Pohang restaurant for hoe-deopbap and fried squid: Ppwang Mulhoe

Ppwang Mulhoe, a great mulhoe spot near Yeongildae Beach in Pohang. If you're visiting Pohang, you have to have a refreshing bowl of mulhoe (cold raw-fish soup), right? Haha. With its tangy-spicy broth, fresh raw fish, and plenty of crunchy vegetables, it went down so easily on a hot day! The fish was fresh and the portion was generous, making it a wonderfully filling meal :)

Location and parking near Yeongildae Beach

It's located near Yeongildae Beach in Pohang! Since it's right by the beach, it was perfect for stopping in for a meal after looking around the seaside, haha. If Yeongildae is on your Pohang itinerary, it's in a really convenient spot to visit together!

There is parking available in front of the restaurant! If the spaces out front are full, you can use the Yeongildae Beach public parking lot across the street :) It was a comfortable place to visit without worrying too much about parking!

Clean interior with plenty of seating

The interior was clean and comfortable, which I really liked! There were plenty of seats, so it was easy to enjoy a relaxed meal, haha. With lots of tables, it looked like a good choice for family dinners, group meals, or company get-togethers too! Best of all, it stays open late, so it was nice knowing we could still eat even if we arrived late on a Friday~! If you're looking for a restaurant open late, give this place a try!

A varied menu, from mulhoe to sides

There were lots of different kinds of mulhoe available! Along with squid mulhoe, olive flounder mulhoe, and hoe-deopbap (rice mixed with raw fish), they also sell separate raw-fish dishes beyond mulhoe. The side menu was incredibly varied too, with boiled squid, fried squid, pajeon (Korean scallion pancake), and more—it was hard to decide what to order! There were so many choices from mains to sides that it was great for coming with a group and ordering a bit of everything :)

A self-serve bar with side dishes and squid soup

The self-serve bar here was quite well stocked! It didn't only have the standard side dishes; there were appetizers to enjoy before the meal, including tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), gim-mari (fried seaweed rolls), and tteokgalbi (grilled minced meat patties).

There were also around 10 different side dishes prepared! There were so many that I started wondering, is this a Korean buffet...? Haha. They even had warm squid soup, which was just perfect alongside the cold mulhoe ❤️

We piled our plates high with this and that, then tried it before our food arrived, haha. The side dishes were generally tasty, and there were lots of non-spicy choices, so it seemed good for eating with kids too! Personally, the squid soup was secretly the star, haha. Its warm, clean broth paired so well with the raw-fish dishes—it was lovely to have them together ❤️

The chewy texture of the double squid mulhoe

We ordered the double portion of squid mulhoe and hoe-deopbap~! First, the squid mulhoe arrived with a chilled broth dotted with tiny pieces of ice! Even at a glance, the squid looked fresh and was piled in generously, so it looked incredibly appetizing from the start, haha.

Can you see how much squid there is? Whoa. There was really a huge amount of raw squid in it!! We mixed it evenly with the sauce and vegetables, and it was so delicious: tangy and spicy, with wonderfully chewy squid. The more I chewed, the more I could enjoy the squid's texture, and the generous amount made it so satisfying, haha. It felt like I had finally had a proper bowl of refreshing, delicious mulhoe for the first time in a while!

Then we added the house special broth and ate it properly as mulhoe! It felt different from eating it mixed without the broth, haha. Thanks to the icy broth, it was cool and tangy and so easy to slurp down! Eating it in hot weather felt like the heat was instantly swept away, haha. I loved that it stayed refreshing until the very last bite :)

You can't leave somyeon (thin wheat noodles) out of mulhoe either!! Rice comes with it too, but we were already so full that we chose the noodles, haha. Soaking the somyeon well in the broth meant the tangy, cool flavor soaked right into the noodles—it matched so well! Slurp it up with the raw squid and it's seriously good!!

Hearty hoe-deopbap and crisp fried squid

We ordered hoe-deopbap too! Once we added a bowl of rice and mixed it all together, it definitely felt like a properly hearty meal, haha. Going from refreshing mulhoe to hoe-deopbap left us feeling nicely full, so the combination was excellent! The fish was fresh and the portion was generous, so I highly recommend the hoe-deopbap if you want a satisfying meal!!

For a side, we ordered fried squid too!! The squid pieces were thick and large, and because it came out freshly fried, it was warm, wonderfully crisp, and so delicious, haha. It paired well with both the mulhoe and hoe-deopbap! They also have a review event where you can receive fried squid, so be sure to join in and try it together :)

We started our first meal of the Pohang trip at Ppwang Mulhoe, and I was so satisfied—it made me think, was mulhoe always this delicious? Haha. They didn't skimp on the fresh fish, and the plentiful fish went so well with the tangy, cool broth that it felt like we had tasted truly proper Pohang mulhoe! The hoe-deopbap was filling and tasty too, making it great to order together. If you're looking for a good mulhoe or hoe-deopbap restaurant in Pohang, I recommend Ppwang Mulhoe near Yeongildae Beach :)