Donghae Haemul: Excellent Seafood Stew in Kondae
Maybe because Christmas is just around the corner, the vibe at work has been a bit restless. For some reason, they let us off an hour early today, so I wanted to go out and drink heavily at a good restaurant I hadn't been able to visit. I made sudden plans with a friend who rushed over, and we headed to Donghae Haemul in Hwayang-dong, a place that appeared on the TV show Wednesday Food Talk last year.
Honestly, it seems like this guy hangs out with me more than his own wife. I'm just very grateful to his wife for being so busy and letting us play.
I first found out about this place while watching TV around last year, but even though it's close by, I hadn't been able to go. During last year's year-end party at Masanok in Sinsa, I realized that having haemuljjim (spicy braised seafood) for a company dinner is incredibly nice. So I looked this place up to try it again, but it took exactly a year for me to finally eat it. This year's year-end party was also really good, but...
To be honest, when I'm eating with friends, even convenience store dumplings and beer on the street taste good.
Still, I was secretly bummed we couldn't meet up here. You could say the two of us just resolved that disappointment on our own.
Maybe because we didn't eat dinner beforehand and didn't order rice, I wasn't completely stuffed, but it was still plenty for two people to eat. It says it's for 2 to 3 people, but it wouldn't be enough for three guys. With haemuljjim, the seafood obviously has to be good, but I think the seasoning and bean sprouts are the key points. In that regard, I had a very good seafood stew. Since it's mostly seafood, places usually try to mask the fishy smell with sweet or spicy flavors—what people often call a "sweet and spicy" taste—but usually, this is so overpowering that you're only left with the chewy texture. At this restaurant, I felt the spicy seasoning wasn't too strong and was well-restrained. The crab must be in season because it was very plump, making it fun to eat the meat. However, I do think the variety of seafood, especially the clams, was a bit lacking.