Cheonggukjang and nurungji in Bucheon: Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae

Lately, I’ve been really into wholesome meals 😌 I just love Korean food that feels like a home-cooked meal, full of care. I’ve been visiting quite a few great Korean set-meal restaurants, and rather than places with overly extravagant spreads, I’m drawn to spots with delicious cheonggukjang and side dishes that have that homemade touch.

Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Bucheon Main Branch

Today, I visited Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Bucheon Main Branch (김명주뜰안채밥상 부천본점). I came across it while looking for a Korean set-meal restaurant in Bucheon, and I’d been curious because it’s also well known as a great place for Korean food around Kkachiwool.

What should we add to the basic set meal?

Tteuranchae Bapsang’s basic set meal is ordered per person and comes with freshly made pot rice, cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew), and various side dishes. You can add à la carte items too, and we added soy-marinated crab without a moment’s hesitation. A Korean set meal just feels complete with soy-marinated crab, right? 👍🏻

The à la carte menu includes soy-marinated crab, charcoal-grilled pork, borigulbi (dried yellow corvina), seasoned cockles, and grilled mackerel.

Can you get refills at the self-service bar?

You can refill any rice and side dishes you need at the self-service bar. It was kept very tidy. For japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), just ask a staff member and they’ll bring it over.

A full table set with pot rice and cheonggukjang

As the food arrived and was set out piece by piece, I loved seeing so many different side dishes at a glance. There were lots of dishes that went beautifully with rice, plus hot cheonggukjang. The whole meal had the comforting feel of home cooking, which I really enjoyed.

The presentation was the best 🥹 There were 12 side dishes filling the table, and the cheonggukjang was generously portioned too.

I loved that the pot rice is made right after you order, so the rice arrives piping hot. It was perfectly fluffy and separate, and making nurungji (scorched rice) at the end made for such a satisfying finish 🧡

There was a wonderful variety of dishes to eat with rice, including fried eggplant, assorted namul (seasoned vegetable side dishes), braised potatoes, and japchae.

Does soy-marinated crab go well with pot rice?

And then, the soy-marinated crab I was looking forward to most that day 🦀 Put some crab meat on a spoonful of rice, and it truly is a rice thief. It was packed with meat, salty and deeply savory, so it went incredibly well with the pot rice 🤤 The Korean set meal is already more than generous with just the side dishes, but if you love soy-marinated crab, I recommend adding it!

The cheonggukjang was nutty and savory, with absolutely no strong smell—such a genuinely great restaurant! It was so delicious 🤤 You can also buy side dishes at the counter after your meal, and the cheonggukjang was the number-one bestseller. I saw so many moms buying several containers at once~~

Among all the basic side dishes, the fried eggplant and garlic scapes were my favorites.

Finishing with warm nurungji

And finally, nurungji~💛 There was so much food that I only had a little sungnyung (scorched-rice tea), but it was warm and left my stomach feeling refreshed.

While looking into the area this time, I learned that Kkachiwool has far more good restaurants than I expected. There are Korean set meals and Korean food, of course, but also eel and kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), plus cafés dotted around for a coffee after eating. It was a great neighborhood to explore beyond just one meal. There also seemed to be lots of places suited to family meals, so I thought it would be nice for taking your parents out on the weekend or for a family dinner.

At Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Bucheon Main Branch, the food was neatly prepared and mild rather than overly seasoned, making it a lovely place to take your time over a meal 🤍 If you enjoy a warm Korean home-style spread, do visit.