There are so many wonderful restaurants in Seoul, South Korea, that it is impossible to go to them all. While we were in Seoul, we researched and tried to go to the ones where all the locals and tourists would go to. We would also try to find those that were hidden in back alleys and in some of the most obscure places. While there however, we knew that the Korea was known for their huge abundance of fresh seafood. Knowing that, we decided to head to one of the more well known seafood restaurants in Seoul and their fish market which as far as I know one of the largest in the world.
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| Wonjo Masan Agwi Jjim |
Wonjo Masan Agwi Jjim is one of the best well known restaurants for serving ganjang gejang. They have huge posters on billboards, they are in almost every Korean guide book and many tourists and celebrities from all over the world have visited this one restaurant. Ganjang Gejang is basically freshly caught crab that is marinated in sweet soy sauce, garlic, ginger, onions and peppers. Please note that none of these crabs are cooked so it might not be wised for the young ones to eat. There are other side dishes that come with it but everyone is here for the crab. When it came out, everyone at the table was salivating over it. The bright orange roe mixed with the beautiful greenish colored tomalley would make any crab lover salivate. When one first tastes it, it almost quite soup to begin with. Table etiquette does get thrown right out the door but believe it's okay, everyone does it at the table. The restaurant even offers you aprons and wet naps for you to wipe your hands and fingers afterwards. The sweet taste of the crabs was absolutely amazing!! It almost tasted like an enriched sweet wine had mixed itself with the crab and the fact that it was raw gave it a more slippery and intriguing texture to it. It was one of the most amazing ways I have ever had crab before. It is definitely a must try if you do visit Seoul.
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| Ganjang Gejang |
There was so much tomalley that it was unfathomable that there could be much more however there was. Not all of it is in the Ganjang Gejang. Some of it and the tomalley was scooped out and placed on top of some rice and with seaweed on its side and an egg yolk beside that, a nice side dish dinner evolved from it. This was equally delicious when it was all mixed together. The egg yolk provided a bit of thickness to the rice and the seaweed gave the tomalley even more flavor to the rice mixture. It was very unique, very tasty and although it probably weighs one's stomach down even more, it was a great rice mix to have.
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| Ganjang Gejang with Rice, Egg and Seaweed |
Another thing one must try is live nakji or live octopus tentacles. People go nuts seeing these tentacles still trying to crawl itself out of the bowl as one was trying to consume it. The tentacles weren't really mixed with any sauces as far as I could tell. The best way to describe the taste is that it almost tasted like calamari except the tentacles were still raw and that they were moving in one's mouth. There really wasn't any taste to it but just the fact that one had some squirming in one's mouth as one is trying to swallow gave it a very interesting experience.
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| Live Nakji |
We finished the evening at the restaurant with a seafood hot pot. Although there was plenty of vegetables in the hot pot, there was certainly not a lack of seafood within it. We were actually pretty with the amount of vegetables because eating so much seafood in one night, one had to find a balance with the vegetables. The hot pot was a great complimentary soup dish to have. It provided the right balance, it was delicious and there was a huge variety of vegetables within it. Great to have and a great alternative if one does not wish to have rice for the evening.
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| Seafood Hot Pot |
We also went with a grilled fish for my little one to have. With all the raw seafood that was before us, we just played it safe and made sure we gave some cooked food for our daughter instead. I don't really have any idea as to what type of fish it was. It was pretty decent, tasting almost like a mackerel. It was dry however the entire fish was nice grilled from the outside in. There were a lot of small bones inside the fileted fish where one would still need to exercise caution while eating.
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| Grilled Fish |
The fish market was massive. If one has never been to Seoul before, one definitely has to check out their fish market. It boasts over 200 fish booths who all sell pretty much the same thing. How does one know which ones are good and have the best fresh fish in the market? Without knowing the fish market well, I would advise people to go a booth that has long lineups in it. Even if the booth next to it is selling the same thing and has nobody in line, go to the one that has lineups in them. That way you know there is definite turnover in the seafood and that it hasn't been sitting there for a while. Also, locals know which ones are better and fresher so follow them and see where they go. They can't be wrong. Once one has picked out you seafood, one can take it upstairs where chefs will cook it for you for a certain price for each item and give you a place to sit and eat.
We found this one place and just went crazy with their seafood. We got fish, sea urchin, sea pineapple (which I don't think is served in Canada), clams, scallops, mussels and abalone. I was a tiny bit disappointed in the sea urchins as they lacked a little substance in them. There were a few rocks and stones in them as well and one has to be careful not to get spiked as one is eating them as they were still served in its original shells.
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| Sea Urchin |
One of the things that I was highly interested in were the sea pineapples. Since they are not served in Canada, it was my first time trying them and it did not disappoint. The meat was very tender especially in the centre of the sea pineapple. If one ate closer to the ends, the meat was much more meatier and more difficult to eat. It was delicious and almost tasted like a raw oyster.
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| Sea Pineapple |
The scallops were amazing to say the least and they were huge. The one great thing about the fish market was that one could choose the size of the seafood one wants. The scallops that we all got were all of the extra large kind. We ate them nice and raw and they were so sweet and amazing. These were definitely fresh from the ocean and what a huge delight they were. Don't eat the whole thing however. There is a small black sack that one may want to avoid when eating raw scallops.
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| Raw Scallops |
Last but not least were the abalone. I'm usually not a huge fan of the rubbery texture and taste of this seafood, partly too because they come mostly out of a can in Canada however when eaten fresh, they are very soft, tender and tasty. The chef also mixed a little sauce with them and cooked them just right so they weren't overly chewy.
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| Abalone |
Last but not least, we picked out some large prawns however the prawns themselves were grilled a little bit too long on that particular day. As one can see from the photos, some of the prawns were blackened and unfortunately because they were grilled too long, the meat became a little chewy. Still they were pretty delicious despite the apparent dryness in the shrimp.
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| Grilled Prawns |
All in all it was an amazing experience to have in Seoul, South Korea. The food was amazing to say the least and despite all the raw food that was served and eaten, no stomachs were harmed in the process. I highly recommend the Ganjang Gejang as it is a staple there in Korea and one of the most sought out dishes while in South Korea. If one is into seafood, then these are the places to be. Both the restaurant and the fish market are the place to be. Overall, I give it a 4.75 out of 5.
Wonjo Masan Agwi Jjim (Sinsa Subway Station)
원조마산아구찜
02-544-4304
Noryangjin Fish Market
688 Nodeul-ro, DOngjak-gu
+82 2-814-2211
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