Weekend brunch seaweed soup sets at Ilsan Korean restaurant Haenon

Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch, a great restaurant on Ilsan's Anigol street for family gatherings~

I went out for a healthy weekend brunch, and it's a good Ilsan Anigol spot for family meals. The seaweed soup comes ladled into a big earthenware pot, hot and rich, alongside various side dishes and salad — that's Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch. After this visit, I thought I should really bring my parents here. Chuseok is coming up soon and there will be more family gatherings, so this place is just right — take a look at the seaweed soup set menu below. Here's my review of Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch.

What Haenon Miyeok in Ilsan Anigol looks like inside and out

Haenon Miyeok, on Ilsan's Anigol restaurant street, is a fairly large place with a big parking lot. It's 682m from Pungsan Station Exit 2 — 13 minutes on foot, 2 minutes by car. There's a break time on weekdays, but none on weekends.

It already looked big from outside, but stepping in, I was surprised it's even bigger inside. The interior has a distinctive vibe, doesn't it? Clean and calm, with generous space between tables.

We arrived right at the 11am weekend opening, and there were already quite a few other customers there for weekend brunch, just like us. Weekends really are for brunch~ ^^

What are the 8 side dishes at the self-serve bar?

There's a self-serve bar set up on one side of Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch with 8 side dishes ready to go.

There are 6 basic side dishes that come with any set, plus kimchi and braised tofu on top of that. The braised tofu is delicious, so definitely go grab some~ ^^

Haenon Miyeok menu and prices: soup sets from 19,000 won

• Flounder seaweed soup set ₩19,000
• Abalone flounder seaweed soup set ₩26,000
• Beef seaweed soup set ₩20,000
• Abalone beef seaweed soup set ₩27,000
• Scallop seaweed soup set ₩19,000
• Pollock seaweed soup set ₩19,000
• Mussel meat seaweed soup set ₩19,000
• Haenon bulgogi set ₩32,000
• Haenon spicy pork stir-fry set ₩26,000

Unlimited rice refills and taking leftover seaweed soup home

With the seaweed soup sets, you get a huge earthenware pot full of soup — so what if you have a lot left over? Apparently you can get it packed to go. You can even bring your own container, and a packing container from the restaurant costs an extra ₩1,000. Also, rice refills are unlimited.

Birthday, pregnancy and receipt events at Haenon Miyeok

Birthday event 1. Pregnant guests and birthday guests get a free abalone served on the house. (Must be dining during your actual birthday week, with verification required.)

Birthday event 2. If you make a reservation for 4 or more people with a birthday person in the group, they'll prepare a cake for you. That's a pretty amazing perk, honestly. This only applies to guests who book in advance for the cake, so call ahead to ask.

Receipt event. If you take part in the Naver review event, you get a drink or a crispy, tasty savory pancake (jeon) — so make sure to try the receipt event too~

What we ordered: abalone flounder soup and dried pollock seaweed soup

Pollock seaweed soup set ₩19,000, abalone flounder seaweed soup set ₩26,000. The abalone flounder seaweed soup set is flounder seaweed soup with 2 pieces of abalone added right into the pot.

A neat, well-arranged full table arrived.

The two-person spread came with 6 basic sides + salad + one seasoned flounder + chicken breast vinegar salad.

A huge pot of seaweed soup and hijiki rice.

The abalone flounder seaweed soup came with 2 pieces of abalone in it. The abalone was fresh and chewy, really good. We shared it fairly — one piece each for my husband and me~ ^^

With so much boneless flounder meat packed in, the savory depth was incredible. There was quite a lot of flounder meat, so just be careful scooping it out without breaking it apart. This was my first time having flounder in seaweed soup, and it worked way better than I expected. I understood right away why it's the top recommended menu item.

My husband's pick was the pollock seaweed soup. Where the flounder soup was rich and deeply savory, the pollock soup had a clean, nutty flavor that grew on us more with every spoonful, more than the first bite suggested~ ^^

Every single side dish was neat and delicious, so it almost felt like eating at a hanjeongsik (Korean set-course) restaurant. That's exactly why I felt I should bring my parents here.

Is Haenon Miyeok a good spot for a Chuseok family meal?

At Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch on Ilsan's Anigol street, I realized I'd never really thought about eating seaweed soup out at a restaurant, since it's something we make at home all the time. Trying the seaweed soup set here, though, a hot pot made with various ingredients felt totally different from the version I make at home. It felt like getting served a lovely birthday table, and it also had a touch of upscale hanjeongsik about it. My first thought was that it'd be great to bring the older folks in the family here. With Chuseok coming up, Haenon Miyeok looks like a solid choice for a family meal out with parents.

Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch location, parking and hours

• Address: 30 Anigol-gil, B1 & 1F, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• 682m from Pungsan Station Exit 2
• Hours: 11:00–21:00
• Weekday break time 15:00–17:00, no break time on weekends