It’s been a while since I updated my Korea travel blog! This is partly due to my other life commitments, and partly because COVID struck and travel became uncertain.

NOTE: I visited Hasukyeoeng Gamasot Bibimbap back in 2019 so some things may have changed. However I’ve done a quick check online and this restaurant is still in operation!

Most people know that bibimbap is a must-eat in Jeonju, the birthplace of bibimbap. However, it’s difficult to decide exactly where to spend your calories on when so many restaurants in the city offer bibimbap.

Luckily for us, our guesthouse host had lots of good recommendations! Hasukyeong Gamasot Bibimbap was one of them, so we knew that we had to give this a shot.

From the store front, you can already tell that this is a popular restaurant that has been frequently featured in the media.

Although I am skeptical of advertising, restaurants in Korea with extensive media coverage do tend to be pretty good.

We went early to beat the dinner crowd, hence the lack of a queue. It was a good decision on our part, because the restaurant quickly became crowded as dinnertime approached.

I’m always impressed by the banchan (side dishes) dished out in Korea. However, I found out that cities like Jeonju and Gyeongju really go the extra mile:

Do you see the red pepper paste (gochujang)?

I distinctly remembered that it was so spicy that all of us were desperate for water. We finished the whole bottle of water in mere seconds!

The gochujang was honestly a challenge for those who have zero to low tolerance for spicy food. But if you love food with a spicy kick, this will be highly addictive for you.

If you’re wondering why there’s a separate cast iron gamasot (stone pot), that was exactly what we had in mind too when we were served this.

We were then told that to put the rice into the gamasot to get this crispy burnt rice, and then pour tea (barley tea?) in to make a special “dessert”.

I found out a few years later that this is actually a little similar to what we had at Sol-sot. So I think it could be a common way of eating certain stone pot dishes!

While I wouldn’t really call it a proper dessert, the combination of burnt rice and tea was surprisingly flavourful. It made for a very nice contrast to the spicy chilli pepper that was a little too much for me to handle.

If you have no idea where you should get your fill of authentic bibimbap in Jeonju, or want to have a taste of something a bit different from the usual offerings at other restaurants, Hasukyeong Gamasot Bibimbap is the place to go.

Unfortunately I did not take a photo of the menu and the prices while I was there, but pre-COVID prices raanged between 10,000 to 20,000 won. I felt it was worth the price, considering the extensive banchan set and the “dessert”.

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DIRECTIONS

Address: 78-1, Jungang-dong 3(sam)-ga, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Korea
전라북도 전주시 완산구 전라감영5길 19-3

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