Jongak Station seafood platter and perilla noodles: Parang Haenyeojip

If you've read my blog before you already know I'm a total seafood and raw fish lover haha… I was searching all over Jongno for seafood when I found "Parang Haenyeojip Jongno Branch," which serves a seriously loaded seafood platter! Every single piece of seafood was so fresh and delicious that I got hit with a little shock after the first bite, so I'm bringing you this post 😱🫶

Where is Parang Haenyeojip Jongno Branch, and what are its hours?

• 37 Ujeongguk-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 1st floor
• 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Jongak Station
• Sun–Thu 16:00–01:30 next day (last order 00:30)
• Fri–Sat 16:00–02:00 next day (last order 01:00)

Menu and prices at Parang Haenyeojip

Aged raw fish, cuttlefish sashimi, and even raw shrimp which is in season right now — the lineup made it hard to decide, but we'd already decided on the seafood platter before we even came haha

You can also order seafood individually, so next time I'd love to try aged raw fish plus individual seafood orders!

It was nice that you could easily order extra side dishes or sauces through the kiosk

Inside Parang Haenyeojip: reserved tables and group seating

The moment you see it, it's clearly a raw fish and seafood place, and the menu lineup posted out front is no joke either

I'd made a reservation ahead of time, so they set aside a reserved table like this — my name's kind of tricky to spell too haha

There's also group seating, so it looks like a great spot for anyone hosting a group gathering in Jongno!

I arrived around 6pm on a Saturday, and it was already fairly full! Still, the place itself is spacious so it seemed like it could hold a lot of people. Once it hit peak time a little past 6:30, it filled up fast — I'd recommend booking ahead like I did!

There was an ocean visual playing on a screen, which made the vibe of the place even better! A really nice atmosphere for a date.

The seafood platter: abalone, whelk, octopus, stone sea squirt and cockles

I can't eat cold food right off the bat, so I was really glad this warm seaweed soup came out as a basic side dish

Seaweed is also a basic side! This is a hidden gem — dipped in vinegared gochujang it works perfectly as a drinking snack too kekeke

And finally, the star of the show, the seafood platter, arrived

Abalone, whelk, octopus, shrimp, stone sea squirt, sea squirt, and cockles.. it came packed full of seafood you'd only ever hear praised as delicious anywhere you go

Even from above it looks so impressive..

The steamed whelk came with its innards still attached, and the nutty flavor along with that distinctively chewy texture is the signature here

Such a big, plump octopus — I'm always used to eating leftover, cold octopus from ancestral rites, so eating it freshly steamed and still warm was clearly a totally different experience

Next up, stone sea squirt! Honestly I figured regular sea squirt would show up, but I didn't expect this precious stone sea squirt to be included too. You scoop out the contents inside the stone sea squirt first

and then there's a special little joy in mixing the leftover seawater inside with a shot of soju

The chewy live abalone came drizzled with sesame oil sauce — nutty and fresh, and honestly I think live abalone beats steamed abalone every time

The cockles came topped with a seasoning sauce, and maybe because the sauce wasn't too strong, the standout fresh cockle flavor still came through underneath the light seasoning — I could really tell they manage their ingredients well here 🤤

Every single piece was the perfect soju pairing.. I couldn't hold back and ended up overdrinking 😵

Finishing with perilla oil buckwheat noodles

I have this rule where drinking always gives me a carb craving, so I have to eat something starchy at the end

I got hooked on perilla oil buckwheat noodles on a recent trip to Gangneung, so I ordered it right away

The whole point of perilla oil buckwheat noodles is that perilla aroma, right? It smelled so nutty I wondered if they were using a really good perilla oil, and it came piled with seaweed flakes too — the perfect dish to cleanse your palate!

If you're out around Jongno or Jongak and want to properly enjoy fresh raw fish and seafood in the evening? I'd recommend heading straight to "Parang Haenyeojip Jongno Branch." Especially the seafood platter and the perilla oil buckwheat noodles — the prices are reasonable considering the quality, so it's a great place to really indulge ☺️🤍