Cheomdan Chinese restaurant, rice in leftover jjajang sauce: Mayway

Where is Mayway, and where do you park?

Hi! :) Today's post is about Mayway, a new restaurant that just opened in Cheomdan!

Mayway is near Cheomdan Lotte Mart and Mustard Seed Church, so it wasn't hard to find. There's no dedicated parking lot, so we parked in a nearby alley. Right now Mayway is running an opening event called the "Economic Recovery Wish Project" — order 2 cold draft beers and you can get tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) for just ₩1,000 until the economy picks back up! If you love tangsuyuk, it's worth visiting while the event's still on. :)

It just opened but word's apparently already gotten around — I heard there's a wait at peak times.

When we visited it was packed, so I couldn't get proper shots of the interior at first. I managed to snap a few once it thinned out near the end of our meal, haha. Overall the space is clean and comfortable — you usually picture Chinese restaurants as a bit chaotic and noisy, but Mayway is neatly arranged, which made for a relaxed meal.

Mayway's menu and how QR ordering works

You order at Mayway by scanning the QR code on the table with your phone. They do have regular jjajangmyeon, but the stone jjajang is clearly the signature dish here. Items like stone-griddle jjajang and direct-fire grilled chicken — things you rarely see at a typical Chinese restaurant — made it feel a bit more special.

The self-serve bar: free white rice refills and scallion kimchi

After ordering, we checked out the self-serve bar first. The side dishes were neatly laid out.

Even the white rice is free-refill! Giving unlimited rice so you can mix it into the jjajang at the end — how generous is that? 🥹

And the thing I really loved was the scallion kimchi! Jjajang and scallion kimchi — need I say more. It was perfectly ripened, and eaten together with the jjajang it was seriously delicious...♥ If you're getting stone jjajang, you have to try it with scallion kimchi!

After browsing the self-serve bar we went back to our seats and they brought over a complimentary plate of sweet potato fries. Looks like they give one per table based on headcount. It was way better than expected! Thin sweet potato slices with a sweet coating — like a sliced version of candied sweet potato (goguma mattang).

Jjukkumi stone jjajang: the sauce is poured once the stone hits temperature

Finally, today's main dish — jjukkumi stone jjajang! When you order the stone jjajang, they first set a hot stone griddle on your table. They don't pour the sauce right away — a staff member keeps checking the griddle's temperature, and once it's just right, they pour the jjajang sauce over it. Onto the scorching-hot stone, the jjajang goes — splash!

The best thing about the stone griddle is that it stays warm — no, hot — from start to finish! It never cooled down, so every last bite was still delicious.

There were two stone jjajang options — jjukkumi (baby octopus) and perilla leaf — and we went with jjukkumi. The octopus wasn't just a token mention; there was a generous amount of big, meaty pieces.

Chewy jjukkumi coated thick with rich jjajang sauce, topped with the scallion kimchi we grabbed earlier from the self-serve bar... this combo is heaven.🤤 Cheomdan restaurant, approved 😄

Half-size tangsuyuk and the yuzu-dressed salad

Jjajang without tangsuyuk just wouldn't feel right.♥ It was great that Mayway offers a half-size tangsuyuk order. Since the stone jjajang serves 2–3, a full plate of tangsuyuk on top felt like a lot, but a half size was just right to share. Even so, the portion was more generous than I expected for a "half."

The sauce comes on the side, so we started by dipping it crispy-style, then later poured the sauce over for the soaked style, haha. It looked a bit plain at first glance, but one bite completely changed my mind — the meat inside the coating was substantial and really tender!

The salad on top had a subtle yuzu scent that added a nice tang. A bite of meat, a bite of salad — great combo!

The highlight: white rice mixed into the leftover jjajang sauce

And then, the finale I'd been waiting for! We brought over the free-refill white rice from the self-serve bar and mixed it into the leftover stone jjajang sauce. And... is it even real how much better rice makes this? The noodles were already delicious, but mixing rice into the rich jjajang sauce left on the griddle was a whole different treat. Thanks to the hot stone, even the rice stayed piping hot, and scraping up the slightly scorched jjajang rice at the bottom was the best part!

We were already stuffed from the stone jjajang and tangsuyuk, but we ended up scraping the rice clean anyway, lol. If you go to Mayway, mix the rice even if you're full.

After the meal, they finished us off with strawberry ice cream. Ending a spicy jjukkumi stone jjajang meal with cool, sweet ice cream was just right! From the main dish to the extras and dessert, there was a lot to be satisfied with.

Is Mayway worth a visit? The verdict

I was curious about Mayway since it's a brand-new spot in Cheomdan, and I went to check it out! From the jjukkumi stone jjajang that stayed hot on the sizzling griddle the whole time, to the substantial and tender tangsuyuk, the free-refill rice, scallion kimchi, sweet potato fries, and dessert — overall it was a satisfying meal.

Mixing rice into the stone jjajang at the end is a must! If you're craving something a bit different from plain jjajangmyeon and looking for a good spot in Cheomdan, give Mayway a try. :) Next time I want to try the perilla leaf stone jjajang too!♥