Half-and-half hot plate at a Paju ssambap restaurant: Simhaksan

A truly smoky ssambap meal that made me want to mix the leftover stir-fry sauce with rice.

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap in three lines

🤖 FourSunDaddy's three-line summary for busy readers

• Pork and squid are stir-fried separately instead of together, so each keeps its own flavor and thick, hearty texture.
• A 100% self-serve wrap-vegetable system with no default setting means you only take what you actually want — smart and zero waste.
• Ample parking front and back, a spacious waiting room, and dessert after the meal round out the experience perfectly.

Today I'm introducing Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap in Paju, a restaurant serving hearty ssambap (wrap rice) built around stir-fried pork and stir-fried squid.

I visited just after 1pm, past the lunch peak, and the staff were still busy clearing tables from the lunch rush.

Thanks to that, we actually got to enjoy our meal in a much more relaxed, comfortable setting.

Inside Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap: parking and the waiting room

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap has plenty of dedicated parking in front of and beside the building, plus a spacious outdoor waiting room that connects directly to the restaurant. Looking around before the meal, the space felt much roomier and more pleasant than I expected.

Wood-tone tables were spaced out generously, so there was never any sense of crowding during the meal, and a corner stacked with baby chairs like a tower made it clear this is a solid choice for family meals with young kids.

With ample parking on both sides of the building and a wide waiting room right outside, it was a very comfortable place to visit by car.

What comes with the deuljeongsik set for two?

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap's deuljeongsik set for two comes with stir-fried pork, stir-fried squid, and a savory doenjang stew as the mains. Adding ₩6,000 per person upgrades it to the 'kkotjeongsik,' which adds grilled fish to the same lineup.

We ordered the deuljeongsik for two, and the mains arrived: stir-fried pork, stir-fried squid, and a savory doenjang stew.

For reference, adding ₩6,000 per person gets you the 'kkotjeongsik,' which adds grilled fish to the deuljeongsik set — worth noting.

Back to the main point — what made this place special was that the pork and squid weren't stir-fried together, but separately, then served half-and-half on the same hot-plate platter.

This thoughtful touch, which lets you fully taste each ingredient's own flavor and aroma, really impressed me.

Both the pork and the squid were cut into big, thick pieces, so the chewy texture was excellent, and the smoky wok-fried flavor filled the mouth.

The doenjang (soybean paste) stew served alongside the stir-fries was delicious too, and it wasn't just a side dish — it came in a main-dish-sized, generous portion.

The banchan (side dishes) — zucchini, kimchi, eggplant, peppers stir-fried and braised in various ways — were all delicious, so we kept refilling them.

And the gangdoenjang (thick soybean paste dip) here is the kicker. It tastes different from the gangdoenjang I've had elsewhere, but it had a pull that kept drawing me back for more.

Looking at the leftover stir-fry sauce while wrapping ssam, I really wanted to mix it with rice.

True to a ssambap restaurant, the rice came out generously in a stone pot too, and after enjoying the scooped-out rice, we made sure to finish with the savory nurungji (scorched rice) at the end.

How does the self-serve wrap vegetable bar work?

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap deliberately skips the default vegetable setting. Instead, it runs a completely self-serve system from the start, letting you take whatever suits your taste — personally, I think it's a really smart system.

Everyone has different vegetable preferences, and if the restaurant set out everything for every table, whatever people don't eat just ends up wasted.

Being able to pick only what you want from a wide, fresh selection of vegetables — with zero waste — felt really clean and considerate.

Thanks to the fresh vegetables and tasty banchan, we cleaned every dish with nothing left over.

Free dessert after the meal: senbei, coffee and ice cream

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap sets up senbei (rice crackers), coffee, and ice cream in a corner of the restaurant, so you can round off the meal properly.

After finishing a full meal thanks to the fresh wrap vegetables and rice-stealing banchan, we made sure to grab the senbei, coffee, and ice cream set up in the corner. Being able to enjoy everything from main course to dessert makes me want to come back without hesitation whenever I'm craving a hearty ssambap meal.

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap: hours, parking and address

• 📍 Location: 55-10 Dolgoji-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• 🕑 Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00 / Break time 15:30–17:00 / Last order 20:00
• 📝 Notable: Pork and squid stir-fried separately instead of mixed; 100% self-serve wrap-vegetable system with zero waste
• 🅿️ Parking: Ample dedicated parking in front of and beside the restaurant

One-line verdict: A Paju ssambap restaurant where thick pork and squid are stir-fried separately for maximum smoky flavor, and you pick only the wrap vegetables you actually want.