Bangi-dong monkfish stew, weekday dinner with a kid: Ttoksuni

What is Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil Direct Branch?

Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil Direct Branch is a monkfish stew (agujjim) specialist in Bangi-dong that champions 50 years of Jeolla-style cooking, and it's a popular spot near Olympic Park. There's a wait even on weekday evenings, and the yellow sign is visible from far away.

You can feel the hit-restaurant vibe from the outside. Honestly, it was so good here. If you drive, parking looked easy, and valet costs ₩2,000, so keep that in mind. We came by public transit.

Ttoksuni Agujjim hours, parking and reservations

• Address: 48 Wiryeseong-daero, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Unit 101)
• Hours: 11:00-22:00
• Break time: 15:00-16:30
• Last order: 21:00
• Parking: free parking available
• Valet: available, ₩2,000

Since there's a wait, it's a popular place, so I recommend booking ahead on Naver Reservation or Catchtable before you go.

Inside the restaurant and who eats there

The inside of Ttoksuni Jamsil has lots of tables and is spacious, but it still filled up. There are private rooms too, so it'd be perfect for a group gathering.

What I've noticed since coming to Seoul: there are just so many great restaurants. Wow, this is one of the real standouts I've eaten at. When a place is full of older diners, the taste is guaranteed before you even eat, right? Ttoksuni had every age, seniors and young people alike, so I was really looking forward to it.

Ttoksuni monkfish stew menu and ordering tips

When you order at Ttoksuni, handmade fried peppers and a Jeolla-style banchan (side dish) spread come as standard. It's seriously filling. Generous, too. If you're stuck on what to order, take note. Besides the plain monkfish stew, there are aged-kimchi monkfish stew, roe monkfish stew, white (non-spicy) steamed monkfish, fried-roe monkfish stew and more. There are set menus too, so you could eat even more lavishly.

Webfoot octopus, abalone and roe can only be added when you first order the stew, and fried rice can be ordered after the stew arrives.

There's a fried shrimp event for writing a Naver receipt review. Of course I'm joining in!!!

Jeolla-style side dishes and perilla seaweed soup

The side dishes at Ttoksuni are works of art. I felt my parents would love it if I brought them here. Every banchan was delicious, and yes, that Jeolla touch is real. Fully agree. I also liked how many different dishes there were.

The seaweed soup that comes as standard is also generously loaded with perilla seeds. It was tasty.

You can freely take more banchan from the self-service bar.

Which spice level works for an elementary-school child?

I ordered the main dish, Ttoksuni monkfish stew in medium size. You can choose the spice level, and since we have an elementary-school child, we ordered one step milder. It was a bit spicy for the kid, but they said the sauce was delicious and wolfed down a bowl of rice. Most people seem to order the standard level 2, which is about as spicy as Shin Ramyun.

Free fried shrimp for a Naver review

The fried shrimp we got for writing a Naver review. Look how plump they are. It even comes with tartar sauce, and since it's fried to order it was piping hot and delicious.

Medium Ttoksuni monkfish stew: how was the fish and the portion?

Back to the stew. Wow, look how plump the monkfish is. I'm someone who can't handle a fishy taste, and Ttoksuni had no fishiness at all, and the meat was plump and so good. Look at all the bean sprouts too. This is absolutely not 2 servings.. it's so generous.

It has sea squirts (omandungi) in it too, and the slightly spicy kick is a total rice thief. We ordered plain rice first and planned to have fried rice too, but we were so full we couldn't, which was a shame. Poor small-appetite couple.. I think it may be personally the best monkfish stew I've had in several years.

Handmade fried peppers stuffed with minced meat

The fried peppers that come with the stew are handmade too and really good. Packed with minced meat inside. They're not spicy, so they were perfect for the child as well.