Oksu Haemul-jjim Kalguksu: Massive Spicy Seafood
Every time a certain coworker emphatically recommended a restaurant,
"Isn't it just like that place near our office?"
or
"I don't think it's that great..."
After hearing these reactions a few times, he begged us to trust him just this once, confidently declaring he'd pay for all the food and drinks if he was wrong. We were all a bit skeptical, but figuring "well, they say you should even grant a dying man's wish," we followed him, thinking this would be the last time. We even traveled all the way to Oksu Station (in central Seoul) instead of staying nearby. The restaurant was on the second floor of a commercial building right outside the station exit. A wave of anxiety hit me as I thought, "Are there actually good restaurants in these kinds of shopping arcades?"
Today's challenge menu was haemul-jjim (spicy braised seafood). Honestly, it's hard to mess up haemul-jjim, so people started grumbling, "There are places that sell this near the office..." On top of that, there was a 30-minute wait. And apparently, that was considered a short wait for them. Peeking through the door, I saw a diverse crowd of all ages, with a few people already happily tipsy, which started to raise my expectations a bit.
After a long wait, we finally got a table and ordered a haemul-jeon (seafood pancake) and a large haemul-jjim.
Tasting the kimchi and dongchimi (radish water kimchi), I sensed this place was something special, but it was still too early to tell. However, as soon as the seafood pancake came out, everyone started clapping and cheering, "Wow~~ this is seriously delicious!"
Just as our expectations peaked with the pancake, the highly anticipated haemul-jjim finally arrived. We ordered a large since there were five of us, and the portion was so massive that we literally yelled, "Wow! That's a lot!!" A whole octopus coiled up like a snake on top of the seafood made it clear this was no ordinary dish. After the auntie finished her dazzling scissor work cutting it up, we all took a bite and erupted into applause once again. I always thought Donghae Haemul in Hwayang-dong was the absolute best for haemul-jjim, but it just goes to show how many amazing restaurants there are in Seoul. If you asked me which of the two is better, I honestly couldn't choose. At other places, after eating a few pieces of seafood, you're left with nothing but bean sprouts, making you wonder if you ordered a bean sprout salad instead. But at these two top-tier spots, it's the exact opposite.
Oksu Haemul-jjim Kalguksu gets my stamp of approval! The only downside is that last order is at 20:30 and they close at 21:30. I think that's a bit too short for office workers rushing over after work.
