Daejeon fish restaurant, Boknal eel set with Mom: Hwadeogeuro Gan

I heard a new grilled fish restaurant had opened in Sintanjin, so I went with my mom, and we both walked out with bursting bellies. This is the story of Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Sintanjin Branch (화덕으로간고등어 신탄진점)!

Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Sintanjin: hours and parking

The Sintanjin Branch is open daily 10:00–21:30, with break time 15:30–17:00 and last order at 20:50. The address is 102 Jena-dong, 490 Sintanjin-ro, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon. There is an all-you-can-eat self-bar, and groups and reservations are welcome.

There's a big parking lot beside and in front of the building, so parking is easy!

As you'd expect from a newly opened place, the exterior is clean and neat.

What are the seating and atmosphere like inside?

The inside is done in wood tones, with a clean, stylish feel. There are partitioned seats and long shared seats, so it seems good for solo office workers, group get-togethers and company dinners~!

There are high chairs too, so it's good for eating out with kids.

Every seat has a kiosk, so ordering is easy.

Why we chose the boyang set for two as our Boknal meal

Boknal (the hottest days of summer, when Koreans eat stamina food) was coming up, so to treat Mom and myself I ordered the boyang set for two (sea eel + flounder + grilled mackerel + seasonal braised fish)!

⭐️ What I like about Hwadeogeuro Gan: you can choose white or brown rice ⭐️ Isn't that the best perk for people like me who need to manage blood sugar? T_T

What's on the all-you-can-eat self-bar?

The self-bar has tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and fried snacks, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) and nurungji (scorched rice), plus altari kimchi (young radish kimchi), fried crab, lotus root salad, sausage-and-vegetable stir-fry, lettuce, crunchy pepper doenjang (soybean paste) salad, rice, and a bibimbap corner. I ordered, then headed to the self-bar~!

Tteokbokki and fried snacks

Japchae and nurungji

Altari kimchi, fried crab, lotus root salad, sausage-and-vegetable stir-fry

Lettuce, crunchy pepper doenjang salad, rice

The bibimbap corner has all kinds of seasoned namul (vegetables), gochujang (chili paste), sesame oil and perilla oil!

These are the side dishes I brought back from the self-bar. Every one was neat and clearly made with care. The tteokbokki was sweet and the fried snacks were crispy and tasty!

❗️Heads up: the grilled fish and braised mackerel alone will stuff you, so take only small amounts from the self-bar❗️ (We didn't want to waste what we'd brought, so we ate it all even though we were about to burst 🥲)

₩43,000 boyang set for two: what's included and how big is it?

The boyang set for two is ₩43,000 and comes with grilled sea eel + grilled flounder + grilled mackerel + braised mackerel. When I got back from the self-bar, soup and brown rice were already set out, and after a bit more waiting the braised mackerel and grilled fish arrived~!

I don't know if the photo shows it, but the fish is really, really big,,,!!!!

How does the grilled sea eel taste?

First I cut the eel into bite-size pieces and dipped it in the eel sauce. No fishy taste at all, just mild and nutty, so good T_T Of all the grilled fish, eel is number 1 for me!!! And there's plenty of it, a proper stamina boost 👍

Oven-grilled mackerel and flounder

They were hidden under the eel, but the mackerel and flounder are insanely big too 🫢 I honestly wonder if they make any profit giving this much,, Maybe because they're grilled in the oven, both the mackerel and flounder were mild without a bit of greasiness!

Braised mackerel with radish and bracken

And the braised mackerel!!! This braised mackerel is crazy good. It looked sooo intense that I worried it would be salty, but the seasoning was just right, spicy-sweet and so good T_T The radish and bracken (fernbrake) inside are the kick ✨ Eaten with the mackerel, it's total rice-thief material. It had two big pieces of mackerel too, so the portion is wild!

I made my rice into bibimbap with all the namul, but I was so busy with the grilled fish and braise that I barely ate the rice,,, 🫠 Mom and I almost never leave food behind,,,, so the owner must be really, really generous, right?! 💗 It's just enough to fill two adult men (maybe even too much,,), so take only a little from the self-bar!

Would we go back to Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Sintanjin?

Even though it just opened, I get why it already has a reputation as a great spot! There's no reason not to go, so I'm 100 percent coming back.

• All-you-can-eat self-bar and a bibimbap corner
• Oven-grilled fish for a healthier meal
• Large parking lot and a clean interior

It works for solo meals and company dinners, but I think parents would especially love it, so I recommend going with yours~!