Changwon pasta & steak date: shrimp arugula pasta at Jinhae Siktak

It had been a while since I'd been to Jajeun-dong in Jinhae. Out on a date with my husband, just the two of us, we felt like having pasta and steak. Normally when we eat out, I pick dishes the baby can share, but this day I wanted a spicy oil pasta and a rare steak. Hehe

After wondering where to eat in Jinhae, we ended up at Jinhae Siktak (진해식탁), a Western restaurant in Jajeun-dong. It was a weekday lunch and we didn't reserve. I just called to check they were open, and the view and the food both left us satisfied~!

Where is Jinhae Siktak, and what about hours and parking?

Jinhae Siktak is at 6 Naengcheonbuk-ro, Jinhae-gu, Changwon. It's open 11:00–21:00 Tuesday to Sunday and closed every Monday. There are about 10 tables, baby chairs are available, and you can park comfortably along the roadside.

• Location: 6 Naengcheonbuk-ro, Jinhae-gu, Changwon
• Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 11:00–21:00
• Closed: every Monday
• Seating: about 10 tables
• Baby chairs available
• Easy roadside parking

Jinhae Siktak exterior and waiting

It was my first time in this part of Jajeun-dong, but the place was easy to find and easy to park near on the roadside. There's a waiting list notebook outside, so it seems lines do happen, but at weekday lunch we sat down without any rush. It also seemed that if you reserve a table and your menu in advance, the food comes a bit faster :-)

What's the atmosphere inside Jinhae Siktak?

The inside of Jinhae Siktak was warm and tidy, done in wood tones! Most of the guests were women, and there were plenty of baby chairs. Maybe because it sits on a slight hill, you get a wide-open view from inside the restaurant!

Empty wine bottles were lined up on display, which gave it a nice-vibes kind of restaurant feel haha. Going by the menu, there were four kinds of wine.

Jinhae Siktak menu and what we paid

At Jinhae Siktak we ordered the salchisal steak (chuck flap tail, ₩32,900), the shrimp arugula oil pasta (₩14,900) and a homemade grapefruit ade (₩6,000).

How does the shrimp arugula oil pasta taste?

The shrimp arugula oil pasta at Jinhae Siktak wasn't harsh, just mildly spicy. The pasta came out first.

I wanted an oil pasta that was mildly spicy without being too intense, and this was exactly the taste I was after. Eaten with tomato, shrimp, zucchini and mushrooms, the textures were great and it tasted even better.

The noodles were cooked just right and the oil sauce had soaked in well. You could definitely call Jinhae Siktak a pasta hotspot.

How do you eat the salchisal steak at Jinhae Siktak?

The salchisal steak at Jinhae Siktak comes out very rare, and the staff tell you to flip it once with the tongs and let it cook briefly. Even with just a little cooking, the meat was very tender.

At a Western restaurant I usually get pasta or risotto, but this day I wanted to try the steak. Maybe it was because the restaurant smelled so good of meat haha

At first I thought, what is this, it's sooo rare?! But they explained to flip it once and cook it. After flipping it with the tongs you only need to cook it for a moment, so it was easy to eat! I worried I'd overcooked it and it would be tough, but the meat was really tender.

I liked that there were lots of garnishes to go with it. Potato and eggplant paired nicely with the sauce. I hadn't ordered steak at a Western restaurant in ages, and the portion was big and filling. Good stuff!

Recommended order and where to go after

At Jinhae Siktak, I recommend pairing the shrimp arugula oil pasta with the salchisal steak. The shrimp oil pasta I always love and the salchisal steak I newly tried went really well together :-)

If you want some protein and a spicy Western dish too, and you're stuck on what to order, I recommend these two! It was my first Jinhae Western restaurant in a long while and it was so good that I'm leaving with a happy memory haha

Parking is easy, and there's a café right next to Jinhae Siktak, so that's where we headed next.. hahaha Weekday lunch then café is a great route!