Mangwon sashimi spot: mulhoe and hoedeopbap for two, Mapo Bamdada

What kind of sashimi restaurant is Mapo Bamdada in Mangwon-dong?

Mapo Bamdada (마포밤바다) is a sashimi restaurant in Mangwon-dong, between Mapogu-office Station and Mangwon Station. It's been so hot lately that I was craving cold mulhoe (chilled raw-fish soup), and I wanted seafood too, so I headed over to Mapo Bamdada in Mangwon-dong.

It sits between Mapogu-office Station and Mangwon Station, and whenever I walked past it was always packed, so I'd been curious about it.

Near the entrance the tanks were full of seasonal squid and all kinds of seafood and fish, and seeing them gave me the feeling that this place uses fresh seafood.

Inside Mapo Bamdada: atmosphere and events

The inside was cozier than I expected, a comfortable place for a meal or a drink. I went around 4 p.m., and there were plenty of people eating, plus a few group gatherings.

Soju bottles were lined up along the window, which gave it a nice place-for-a-drink vibe. There was also a "Catch 10 Seconds" event: if you succeed, you get an omakase assorted sashimi set. But you have to tell the owner you're starting, otherwise it doesn't count, they said, haha.

There's also a Naver receipt review event and a roulette event going on, so be sure to join in~

What's on the menu at Mapo Bamdada?

The menu was more varied than I expected. There are lunch specials, plus meals like altang (spicy fish roe stew), hoedeopbap (raw fish rice bowl) and salmon bibimbap, and a wide range of sashimi such as live flatfish, olive flounder and live squid. There are also seafood items like mulhoe, sea squirt, sea cucumber and live octopus, so it looked good as drinking food too.

Free side dishes: salad, soy-marinated shrimp, braised pollock, clam soup

After we ordered, the free side dishes came out first. The cabbage salad had black sesame dressing and the chamnamul (aromatic greens) salad had sesame dressing. With 2 soy-marinated shrimp and more, they were nice to nibble on while waiting.

The braised half-dried pollock (kodari-jjim) had its sauce on top of bean sprouts, and mixed together it was pleasantly spicy.

Clam soup also came out as a freebie, and I think people who drink will love it.

Mapo Bamdada seafood mulhoe for 2-3: price and portion

The seafood mulhoe for 2-3 comes with live octopus, abalone, spoon worms, sea cucumber and sea squirt, and it cost ₩50,000. Before long the mulhoe and hoedeopbap came out together. Mulhoe is a popular item here, with several kinds such as emperor mulhoe, seasonal sashimi mulhoe and seafood mulhoe.

The size of the mulhoe surprised me. It was like a basin that nearly filled the whole table. It was so generous I wondered if this was really right, haha.

Trying the live octopus, abalone, spoon worms, sea cucumber and sea squirt one by one

The seafood mulhoe was topped with live octopus, abalone, spoon worms, sea cucumber and sea squirt, and the octopus was actually still moving, which shocked me. I tried them one at a time first.

The octopus was springy, and the abalone was big and had a satisfying chew.

The sea cucumber had a great crunchy texture, and the spoon worms were chewy enough that I kept reaching for more. The sea squirt had a subtle taste of the sea.

The mulhoe broth and the noodles

The broth wasn't harsh; it was a sweet-and-sour style that was easy to eat, and it stayed cold to the end. It also had cabbage, ice and sesame, plus tot (seaweed fusiforme), which added a nice texture. There were two of us and the portion was plenty.

Noodles came along too, and I put them in right away. The sweet-and-sour broth soaked into the noodles nicely. My companion doesn't really eat noodles, so I ate almost all of them myself, haha.

How is the hoedeopbap at Mapo Bamdada?

The hoedeopbap came topped with big square-cut white fish and reddish sashimi. It also had lettuce, cucumber, pickled radish, seaweed, radish sprouts and flying fish roe. I mixed it with gochujang sauce (chogochujang) and sesame oil, and the crunchy vegetables were great.

The fish was fresh too, so it was good. I only mixed in half the rice and put the rest into the mulhoe, haha.

I think it would work as a lunch menu too.

Is Mapo Bamdada worth going back to?

Mapo Bamdada felt cozy inside and comfortable to linger in. It's a nice place for sashimi or seafood with a glass of soju, and I liked that the seafood mulhoe lets you eat several kinds of seafood at once. The generous look was impressive too, and it's worth a visit when you're craving cold mulhoe on a hot day.