Even Korean celebrities visit here too – the authentic Chuncheon spicy chicken at Taipei’s “Dakabbi”

Text and photos byPingzi

In recent years, with the Hallyu craze in full swing, foodies who love Korean cuisine are in for a treat. On this day, Pingzi revisited the famous Korean restaurant Chuncheon Dakabbi in Taipei’s Zhongshan District. This place serves authentic and delicious Korean food — even the K-pop supergroup Super Junior has dined here, which speaks volumes about its amazing taste. Come on down for a pilgrimage now.

These days, Chuncheon Dakabbi has opened several branches. On this day, Pingzi met up with friends and chose to dine at the original branch on Xinxing North Road — the founding location of Chuncheon Dakabbi. The restaurant was established back when the Korean Wave first started, so you can imagine how long it’s been around.

Chuncheon Dakabbi is located at the intersection of Xinxing North Road and Nanjing East Road, on Xinxing North Road, near the Zhongshan MRT Station. It’s a 15-minute walk away, and it sits next to an overpass. It’s a well-known media-covered hotspot — even Super Junior has eaten here, which shows just how renowned it is. The place is always bustling with customers, so it’s recommended to book in advance.

They only take reservation calls between 16:00–17:00 and 21:00–23:00. At all other times, no one will answer — you’ve probably never experienced such strange reservation hours at a restaurant before, but that’s just how Chuncheon Dakabbi is.

The interior of Chuncheon Dakabbi is quite small. It’s run by a Korean owner who is often not present, leaving the staff to manage things. The space is compact, with only 10 seating areas. Chuncheon is a famous filming location from the popular Korean drama “Winter Sonata.” In Korea, there are many chicken farms in Chuncheon, and the dish is considered an affordable local specialty there. But here in Taiwan, it’s surprisingly expensive.

The walls are covered with signatures, marking the visits of countless guests. You can tell many celebrities have dined here. What’s really interesting is that you’ll often spot fellow Koreans enjoying meals here as well.

Nowadays, diners aren’t allowed to take photos of the menu, so Pingzi only managed to snap a picture of the cover before being stopped — it’s unclear why photos aren’t permitted. Also, the prices at Chuncheon Dakabbi have gone up compared to before, with a noticeable increase. The restaurant mainly offers traditional Korean dishes, featuring grilled pork belly, Dakabbi, and army stew among others. With strong Korean culinary flair, meals are designed for groups of 2 to 8 people, mostly priced from NT$699 to NT$2,499 for set meals. Most 4-person sets cost over NT$2,999 to NT$5,000.

The complimentary tea served is limited to one bottle per table — once it’s gone, that’s it.

After ordering, dishes are brought out according to your choices, followed by four classic Korean side dishes: bean sprouts, tofu, spicy radish, and regular radish. Once these four small plates are finished, they’re gone for good — pretty stingy. In Korea, those side dishes are served in unlimited portions, but not here.

The spicy stir-fried rice cakes are also tasty, though the portion size is quite small.

First, they bring out an iron plate coated with pork fat, which is then propped up at an angle, with a hole on the lower side that lets excess oil drain out — a smart design.

We started with grilled pork belly, which costs NT$350 for a two-person portion. The minimum order here is based on servings for two people, just like in many Korean restaurants.

After a short wait, the meat is cooked. There are service staff on hand to help — you don’t need to do anything yourself, which is very convenient.

The marbled, fatty pork belly cooks quickly, and the heat draws out the juices. The server then cuts the meat into slices.

Next, they serve fresh lettuce and spicy sauce to go with the pork belly.

The server also gives a quick lesson on how to eat it — and just like that, the delicious meal begins to delight your senses.

Having someone serve you makes the experience really enjoyable; you can keep chatting with friends without worrying about cooking complexities.

The recommended way is to take a piece of lettuce, add a slice of pork belly, a bit of radish, and then some kimchi. When you bite into the pork belly, the flavors are layered beautifully. Be careful, though — it’s super hot. But oh, it’s so good.

A truly layered and flavorful way to enjoy it.

Just seeing this makes your mouth water, doesn’t it?

When the Dakabbi spicy chicken arrives, the ingredients are piled high in a copper bowl — it looks quite impressive.

This is the uncooked version of the dish before it’s simmered.

The server prepares it fresh, typically serving two people at a time. But on this day, we ordered the four-person portion for our group of eight, which was just enough to satisfy everyone. Dakabbi isn’t cheap either — prices are quite steep. A single portion is around NT$300, so a four-person portion comes to NT$1,200.

The Dakabbi includes fresh marinated chicken, green onions, cabbage, rice cakes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and is finished off with melted cheese on top. It’s cooked by covering the pot with a lid. The taste is rich and spicy, reminiscent of tangy Korean chili paste — absolutely delicious.

Then there’s the must-try fried rice, which costs an extra NT$50 — not exactly cheap either.

The server uses a large Korean-style spatula to continuously stir-fry the rice — it takes quite a bit of stamina.

It’s stir-fried on an iron plate with napa cabbage, white radish, carrot, bean sprouts, spicy sauce, sesame, and seaweed, giving off a strong dolsot bibimbap vibe.

The quickly stir-fried fried rice has very distinct grains, paired with some crispy rice crust. The rice is hot and bursting with flavor—delicious and rich.

Army stew is also one of the must-try Korean dishes.

Adding instant noodles makes it even tastier, though there’s only one pack, which is a bit skimpy.

Overall, Chuncheon Dakgalbi tastes great, but for our group of eight, the meal cost around 4,200 NT dollars, about 700 NT per person—quite pricey. For those who can’t fly to Korea but still want to enjoy authentic Korean cuisine, Chuncheon Dakgalbi is definitely the top choice. Of course, bring extra cash for the kids, or they’ll be out of there in no time.

Chuncheon Dakgalbi
No. 146, Section 1, Xinyi North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City. (Reservations required in advance.)
Phone: 02 2523 2073.
Business hours: 17:30–00:00. (Closed on Mondays.)
 

upssmile Pingzi (up’s smile upward smile)!
She is a designer and also the photographer for Upward Smile Travel Food Photography.
Passionate about “travel,” food, “design,” photography, and movies.
Blogger:http://upssmile.com/