Emokdae 이목대 (Jeonju): Bibimbap

Our first stop in Jeonju on our Nov 2018 trip was Jeonju Hanok Village, and we thought it would be nice to have some authentic Jeonju bibimbap here.

Now, for the unacquainted, Jeonju is the birthplace of your favourite Korean dish, so it only made sense that we had bibimbap here, and of all places, in the Hanok Village. We were famished, so we just picked a random restaurant to try our luck.

The restaurant was pretty empty because we came early; afterwards, a few locals came in ~

I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of variety here, but you can tell that their specialty is obviously bibimbap. You can also get the two-persons set – it’s quite worth it!

We didn’t actually know what moju was, and had to ask the staff to explain to us. A good explanation of this alcoholic drink is as below:

One makgeolli-derived after-dinner drink is moju, which is essentially makgeolli on spice. After the makgeolli ferments, adding in cinnamon, licorice, ginger, and dates to the mix, and then sugar a bit later on, makes for a quality dessert drink. (Source)

Essentially, it’s a fermented drink that’s unique to Jeonju. I would describe as a nice mixture of sweet and spicy – I heard it’s very good for curing hangovers! You’ll find a few shops around the Hanok Village selling it, so be sure to try moju and buy it back if you like the taste, if not you won’t be able to get your hands on it outside of Jeonju!

I found my bibimbap to be really satisfying – just imagine eating hot, flavourful rice in the cold winter! It’s of course much better than those you find from lacklustre Korean stalls in Singapore foodcourts, with a lot more flavour and texture from the ingredients added in it.

The highlight, however, was the beef patties. Don’t think that they are just hamburger patties: these beef patties really pack a punch! The spring onions that were added for garnishing add a delightful zest to the already very addictive marinated meat, making this my favourite dish in this restaurant.

I know this isn’t one of the top bibimbap restaurants that are usually featured in guides, but my meal here was absolutely gratifying. You pay about SGD15 per person for a full Korean meal and unlimited side dishes in a traditional Hanok setting – super worth it! Bonus points for the great customer service shown to us as well.

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OPENING HOURS

09:00 – 21:00

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DIRECTIONS

Address: 16-21, Pungnam-dong 3-ga, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do

It’s actually located near the entrance of Jeonju Hanok Village (see photo below): just walk straight down, and turn right!