Goyang grilled fish set with sotbap and a toddler: Min Cook Apbadang

Today I want to introduce a Goyang IKEA-area restaurant near my home! I went with my 43-month-old to eat grilled seasonal fish. The place is called 'Min Cook Apbadang Seongsa (민쿡앞바당 성사).' Let's get into the post!

A Korean restaurant with fresh fish and all kinds of side dishes — "Min Cook Apbadang Seongsa"

Where is Min Cook Apbadang Seongsa, and where do you park?

This Goyang IKEA-area restaurant, Min Cook Apbadang Seongsa, has its own private parking. You can fit about 3–4 cars right in front, and there's more parking space further inside. Loved having dedicated parking!

It's a bit far from the station by public transit, so I'd recommend driving. It's about a 30-minute walk from Hwajeong Station.

Menu and what we ordered: set for two, 40,000 won, plus 3,500 won sotbap

Here's the menu at this Goyang IKEA-area restaurant, Min Cook Apbadang Seongsa — they have a lunch special, set meals, and takeout lunchbox options. We visited on a weekday evening, so we ordered from the set menu.

Here's what we ordered.

• Grilled seasonal fish set for two (₩40,000)
• Sotbap, hot-pot rice (₩3,500)

Dining with a 43-month-old: today's fish and the room at Min Cook Apbadang

Once you're inside, there's a board showing which fish is being served that day. I loved that you get to try seasonal grilled fish. For the set for two, today's fish were listed as cod cheek, flounder, and wild bottom-caught cod!

The restaurant was bigger and more comfortable than I expected. It had that classic Korean-restaurant feel and seemed like a great spot for group gatherings too. They had baby chairs, and even a little serving robot helping bring out the food.

The self-serve banchan bar and the sotbap

There was a self-serve banchan (side dish) bar, and I was surprised by how many varieties there were! It was nice not having to ask staff and just help myself. There was even a corner with sikhye (sweet rice punch) and coffee for after the meal!

There was a savory cabbage buckwheat pancake too.

Six kinds of seasonal side dishes! Plus vegetables for salad and wraps! It was so generous, and every single side dish was delicious. My kid got obsessed with the mook (jelly) and kept picking at it with her fingers. There's also seasonal soup at the self-bar — the day we went it was a slightly spicy cabbage doenjang soup!

The sotbap arrived too — rice with beans in it, sticky and delicious. My kid is only 43 months old but can finish a whole bowl of rice, so we ordered an extra sotbap and each had our own, haha. Felt weird just getting her plain rice while we had sotbap, so we got her the same. She loves nurungji (crispy scorched rice) too.

The seasonal grilled fish set for two: flounder, cod cheek and wild bottom-caught cod

The grilled fish set for two arrived! I was surprised at how generous the portion of fish was! Today's grilled fish were flounder, cod cheek, and wild bottom-caught cod. I'm only really familiar with flounder, so I was excited to see what the others tasted like!

Two flounder, one spicy and one mild

The flounder came as two pieces — one brushed with a spicy sauce, the other plain. That made it easy to pick out a piece for my kid! The spicy one had such a good sauce that I basically scooped it up with a spoon, haha.

The flounder's skin was really crispy and delicious. I'm usually not a fan of fish skin, but grilled this crispy, I had zero hesitation. The flesh was so moist that even my kid kept gobbling it up. 🍚

Cod cheek

This is the cod cheek. It had a bigger bone than I expected, which surprised me at first, but once I picked off the meat around the bone, the texture was chewy and springy — really good. It's a different texture from typical fish flesh, and I personally enjoyed it a lot. The bone being big actually made it easier to pick clean, haha.

Wild bottom-caught cod

This is the grilled wild bottom-caught cod. Instead of falling apart softly, it had a firm grain and pulled apart in strands. The flesh was chunky and firm too, so it had a satisfying chew. Light but savory, and great with rice. 😊

We ate the grilled fish set with rice, with wraps, and with the huge variety of side dishes — it was such an abundant spread.

We wrapped up with some nurungji at the end. Eating it with the side dishes was so satisfying and comforting.

My kid finished an entire sotbap on her own and then stole her dad's too... And yes, she polished off all the nurungji too, haha. I think this might be the best-eating meal we've had at a restaurant recently! Who knew she loved fish this much! I was so glad we went with the grilled fish set instead of the one with bulgogi.

We finished off the meal with sikhye. It wasn't watery at all, just nicely sweet. A perfect ending! 🤎

They also sell side dishes to take home. The banchan was so good that I kept eyeing it, haha. I think I'll buy some next time I come... They even had seasoned crab, abalone in soy sauce, and shrimp in soy sauce!!! 😆 I definitely want to buy some next visit! Thanks for the meal!

Min Cook Apbadang Seongsa: the verdict

I ended up here while looking for a Goyang IKEA-area restaurant, and it turned out to be Min Cook Apbadang Seongsa! At home it's not easy to grill several kinds of fish at once, but here I could try flounder, cod cheek, and wild bottom-caught cod all in one sitting. Each fish had a slightly different texture, which made comparing them part of the fun.

With such a generous spread of grilled fish plus all the side dishes, it was satisfying as a full, hearty meal. We came with our 43-month-old, and since it was easy to pick the bones out for her, it worked out well eating together. If you're looking for a Seongsa-dong restaurant, a Goyang grilled fish spot, or somewhere to have a hearty meal with family, this place is worth a visit. 😊 We ate really well!