Daejeon fusion Korean restaurant near Sungsimdang for fried peppers with dangwi leaves: Usul

When you want Korean food after Sungsimdang shopping

Daejeon is, without a doubt, a bakery-pilgrimage city with Sungsimdang leading the way, so whenever I come to Daejeon I always end up stopping by Sungsimdang for one reason or another — something to snack on while I'm out and about, something to eat with family, something to give to friends as a gift — basically every single time I'm in Daejeon..

This time too, after a long wait and a big shopping spree at Sungsimdang, I'd sort of missed lunchtime and was hungry, but since everything I'd bought was bakery stuff, I found myself craving Korean food rather than bread or Western food..

And that's exactly the context where Usul (우슬), a fusion Korean restaurant near Jungangno Station in Daejeon, is a good place to visit.

Usul's menu and the lunchtime wait

The menu and prices at Usul, the fusion Korean restaurant near Jungangno Station in Daejeon. Even though I visited at 1 PM, which is a slightly late lunch hour, there were people waiting, and more customers kept coming in while we were eating.

I don't know if it was because it was so busy, but the shiitake squid-ink fritters that both my companion and I wanted most were already sold out.. T_T

What we ordered: the gochujang yukhoe (Korean beef tartare with red chili paste) with yubu (fried tofu pocket) rolls for ₩19,900, and the crispy fried peppers for ₩9,900.

Crispy fried peppers, and the dangwi leaves I loved

First, the crispy fried peppers. My friend liked them, saying they were fried nice and crispy and hot, but the filling inside the peppers is just a standard dumpling filling, and since I don't like glass noodles, the fried peppers themselves weren't really my thing — well fried, sure, but not for me. What I did think was really clever was the vegetable arrangement they serve alongside.

I love dangwi (Korean angelica) leaves — whenever I'm making ssam (lettuce wraps) and there are dangwi leaves around, I tear off one or two and tuck them in, because that fragrant aroma really lifts the whole wrap's flavor and satisfaction as you chew. But apart from places that pile on the ssam vegetables, I've hardly ever seen dangwi leaves served as a side garnish, so when they came out with the fritters I tried them together, and the fried peppers and dangwi leaves actually go quite well together.

There were two sauces: a creamy, Cajun-style? sauce and a soy sauce, and personally I thought the soy sauce went better with the fried peppers.

How the gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls is put together

And then the gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls, which, from a quick glance around, was on nearly every table.

This one is also cleverly composed, I think: instead of just yukhoe on its own, the yubu rolls aren't simply yubu + rice — they come with rinsed mugeunji (aged kimchi) and rolled omelet, so they look pretty and taste more refined, and served together with the yukhoe you can pile it onto the yubu like this, and the plating itself is nicer too. Which is probably why this dish is on just about every table.?

And the yukhoe itself is a pretty generous portion. It's called gochujang yukhoe, but the gochujang seasoning isn't that strong — more like a moderate accent — which I liked.

Cold yukhoe and hot fritters together

So I alternated: a bite of gochujang yukhoe, a bite of hot fritter, back and forth — hot, then cool, hot, then cool — and it was a delicious, really nice combination. If you're planning to visit Usul, I'd suggest getting the gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls as your base and picking another warm dish to go with it. (Like the sweet corn shrimp potato pancake, the shiitake squid-ink fritters, the crispy fried peppers, etc.~)

Usul, the fusion Korean restaurant near Jungangno Station in Daejeon, where I rested my body and mind after a frantic Sungsimdang shopping spree with cleverly composed, clean-tasting fusion Korean food. It's about a 5-minute leisurely walk from the Sungsimdang main store, so access is easy, and since Daejeon is a bakery-pilgrimage city, you're bound to start craving Korean food after all that bread — so eat some fusion Korean food before or after your Sungsimdang shopping, settle your body and mind, and then head back out for more bread shopping.

Usul in Daejeon is open 11 AM to 9 PM (last order 8 PM). Usul is closed on Mondays.