Hyanghwajeong — Restaurant in Gyeongju-si

After a fascinating cultural experience exploring the remains of the Korean Sila Dynasty, we are famished. We tried to find info about what Gyeonju is famous for, and we found out that the bibimbap here is very well-known, and the article led us to Hyanghwajeong. After a 10-minute walk across the Hanok district, we find it. The restaurant is lovely, the old traditional wooden building, the pebble courtyard, and the stone lion guarding it❤️. We see that there is quite a long queue, and we have to get our number from the machine they provide near the building, the servant sees us, notices we are confused, and asks us if we have korean number or not since we don’t (and the queue number from the machine needs a Korean phone number), he input our name manually. We wait in the courtyard for 15-20 minutes to get our name called; the interior of the building is as lovely as the architecture; it feels warm and homey. After we were seated, he gave us the menu, and we ordered an ark shell bibimbap (this was the first time we knew that bibimbap also had a seafood version) and a portion of bulgogi. The food comes to our table relatively quickly, and it is a new experience for our tongue and food pallets since this is a new experience with the ark shell bibimbap; the bulgogi is also delicious and juicy. For us, the experience is excellent; the service, the food, the place, the architecture, the interior, and the landscapes are beautiful 👌👌 and the price is affordable compared to the...

Very popular restaurant in Gyeongju, and for good reason! We visited on a very crowded night, and ordered the kkomak bibimbap (꼬막비빔밥) and seafood pancake / haemul pajeon (해물파전), both were so flavourful, savoury in the best way possible, fragrant and very delicious. Special mention also goes to the banchan with quail eggs and konjac, it is one of the most memorable banchan I had on this trip to Korea - loved the concentrated egginess of the quail egg with the chewy texture of konjac. Furthermore, they are very generous with the seafood here. It is unusual for us to have so much cockles loaded onto a dish back in Singapore because it is such a premium food item. We ate to our heart’s content. Service is also excellent and very foreigner-friendly, as the staff took the time to explain every dish to us and offer his recommendations. Overall highly recommended!! Am hungry just from...

Come early as the queue can get very long. Restaurant opens at 11am but it's already brimming with people waiting for their turn. While the queue is long and can be daunting, but it's fast moving. There is no dining time limit imposed on the patrons. But average dining would take about 1hr.

The bibimbap is definitely a must try dish here. It is so full with umami and if you like clams, you would love this dish.

Ordered a side of pancake as well and they are so generous with the shrimps. Pancake was crispy and light.

Overall, it's a good dining experience.

A must try...