Cheonan Korean restaurant with unlimited ssam greens: Bomae Hansang

First off, this place is seriously, seriously, seriously good!!! I went to Bomae Hansang (봄애한상) for lunch at this Ssangyong-dong favorite! There are parking spaces out front, and even though I arrived close to 12:30, two spots were open, so parking was a breeze~!!!

Bomae Hansang in Ssangyong-dong: interior and seating

I went in thinking it would just be an everyday Korean set-meal spot, but the set menus and overall setup immediately looked great!!

When we arrived, aside from a table that had just left, only our table was open, so I could not photograph the dining room. As we were nearly done, a few guests left, so I took some photos after everything was cleared. There are rows of four-person tables, and the partitioned seating farther over looks suitable for groups, almost like private rooms.

Of course, there are high chairs too. From the reviews, it looked like plenty of families visit with children.

Set meals available by the serving

Here is the menu at Bomae Hansang, a Cheonan Korean-food specialist!! Set meals are the standard, but the best part is that you can order them by the individual serving!! There were solo diners too. I will say it again: this place is the real deal. If it were near my home, I would probably come here alone once a week!!

I was curious about the wureong gangdoenjang (thick fermented soybean paste with freshwater snails) posted outside, so I nearly ordered the two-person set. But I did not want grilled mackerel, and when I asked, they said individual servings were possible!!! Lucky, haha. So we ordered one serving of the wureong gangdoenjang pork set and one serving of the squid-stir-fry set meal!! This is not just a set-meal restaurant—it is basically a full-on ssambap (rice wrapped in leafy greens) restaurant!! Ssambap quality at this price. And these fresh ssam greens are self-serve. Unlimited.!!! No need to feel self-conscious at all. Whether they were the owners or staff, everyone was kind!!

Unlimited ssam greens and sides you keep reaching for

Fresh chilies, garlic, and ssamjang (seasoned soybean dipping paste) are kept here too, and the greens selection does not stop at lettuce and perilla leaves. There was tender cabbage and several other greens, so I thought, wow, this place is incredibly generous!! Five basic side dishes! Every single one was tasty, so I polished off the bean sprouts and shredded radish plain, then had the soft tofu too. I usually do not eat bracken fern from restaurants because it can be mushy or smell fishy, but this place is the real deal!!!!! Maybe it is because the sides are made by a chef with over 10 years of experience—wow...... Why did I even get a Korean cuisine certificate? How did I get one? Even now, I do not understand myself;;

Even the soybean paste stew that comes with the meal starts with a huge earthenware-bowl size!! It is not one of those tiny complimentary stews from a barbecue restaurant!!!! More like the bowl size for royal galbi-tang (beef short-rib soup), perhaps?? Anyway, it was packed with ingredients and generous enough to serve two big bowls with some left over!!

This is the wureong gangdoenjang included with the one-serving wureong gangdoenjang set. They give you this much for one serving?????? It is not overly salty, so mixing it into rice is pure heaven!!

Pork stir-fry and tender squid stir-fry

And then the stars of the show arrived last: pork stir-fry and squid stir-fry!! One serving of each, and this is not unbelievably generous???????

Meanwhile, someone diligently piled up a plate of ssam greens, haha. We ate this whole plate, then had another plate just as big~~~ haha. At home, it is honestly not easy to buy a variety of greens. Even if you grill meat, one bag of lettuce is already a lot.... You cannot really buy a little of everything, haha. Wow... coming to a set-meal restaurant—no, a ssambap restaurant—and eating ssambap-restaurant quality at such crazy value. This place is truly love itself!!!!!!

I am so grateful for this whole set-meal spread!! You really feel it when you see the size of that earthenware bowl, haha. The side dishes are only the kinds you actually want to eat too; there are no filler dishes just to make up the numbers!!

First, I put wureong gangdoenjang on tender cabbage and tried it, haha. Ahh. Not salty, wonderfully nutty, and loaded with bouncy freshwater snails ^^^^

My beloved squid. Why is the squid stir-fry so tender????? Mine always turns tough when I stir-fry it... This is where you realize a cooking expert's touch is different ㅠ.ㅠ What golden hands!!

The pork was spicy-sweet too. How is everything this perfectly balanced? The garlic was thinly sliced, so I just kept picking it up without a second thought, haha.

Making ssam wraps that rival a ssambap restaurant

Now then, a ssambap restaurant! No, I came to a set-meal restaurant, haha, but I am going to enjoy these ssam greens that rival ssambap-restaurant quality, haha. I have been making endless wraps—so many that I am wondering if I always loved ssam this much!!

Pork stir-fry absolutely has to be eaten in a wrap, haha. Wrapping up the squid stir-fry too creates the magic of making something already delicious 15 times better, haha.

I mixed plenty of wureong gangdoenjang into rice and spooned up soybean paste stew in between. I was full but kept wanting to eat, so I decided to leave some rice!!!! Still, I was absolutely bursting ㅠ.ㅠ

Coffee and old-fashioned snacks after the meal

On the way out: an ice maker and coffee machine. The thoughtfulness is unreal!!!! My husband, who cannot survive without an iced Americano, made himself one here too, hahahahaha.

We left carrying iced Americanos and old-fashioned snacks, patting our full bellies ^^^^

I totally recommend this incredibly delicious lunch spot in Ssangyong-dong.