Jangan-dong seafood spot for conger eel shabu-shabu: Daemyeong Suran

The taste of Yeosu in Seoul? Daemyeong Suran in Jangan-dong, a whole new world of conger eel shabu-shabu!

Hamo was sold out, so I ordered conger eel shabu-shabu: how was it?

The conger eel (anago) shabu-shabu at Daemyeong Suran (대명수산) in Jangan-dong was my second choice after hamo, and it turned out to be a whole new world. I'd gone for hamo (pike conger) shabu-shabu, a summer stamina dish, but the stock had run out, so I ordered conger eel instead. And what do you know? I had no idea conger eel shabu-shabu could be this good! ( >ᴗ< )

The flesh is springy and gets nuttier the more you chew, so it hit my taste exactly. haha It's also a little cheaper than hamo, and it's a stamina-boosting treat you can enjoy all four seasons.

Daemyeong Suran location, hours and parking

Daemyeong Suran is in Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, about a 7-minute walk from Janghanpyeong Station. It's near the Seegene Medical Foundation main building and close to the Janganpyeong used car market complex.

• Location: Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul (about 7 minutes on foot from Janghanpyeong Station)
• Group seating for company dinners / a wide range of seafood dishes to go with drinks
• Good stamina food for a family meal with your parents
• Hours: Mon–Sat 15:00–23:00, closed every Sunday

Parking tip! You can park in front of the restaurant, and if it's full, the owner will tell you about nearby places where you can park.

The owner told me that besides people from around Janganpyeong Station and Jangan-dong, some customers come from other areas just to try eel shabu-shabu. Even though I visited in the early evening, cars were already pulling up in front of the restaurant, with people there for company dinners or business meetings.

What are the menu and prices at Daemyeong Suran?

For the latest prices, please check the menu photo below. Some prices have changed from what's listed on Naver Place.

Besides the signature hamo (pike conger), Daemyeong Suran offers shabu-shabu with seasonal seafood such as conger eel (anago), long-arm octopus, bird clams and small octopus, so I think it's popular for business meetings, company entertaining and meals with parents.

It also seems like a good Jangan-dong spot for a company dinner, with a variety of seafood dishes like conger eel, webfoot octopus, live octopus stir-fry and grilled cuttlefish to enjoy with a drink.

One pot of conger eel shabu-shabu: what's in the basic set?

What I ordered this time was one pot of conger eel shabu-shabu. Whether you pick hamo, conger eel or webfoot octopus as the main seafood, the base is always doenjang broth.

On top of that come the conger eel, fresh shabu-shabu vegetables and ssam greens, 3 sauces (chojang, doenjang, and soy sauce with mustard), plus mustard-leaf kimchi, napa cabbage kimchi and braised radish as standard.

Starting with the doenjang broth and vegetables

Shall we try the eel shabu-shabu together? 🤗

The doenjang broth at Daemyeong Suran is spicy-tangy by default, and with napa cabbage in it, the broth tasted clean and refreshing.

It felt like eating a really good doenjang stew, and I figured I could polish off a bowl of rice with the kimchi without any trouble.

I added the vegetables once the broth started to boil. Thanks to the fresh ingredients, even the vegetables alone were delicious.

How many seconds should you blanch the conger eel?

The owner's tip is to put the conger eel in the broth and blanch it for only about 10 seconds. After the vegetables, it was finally time for the eel! The conger eel was thick and had a lovely color, which raised my expectations even more.

The owner said, "Put the conger eel in the broth and blanch it lightly for about 10 seconds," and the moment I took a bite, I understood why. See that? The eel was so plump that it almost slipped out of my tongs. haha

Honestly, I'd mostly only had eel grilled. Blanched lightly like shabu-shabu, it was a whole new world. The nuttiness of the eel is still there, but the grease is gone and it's cleaner and milder, a different charm from grilled and so delicious.

The conger eel itself was very fresh, and the owner had scored it with fine, close knife cuts, so the texture was chewy yet melted softly in my mouth, just wonderful. With perilla leaf, sauce, mustard-leaf kimchi and other great combinations, I came away with my eyes opened to eel shabu-shabu. haha

A great finish with kalguksu

The conger eel shabu-shabu ended with kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) added to the broth. Maybe because they're fresh noodles, they were chewy and glossy and slid right down~

How is Daemyeong Suran for company dinners and group gatherings?

Daemyeong Suran has group seating, including tables for 4 and 8.

The restaurant is spacious, with seating arranged for different party sizes. The tables are well spaced, so it's a good place for all kinds of group dinners in Jangan-dong: company dinners, business meetings, family gatherings, friend get-togethers and alumni reunions.

In particular, the air conditioning was turned on nice and cool and there were fans placed here and there, so I could enjoy my eel stamina meal comfortably and coolly.

Side guide: the nutrition in eel

Eel is known to contain a variety of nutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium and the essential fatty acid DHA, which may help with health care.

Freshness all four seasons, an eel and seafood shabu-shabu spot in Jangan-dong: Daemyeong Suran 🎵 You can also enjoy a variety of seafood dishes to go with drinks! ◠‿◠ This post is a subjective record of my own experience.