Braised monkfish at four spice levels in Yuseong, Daejeon: Seommaeul

On a day when I was craving a spicy, savory seafood dish, I headed to Seommaeul, a restaurant well known in Daejeon for its agujjim (spicy braised monkfish). It's a Daejeon spot where you can properly enjoy the combo of spicy seasoning, crunchy bean sprouts, and plump monkfish, so I went in with high expectations — and it turned out even better than I hoped! Let me walk you through the whole visit.

Parking at Seommaeul: can you drive there?

Seommaeul has a very spacious dedicated parking lot right next to the restaurant. Lack of parking can make a restaurant visit stressful from the start, but here the space was generous enough that even a beginner driver could park comfortably — no worries at all about bringing a car.

Inside Seommaeul: dining room and group seating

Walking inside Seommaeul, the space was much bigger than it looked from outside. The warm wood-tone interior was kept very clean overall. Each table had a neatly arranged hygiene sheet, which was reassuring, and there was plenty of group seating too — great not just for family meals but for work dinners and gatherings of all kinds.

Seommaeul's menu and its four spice levels

After sitting down, I checked the menu. Besides agujjim, there was a wide range of dishes — monkfish and octopus braise, seafood braise, abalone and octopus braise, octopus stir-fry, abalone galbitang, and bone soup.

One of Seommaeul's biggest strengths is that you can choose the spice level of the braised dishes across four distinct steps.

• Mild
• Basic (about as hot as Shin Ramyun)
• Spicy (about as hot as Buldak)
• Very spicy

It's great that both people who can't handle spice and hardcore spice lovers can choose according to their taste. We went with the agujjim at basic spice level!

Side dishes and the stone-pot steamed egg

After ordering, we waited a bit and the side dishes that go well with the main dish were neatly set out.

• Savory braised fish cake
• Cabbage salad with a nutty dressing
• Clean, crunchy stir-fried potato strips
• Tangy ripe kkakdugi (radish kimchi) and flavorful kim jaban (seasoned dried seaweed flakes)
• Cool dongchimi (radish water kimchi) to calm a spice-filled mouth

On top of that, a steaming stone-pot steamed egg is also served as standard. Soft and fluffy, sprinkled with green onion and carrot, it was perfect for soothing the stomach before diving into the spicy agujjim.

Seommaeul's agujjim: plump monkfish, crunchy bean sprouts

Finally, today's highlight — the agujjim — arrived, piled generously on a huge plate! The red seasoning dotted with sesame seeds and the spicy aroma hitting my nose had me practically drooling.

I picked up a thick chunk of monkfish with my chopsticks, and the meat was truly substantial and plump. Sometimes when you order agujjim elsewhere, it's mostly bean sprouts with barely any monkfish — but at this Daejeon favorite, Seommaeul, the thick, tender monkfish meat was piled on generously, so there was plenty to eat.

The monkfish was chewy on the outside and clean-tasting inside, with the spicy-sweet special sauce soaked all the way through — and dipped lightly in wasabi soy sauce, it was absolutely amazing.

The crunchy, plump bean sprouts and the sharp aroma of minari (water dropwort) tied it all together perfectly. The basic spice level was just the right kind of pleasantly spicy — about as hot as Shin Ramyun — making it easy to enjoy without feeling overwhelmed.

Dessert corner: coffee and homemade sikhye

On the way out after finishing the meal, there's a thoughtful dessert service waiting. There's a coffee vending machine for after the meal, and a corner in one part of the restaurant labeled 'homemade mom's-recipe sikhye.'

A cup of sweet, cool homemade sikhye settled my spice-warmed mouth nicely and rounded off the meal on a happy note!

Is Seommaeul worth a visit in Yuseong?

A spacious dedicated parking lot, a clean and roomy dining room, monkfish packed with meat in a deliciously spicy sauce, and a thoughtful homemade sikhye dessert to finish — if you want to try properly done agujjim, I'd strongly recommend visiting this Daejeon favorite, Seommaeul, at least once.