Solo dining Couple A Set with tempura futomaki in Daejeon: Choi Dining

📍 Choi Dining Daejeon Gwanpyeong / Gwanpyeong-dong 1152, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon

I went to Choi Dining Daejeon Gwanpyeong in Daejeon's Gwanpyeong-dong to eat Japanese food solo. The menu lineup was pretty varied, so I had a hard time deciding — but even alone, I decided to go for the Couple A Set, haha.

Exterior and parking

Choi Dining Daejeon Gwanpyeong is a first-floor storefront located in the Gwanpyeong-dong restaurant alley. The big "Choi Dining" sign on the exterior wall made it easy to spot even just walking past.

Next to the store there was a dedicated parking space for about 3 cars.

An interior that's comfortable for solo diners

I visited alone around 1pm on a weekday. It was lunchtime, but only about 4 tables were eating, so I could sit down fairly comfortably. Inside there were 2-seat and 4-seat tables, and eating alone here felt totally fine.

The menu lineup

Choi Dining sells a wide range of dishes, including its signature futomaki (thick sushi roll), plus maze soba, rice bowls, pasta, and pork cutlet. There were also couple sets and family sets that let you try several dishes together, so you could choose based on how many people came.

What I ordered — Couple A Set

Everything came out in under 10 minutes after ordering. The default set includes salmon futomaki, but I swapped it for tempura futomaki.

Tempura futomaki

The tempura futomaki was packed with salty eel and light, crispy shrimp tempura along with egg, chili, cucumber, and more. Even one piece looked so stuffed it was clearly thick, and all the different flavors came together really well — I enjoyed it a lot. Guys could probably eat a piece in one bite, but for women it might be a bit big to eat in one go.

Don-toro-don (pork jowl rice bowl)

Don-toro-don is a spicy rice bowl topped with fried pork jowl seasoned in a special soy sauce. It came with cabbage, onion, shishito peppers, and an egg yolk, and I mixed everything together. Personally it wasn't too spicy, so I added a bit of wasabi here and there — the sharp kick went really well with it.

Maze soba

Maze soba is a Japanese-style mixed ramen with pork seasoned in tofu sauce and thinly sliced green onion. Breaking the egg yolk in the middle and mixing it into the noodles let the meat and green onion blend in naturally. I figured I'd be hungry enough to finish the couple set, but it really was a portion meant for a couple — very filling.

Amenities

There were several baby chairs set up on one side of the store, so it looked like a good spot for families dining with kids too.

Good to know before you visit

• There's a parking space beside the store for about 3 cars.
• Every table has a tablet installed, so you can check the menu and order right from your seat.
• On weekday lunches, the Choi Han-sang set is discounted from ₩15,000 to ₩13,000.
• If you're dining solo, a single dish or the Choi Han-sang set is a lighter option than the couple set.

Overall verdict

• The tempura futomaki, with eel, shrimp tempura, and several other ingredients, had the best balance of flavor and texture — my favorite of the meal.
• Don-toro-don wasn't too spicy, and adding wasabi brought a sharp kick that paired well with it.
• I figured I'd be hungry enough to finish the couple set, but it really was a portion meant for a couple — very filling.
• Being able to try futomaki, maze soba, and a rice bowl all at once made it a great set for two people to share a variety of dishes.