Yuseong, Daejeon monkfish braise with kalguksu noodles: Seommaeul

On Saturday I went with my family to a monkfish braise (agujjim) spot in Yuseong. We ate so well — from the huge portion of agujjim all the way to the kalguksu noodle add-in — that I have to introduce this Daejeon agujjim favorite: "Seommaeul Agujjim & Nakjibokkeum."

Seommaeul Agujjim & Nakjibokkeum: hours and parking in Yuseong

• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:30
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last order: 20:30
• Closed: every Sunday
• Address: 1163 Yuseong-daero, 1F, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea
• Parking: Lot 1 to the right of the restaurant (6 spots), Lot 2 to the left (10 spots)

With Lot 1 and Lot 2 both available, parking was easy. At the entrance I could already see people eating inside — lots of them. I went in with high expectations. Also, at Seommaeul you take your shoes off before entering!

Floor seating, group tables and the mood inside Seommaeul

Inside Seommaeul, to the right of the entrance there was one table-for-four plus floor seating, and beyond that group seating and about 7–8 tables for four. The crowd ranged from young people to elders, and one group table was even holding a family birthday party 🎊 The tables felt spacious, so this place seems great for group gatherings too.

Seommaeul menu and our order: medium monkfish and octopus braise, basic spice

Here's the menu board at Daejeon's agujjim favorite "Seommaeul Agujjim & Nakjibokkeum." The mains are agujjim (braised monkfish), agu-mundeojjim (monkfish and octopus braise), haemuljjim (seafood braise), and jeonbok-mundeojjim (abalone octopus braise); the rice dishes are nakjibokkeum (octopus stir-fry), jeonbok-galbitang (abalone short rib soup), and ppyeo-haejangguk (pork spine hangover soup); and the sides are fried rice, noodle add-ins (kalguksu, ramyeon, somyeon), and steamed egg. We came as three adults and one child, and ordered the medium agujjim-mundeojjim in the basic flavor. *You can also choose your spice level.*

Side dishes, steamed egg and the self-serve bar

Here are the side dishes that come with the order: stir-fried fish cake, seasoned laver, salad, stir-fried julienned potato, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), and dongchimi (watery radish kimchi)! I couldn't believe how generous the basic sides were 🫢 If you run out of anything, you can grab more from the self-serve bar near the entrance.

I thought all the sides had already come out, but then they brought steamed egg too 👍🏻 A refill after you finish it is ₩3,000. If you order the spicy flavor, I think it'd be great to have alongside it.

They also gave us soy sauce and wasabi for dipping the agujjim. Honestly, this is the real kick with agujjim 🙂↔️

The giant octopus on top of the medium-size braise

Before long, the agu-mundeojjim arrived, and even in the medium size the portion was massive. And right in the middle, sitting proudly — a GI-ANT OC-TO-PUS!

They lifted it up to cut it, and it was surprisingly heavy, plump, and thick! The visual alone was overwhelming. Once they skillfully cut up the giant octopus, the portion turned out to be huge.

How the octopus and monkfish tasted at Seommaeul

The octopus in Seommaeul's agu-mundeojjim was cooked just right — not chewy at all, and moist. The monkfish flesh was also very firm without falling apart, and just as tender. Eating it together with the crunchy bean sprouts and minari (water dropwort) in between made it feel twice as good. If you happen to run short on bean sprouts, there are more at the self-serve bar. Of course, we had more than enough, so we didn't need to go back for extra 😂

Adding kalguksu noodles to the agujjim sauce

We figured plain white rice would go better with the agu-mundeojjim, so we skipped the fried rice and each had a bowl of rice — and then, even saying "I'm going to burst!", we still couldn't give up the kalguksu noodle add-in. Another carb bomb 🥹

They added one serving of kalguksu noodles for us. I think it was my first time eating kalguksu noodles in agujjim, but the noodles were soft and soaked up the sauce so well that it was really tasty! So glad we ordered it.

After finishing off even the noodles, we had sikhye (sweet rice punch) from across the register, which cleared our palates and made a great dessert.

It had been a while since I had such delicious agujjim, and it made for a wonderful weekend ❤️ If you're looking for agujjim, haemuljjim, or nakjibokkeum in Yuseong, you have to visit Daejeon's agujjim favorite "Seommaeul Agujjim & Nakjibokkeum." Thanks for the meal today!