and plum tea for dessert too, this was seriously the best Korean restaurant experience in Cheongju.

Basic side dishes, plus refillable seaweed soup and stir-fried pork

The basic side dishes were laid out like this. They told us the stir-fried pork is refillable too. I was already impressed by the self-serve bar, but hearing that seaweed soup and pork were refillable made it even better. My boyfriend, who isn't even that into stir-fried pork normally, kept asking why it was so good and finished it before the main dishes even arrived. Everything looked neat and tidy too — the basics here were clearly a cut above.

After a bit of waiting, today's main dishes arrived. Look at that gorgeous plating — one portion of braised hairtail and grilled black tilefish.

Boneless hairtail stew — the density of real Jeju hairtail

Boneless hairtail stew. Among fish dishes, I think braised dishes are the true rice thieves, and hairtail stew might be the GOAT. It's easy to pick apart, and the fish flavor alone is savory in a way that's totally my style.

Making it boneless — whoever thought of that must be a genius. And being Jeju hairtail, it was on another level compared to the hairtail I used to eat at the office. The flesh was plump yet dense, genuinely impressive. The sauce wasn't too salty either, seasoned just right for mixing with rice!

You know you can't skip this part with braised fish — you have to mix rice into that sauce, and you absolutely must eat the braised radish that's soaked up all the seasoning too!!! Eat it this way and you could easily go through two bowls of rice.

Grilled black tilefish — crisp outside, moist inside

Grilled black tilefish. Ahh, look at that tilefish. At first I thought, hmm, won't this be too dry? But I was totally wrong.

When I split the fish open, the flesh was clearly moist and plump! You know grilled fish is best with soy sauce and wasabi, right? Building a set menu that pairs braised and grilled fish felt like the work of someone who really knows food — take a bite of the salty grilled fish, then alternate with the sauce-heavy braised hairtail, and you never get tired of it. Then throw in some japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), fried chicken, and cucumber kimchi to refresh your palate before going back to the fish — it was the perfect combo.

Pot rice and the final scorched-rice tea

The rice came as pot rice — see that shine? I tried the rice on its own and the glossy grains filled my mouth with real flavor. Maybe I'm just getting older, but I've been loving Korean food lately, and this Cheongju spot nailed everything, rice and side dishes alike, without a single flaw.

The best part of pot rice is the scorched-rice tea (nurungji sungnyung) at the end. As you can see in the photo, the color came out perfectly, haha. My boyfriend kept eating it topped with side dishes from the bar. Even if we'd brought our parents along, this would've been a flawless, successful meal out.

A family dinner spot in Gyeongyang-dong, Cheongju?

If you're looking for a great place to eat out in Gyeongyang-dong, Cheongju, pay attention to this one. The table right next to us was full of Cheongju locals, and from what I overheard, everyone they bring here always leaves satisfied. Honestly, with a salad bar and main braised/grilled fish dishes like these, I get it — I'd bring guests here too. If you're looking for a Korean restaurant in Cheongju, give Jeju Badang a try!