Mapo sashimi restaurant with grilled shrimp: Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada

Today I had a whole spread in Daheung-dong, from sashimi to grilled shrimp! Let me show this to anyone looking for a Mapo sashimi restaurant where you can have raw fish and plenty of varied sides, too.

Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada exterior and interior

Opening-hours information

Weekday and weekend opening times differ, so keep that in mind.

Restaurant exterior

A row of fish tanks runs along the front window, so you can tell immediately that it is a sashimi restaurant.

When I visited, several congratulatory flower wreaths for the opening were set by the entrance.

Inside the restaurant

Inside, the tables and chairs were coordinated in a light wood tone. The lower part of the walls was wood-toned too, which made everything feel cohesive and worked nicely with the gray floor. You could tell it was a new place in details like that. Since I had reserved, a comfortable table was ready for us.

Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada menu and drinks

Menu

It may be hard to make out in the photos, so I have written it out below.

• Mapo Bada Signature Set ₩151,000
• Mapo Bada Premium Set ₩129,000
• Mapo Bada Value Set (2 people) ₩103,000
• Extra sashimi (medium to large or small to medium) ₩10,000
• Extra shrimp (10) ₩28,000
• Live salt-grilled shrimp (25) ₩65,000
• Freshest assorted sashimi of the day: large ₩68,000 / medium ₩56,000 / small ₩46,000
• Flounder sashimi: large ₩68,000 / medium ₩56,000 / small ₩46,000; rockfish sashimi small ₩41,000
• Assorted seafood: large ₩55,000 / medium ₩34,000
• Gizzard shad sashimi (5 fish) ₩35,000; grilled gizzard shad (6 fish) ₩30,000
• Chilled boiled pork ₩30,000; assorted fried items ₩15,000; fish-bone stew (spicy fish stew) ₩10,000
• Steamed rice or ramen noodles ₩1,000; steamed egg ₩3,000
• Draft beer (Cass) ₩2,900 (₩2,000 promotion at the time of visit); Cass or Terra ₩5,000
• Jinro, Chamisul, Cheoeumcheoreom, or Saero ₩5,000; Ilpum Jinro and Hwayo (25%, 375 ml) ₩30,000 each
• Junmai 750 ₩38,000; Kubota Senju ₩90,000; Chokaizan ₩115,000; Dassai 45 ₩150,000
• Beringer White Zinfandel ₩46,000; Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and Josh Sauvignon Blanc ₩65,000 each
• Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay ₩79,000; Chandon Australia Brut ₩69,000; Duckhorn Decoy Sauvignon Blanc ₩95,000
• Wine is 50% off from the second bottle

Corkage is ₩10,000 per bottle whether it is wine or sake, but their drink selection was so varied that it almost felt unnecessary.

What comes in the Signature Set

They brought out the entire pre-set table like at a Korean set-meal restaurant. With that visual, I simply could not not take photos. Hahahaha.

This was not a table where they put down one sashimi platter and call it done. It is arranged so you can have cold sashimi and seafood alongside shrimp that you cook and eat hot. I had to step back a little to fit it all into one photo, haha.

There were side dishes to eat with the seafood, plus seaweed soup for a quick fill-up and remarkably rich abalone porridge, too, haha.

The set includes a large assorted sashimi platter, 20 live salt-grilled shrimp, assorted seafood, and grilled gizzard shad.

The menu says the sashimi includes the freshest four types among flounder, sea bream, rockfish, sea bass, and jeomseongeo. On my visit, we had flounder, rockfish, jeomseongeo (red sea bream), and sea bream. There were also the currently trendy raw shrimp and seasonal gizzard shad sashimi!

Assorted sashimi, raw shrimp, and gizzard shad sashimi

For me, flounder was the best that day. I thought it looked the least pretty, but they used a large flounder, and its savory depth and sweetness were incredible.

The rockfish was clean-tasting and good, too. Flounder and rockfish are fish that simply cannot fail, haha.

Next I tried the jeomseongeo (red sea bream). It looked oily at a glance, and when I put it in my mouth, the richness spread right through. Having it after the flounder and rockfish made it stand out even more.

The sea bream was yubiki-style, briefly blanched skin-on, and cut a little thick. The savoriness of the skin plus the texture of the thick sashimi made it the most delicious sea bream I have had recently!

The set even had raw shrimp, which is hot on every social platform lately. Since it is such a popular item, I have had it a few times this year, but this was the first place that had removed the innards. I am firmly on team raw shrimp dipped generously in chojang (sweet-and-tangy red chili sauce).

There was gizzard shad sashimi, too. I had gizzard shad at Noryangjin not long ago, and the bones were so tough that I did not have high expectations; I wondered if the bones had already become tough as summer passed.

Summer gizzard shad — soft bones, good for sliced sashimi with the bones Autumn gizzard shad — tougher bones, good for grilling (Autumn gizzard shad is fattier than summer gizzard shad, so it is delicious as sashimi even with the bones removed.)

But the bones here were still soft? It is not as if the fish themselves are different, so I was amazed—perhaps they selected them really well.

An assorted seafood platter and live octopus came out, too. Dip the wriggling live octopus in sesame oil and salt—ahh. This was another moment when I felt they did not hold back on seafood quality. The scallops were enormous.

I loved being able to have both gizzard shad sashimi and grilled gizzard shad. At most sashimi restaurants, you have to give one of them up.

Live shrimp to grill yourself and the sides

They prepared a portable gas burner so we could grill the shrimp ourselves, so we turned it on later after eating some of the other dishes.

The shrimp were so plump. Being able to cook and eat them hot exactly when we wanted made them even more delicious. I think food temperature is hugely important.

If you gather the heads separately, they fry them for you. They were nutty, so I removed only the horns and shell and crunched through the whole thing.

Honestly, I did not expect much from the chilled boiled pork. I assumed it would just be there to fill out the set, but see how the meat is not perfectly shaped? It was not simply served to pad out the spread; it was made in-house, and it was the perfect meaty palate cleanser just when we were starting to tire slightly of seafood.

I thought I would not eat the tofu kimchi because there was already so much food, but the tofu was quite good and the kimchi had that Jeolla-do-style flavor, so I kept going back to it between bites.

They also served steamed egg, fried items, and sushi made with flounder, rockfish, and sea bream.

For a day you want sashimi and grilled shrimp in Mapo

When I am looking for a good restaurant in Daheung-dong and want sashimi and grilled shrimp together, I think I will remember this place. The Signature Set I had was a full spread of assorted sashimi and seafood, followed by grilled gizzard shad, chilled boiled pork, and salt-grilled shrimp. I think these photos will be useful for anyone choosing a Mapo sashimi restaurant based not only on the fish selection but also on the sides. For a family gathering or a Mapo company dinner, it would be good to ask about sets and seating for your group before visiting.