Shrimp tempura and beef intestine rice bowl, Gapyeong: Paldang Jikhwa

We were on a trip to Chuncheon! Anyone who's driven through Gangwon-do knows the highway traffic can get brutal. We got hungry on the way, looked up nearby restaurants, and spotted Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi — perfect for a meal and a break.

Parking and the room at Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi in Seorak, Gapyeong

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi is at 150 Hanseo-ro, Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, 1st floor, and parking is in the shopping strip's shared lot. There's a dakgalbi restaurant and a convenience store sharing the same building! Since it's a shared lot, you have to park starting from the inside spaces — but the lot was huge, so we didn't worry about finding a spot.

As soon as we walked in, the owner greeted us warmly, and the wide-open interior looked great! Everything seemed cleaned and maintained down to the corners, so I felt like we'd found the right place.

There's even a solo-dining zone, so it looked like a good fit for anyone traveling alone. Lots of different drinks and alcohol too. Since it's a spicy dish, aprons are available self-serve for anyone who needs one!

Ordering the grilled octopus rice bowl with hanwoo beef intestine for two

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi's main dishes come in three combinations: octopus only, octopus with thin-sliced pork belly, and octopus with beef intestine. Half the customers seemed to be travelers, half locals. Feeling fully confident, we ordered the grilled octopus and beef intestine rice bowl for two — great to be able to pick based on your taste!

Beef intestine is just love, honestly... you don't see this combination often elsewhere, so I really wanted to try it here. Besides the rice bowl, there's also a hot-plate version with fried rice, so there were plenty of options — haha.

What is on the self-serve bar?

At Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi, everything except water is self-serve. You can't just sit and wait for the food to come out, right? They told us to go help ourselves at the self-serve bar, and we went right away — and wow, this bar is amazing. Not only side dishes that pair well with octopus, but also vegetables, fried snacks, tteokbokki, and more.

Small plates, various sauces, even baby dishware were all set out, so it looked like a great spot for families with kids too. So much to eat beyond the main dish! If you're looking for a place where you can eat your fill without breaking the bank, this is a must-visit.

Baby chairs, of course! And separate men's and women's restrooms are inside the restaurant too, which was very convenient. Every table has tableware and wet wipes, so you're all set to eat!

The rice bowl spread: a big bowl topped with flying fish roe and bean sprout soup

The rice bowl at Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi doesn't just come with a plain bowl of rice. They give you a big bowl carefully topped with rice, assorted vegetables, seaweed and flying fish roe, so you can scoop the octopus in and mix it up with room to spare. On top of that, you get a spicy side dish and bean sprout soup separately. Isn't the octopus's look amazing too!

Here's the full, generous spread! With so many different foods to eat, we never got bored, and it was impressive how well everything went with the octopus.

The amount of stir-fried octopus was plenty too — the two of us saved some and kept picking at it. You can choose mild or spicy, but if you don't request it, they seem to serve it mild by default. Neither of us handles spicy food well, but we both enjoyed it a lot.

How the octopus and the hanwoo beef intestine taste

They cut the octopus into really big pieces, so the chewy texture was fantastic. Other places would probably cut a single octopus into about four pieces, but here they only cut it in half, and I loved that. Beef intestine is delicious even just grilled plain, so how could it not be delicious stir-fried in octopus sauce!!! I've eaten a lot of jjukkumi lately, and this place is the best... I might have to go back to Gapyeong just for this, haha.

Best of all, you can catch glimpses of them cooking it fresh with tons of charcoal flavor right after ordering, and that charcoal aroma stayed strong all the way through mixing and eating, making for a great meal from start to finish. The moment we took our first bite, Chani and I just looked at each other — haha.

Was the king shrimp tempura worth adding?

The shrimp tempura at Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi comes with four large shrimp, served together with the rice bowl. The shrimp are unbelievably big! Even one per person would be filling enough. Still, an octopus-and-shrimp combo is irresistible, so I'd recommend ordering it together.

A completely licked-clean bowl proves it's a good restaurant~!!! The restaurant also serves sikhye, which was a refreshingly sweet way to cleanse the palate.

Paying with Gapyeong Pay and the pine nut sweets on sale

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi also accepts Gapyeong Pay! They sell pine nut confections too, which could make a nice souvenir. If you're looking for a good restaurant in Seorak, Gapyeong, I recommend Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi~