Paju ssambap spot for no-appetite days, a couple's go-to: Simhaksan

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap: a couple's Paju go-to for no-appetite days

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap (심학산 들꽃쌈밥) is a ssambap (leaf-wrap rice) and Korean set meal restaurant at 55-10 Dolgoji-gil, at the foot of Simhaksan in Paju. It is open 11:00-21:00, with a break from 15:30 to 17:00 and last order at 20:00. It's the place my husband and I think of whenever we have no appetite!

You know those days when everything tastes just so-so and nothing really appeals? There's a place my husband and I go back to surprisingly often on those days: Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap in Paju! We've been several times already, so when trying a new restaurant feels scary or we just don't want to risk a miss, this is our comfortable regular. Today's post is a revisit review.

Where is Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap, and is there parking?

There's a parking lot in front of the restaurant, so it's easy to come by car. Going out for a good meal and then circling around looking for a spot wears you out before you even eat, so I like that there's little of that stress here.

It's also near Lotte Outlets Paju, so it's an easy stop after shopping or after hiking Simhaksan, a ssambap restaurant that works well as a Paju outlet-area meal.

Atmosphere and seating at Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap

This is the inside of the restaurant. Step in and it feels comfortable and homey. With its home-cooked atmosphere, it's just right for sitting down to a proper, warm meal.

There are tables for four up to group seating, so it's good for a casual meal, a family outing, a meal with your parents, or all kinds of group gatherings.

What's on the menu at Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap?

The menu has the Kkot set (꽃정식), the Deul set (들정식), a kids' menu and extra items. We ordered the Deul set for two.

Unlimited self-serve wrap greens and side dishes

What I especially love at Simhaksan Deulkkot is the wrap self-serve bar. There's a good variety of vegetables, but above all they're fresh. And the wrap vegetables are unlimited!! They're so good that before I know it I'm heading back to the bar again.

The basic side dishes come in great variety too, and you can help yourself at a self-serve bar for those as well.

After we ordered, a table full of side dishes arrived first. There's a real variety and each one is neatly made. Nothing is too strong; the flavors are as comforting as home cooking, so I kept picking at one after another. The side dishes here are secretly rice thieves (so good you eat extra rice). Wraps refill, side dishes refill, so the table never really empties.

This is the pumpkin porridge served before the meal. Sweet and smooth, it warmed the stomach nicely before we ate.

What comes in the 20,000-won Deul set?

The Deul set at Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap is ₩20,000 per person, and we had it for two.

The Deul set comes with spicy stir-fried pork (jeyuk-bokkeum) + spicy stir-fried squid (ojingeo-bokkeum) + doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) + ganggdoenjang (thick, chunky soybean paste) + stone-pot rice. As the dishes start arriving one by one, the table is soon completely full. I also brought back a big plate of fresh wraps from the self-serve bar.

Springy stir-fried squid that goes perfectly with rice

The stars of the Deul set are the stir-fried pork and the stir-fried squid. Just looking at them makes my mouth water!

The seasoning was so good that I first put squid and onion on a spoonful of white rice and gulped it down.

The springy texture and the sweet-spicy sauce go together so well that it's truly a rice thief.

Stir-fried pork wrapped with gangdoenjang

Next to the squid is the stir-fried pork. The moderately sweet-spicy sauce soaks well into the meat, so it's delicious even with just rice, but at Deulkkot Ssambap it really has to be eaten as a wrap! Lay down a fresh leaf, add a piece of pork, dab on a little ganggdoenjang, and take a big bite!

The seasoning isn't too strong, so you can keep eating without it feeling heavy, and the vegetables are really fresh, which makes the combination fresh and delicious. It never gets tiresome and actually makes you want to eat more.

Refillable, savory doenjang stew

And you can't skip the doenjang stew here! It's not a flashy dish, but every time I come to Deulkkot Ssambap, I find the doenjang stew so good. It's even better that you can keep it simmering warm at the table while you eat.

Take a spoonful of the steaming stew and you really taste the deep, nutty flavor. Best of all, refills are possible, so great! Whenever we visit, a doenjang stew refill is a given!!

Finish the stone-pot rice with nurungji (scorched rice)

After scooping out the freshly cooked, piping-hot stone-pot rice and eating it with the stir-fried pork and squid, there's one last course waiting.

It's nurungji (scorched rice tea)!! Water is poured into the stone pot once the rice is scooped out, and when you open it at the end of the meal, you get nutty nurungji. Warm and toasty, it was just right for ending the meal comfortably.

Dessert at Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap

For dessert there are retro snacks, coffee and ice cream, so the ending was sweet too.

Why Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap is worth a repeat visit

With warm stone-pot rice, stir-fried pork and squid, hearty doenjang stew and ganggdoenjang, plus fresh wrap vegetables and neat side dishes all laid out on the table, you really feel you've had a proper meal. Wraps, side dishes and even the doenjang stew can be refilled freely, so it's a great place to eat your fill.

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap, our regular spot for when we have no appetite. The next time we can't decide what to eat, I think our feet will naturally head here again.