Magok Japanese restaurant monkfish liver kaisendon: Ilpum Magok

Today I'm introducing a place I'd recommend if you're near Balsan and want a proper kaisendon (raw seafood rice bowl) and futomaki (thick sushi roll): Ilpum Magok. Ilpum is already a pretty well-known spot, and it's especially known as one of comedian Lee Young-ja's favorite restaurants, so I'd been curious about it too.

Just looking at the kaisendon visuals, you can tell they really don't hold back on seafood, so I went in with high expectations — and to cut to the chase, from the freshness of the ingredients down to the rice, it was quite satisfying.

Where is Ilpum Magok and what are its hours?

• Address: 228 Gonghang-daero, 112ho, Gangseo-gu, Seoul (about 394m from Balsan Station Exit 8)
• Hours: Tue–Sun 11:00–21:30 (closed every Monday)
• Break time: 15:00–17:30
• Last order: Lunch 14:00, Dinner 20:00

What are the exterior and interior like?

Ilpum Magok isn't far from Balsan Station, and since it's on the first floor of the building you can walk straight in from outside. The exterior already looks clean and tidy, doesn't it?!

Inside, there's a bar table centered around the open kitchen, with additional table seating further in — the overall wood tones give it a upscale Japanese restaurant feel.

It felt less like a casual Japanese eatery and more like a place for a proper meal, so it seemed like a good spot for a date or a family visit. I went slightly past the weekend lunch peak, and it was still pretty crowded.

It really felt like a famous Magok restaurant — but once it got past 2pm, customers gradually thinned out and the place got noticeably more relaxed. If you want to eat quietly, it might be worth visiting slightly outside the lunch peak.

What we ordered at Ilpum Magok and the prices

• Premium kaisendon (₩37,000)
• Futomaki half roll (₩17,000)
• Zero cola (₩3,000)

After ordering, a clear broth soup and chawanmushi came out first. Chawanmushi is a soft Japanese steamed egg dish — it warms up your stomach and gets you ready to eat properly haha.

Premium kaisendon, 37,000 won: what's on top?

The dish I was most looking forward to was, of course, Ilpum Magok's premium kaisendon. The moment I got the bowl, my first thought was: they really pile the ingredients on generously.

You can tell just from the photo how densely packed the sashimi and seafood are — scallop, salmon, smoked mackerel, tuna, raw shrimp, hantech squid, and monkfish liver, plus sea urchin and salmon roe on top, made for a really flashy combination.

When there are this many types of seafood, one or two can sometimes be a bit fishy or disappointing, but every single ingredient I had that day was fresh and I barely noticed any fishy taste — very satisfying.

Scallop and salmon

The scallop was soft yet subtly springy, with a lovely gentle sweetness of its own.

The salmon was cut into thick slices that melted softly in the mouth, and you could really taste its rich, savory flavor.

Smoked mackerel and tuna

Unlike the other sashimi, the smoked mackerel had a subtle smoky note and umami, so eating it in between the others gave a nice change of flavor.

The tuna was also thick and soft, clean-tasting yet savory, and paired really well with the rice.

Raw shrimp and hanchi squid

The raw shrimp was springy with a slightly sweet taste, and you could really feel how fresh it was. The hantech squid was chewy without being tough, with a subtle sweetness that came out more the more you chewed — great texture.

Monkfish liver

And the monkfish liver had a really rich, creamy flavor unique to itself — personally, I felt it had the strongest presence of any ingredient in the kaisendon. If you like monkfish liver, you'll especially love this one.

The rice under the seafood, surprisingly good

But what surprised me most that day was actually the rice. The grains weren't mushy — they stayed light and fluffy — and it was seasoned just right, so even eating the rice on its own was delicious. Put a piece of sashimi on top with a little wasabi and eat it like sushi — genuinely delicious. With kaisendon, even if the sashimi is great, if the rice is disappointing the whole thing falls flat, but Ilpum clearly put real care into the rice too, which made it even more satisfying.

Futomaki half roll, 17,000 won: how much do you get?

Ilpum Magok's futomaki surprised me the moment it arrived, just from the size 😯 I already thought it looked big in photos, but seeing it in person, each individual piece was almost too big to eat in one bite.

Inside the seaweed, along with rice, it was packed with tuna, salmon and other sashimi, egg, cucumber and other crunchy vegetables — the cross-section alone looked super filling.

The soft sashimi, fluffy egg, and crunchy vegetables all hit at once, so it was fun to chew, and overall the freshness of the ingredients was satisfying.

More than anything, the portion was really bigger than I expected haha. I ordered the half roll to share with the kaisendon, but eating it piece by piece, I filled up fast. If you're just having futomaki, even the half roll is filling enough for one person, so if you're ordering multiple dishes, keep the portion size in mind.

The cold udon that came with the futomaki also had a really refreshing, tasty broth. And even though I was already full... there was chicken karaage too lol. The futomaki really seems like a filling menu item for the price 👍

Mango pudding, the dessert that surprised us

The mango pudding that came out as dessert at the end also stuck with me, surprisingly. Honestly, since the main dishes were so strong, I didn't have high expectations for dessert, but one bite in, the mango flavor was way richer than I expected.

It wasn't just sweet — it had that distinctive tangy-sweet, rich mango flavor come through, and the texture was smooth and silky, making it a perfect way to finish the meal. Even after eating my fill of kaisendon and futomaki, my spoon kept going back for more lol. This place turned out to be surprisingly good at dessert too 💛

Final verdict on Ilpum Magok

Ilpum Magok is famous as one of Lee Young-ja's favorite restaurants, so I went in with pretty high expectations, and after actually eating there, I understood why it's gotten so much buzz for its kaisendon. You get a varied, generous amount of seafood, all fresh, and especially the well-seasoned, fluffy rice really stood out.

Personally, the combination of a bite of kaisendon with rice, plus the mango pudding at the end, made for a quite satisfying meal 😋 The store's atmosphere is also clean and upscale, so if you're in Magok or Balsan looking for a proper kaisendon or futomaki spot, I think it's worth visiting at least once!