Dangjin fish restaurant with honey wood-fired pizza: Hwadeogeuro Gan

Hi, it's Harong! I recently decided to go on a diet, so I've been trying to eat lots of protein. I didn't want the usual suspects like shabu-shabu or suyuk (boiled pork), so I started thinking about healthy, tasty protein and remembered Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Dangjin Wondang Branch, a Korean restaurant in Dangjin. So off I went.

Location, parking and hours of Hwadeogeuro Gan Dangjin Wondang Branch

Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Dangjin Wondang Branch is at 41 Wondang-ro, 1st floor left unit, Dangjin-si, Chungnam (Wondang-dong 849-5). Park in the private lot behind the building. It's open Monday and Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00–21:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00. It's closed on Tuesdays, and Dangjin Love gift vouchers are accepted.

Money's been tight lately, so I was hesitant about eating out, but they're doing 10% off to celebrate the reopening!! I felt relaxed before I even walked in.

They also sell a Dangjin weekday lunch special. It comes with a self-serve bar and bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables), starting at ₩9,900, which took a lot of the pressure off.

Spacious interior and the 500°C wood-fired oven

The restaurant itself is really big, so it seems perfect for families or group gatherings. There are plush sofa seats, the seating is sectioned off a bit like partitions, and the tables are spaced apart, so it never felt crowded and I could eat comfortably.

The staff member moving busily in front of the oven looked incredibly professional. Everything from the fish to the wood-fired pizza is made here, and the taste was seriously amazing. The oven apparently reaches a whopping 500°C!

What's at the self-serve bar and bibimbap corner

This is the self-serve bar, neatly and cleanly set up. There were lots of side dishes like cucumber peppers, lettuce and pickled radish,

plus japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), pork bulgogi and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), which a kid-palate person like me loves. Honestly, I could have polished off a bowl of rice with just these.

For anyone who wants something soupy, there's soup and nurungji (scorched rice). They really seem to have thought of everything!

The menu and set options: choose one rice

It looks like ordering one menu item per person is required. The sets seemed solidly put together for the price, so if you're visiting with two or more people, I'd recommend ordering a set for good value.

These are the main dishes. For a set, you pick two mains, and the other items in the set's name come along with them.

When you choose a main, you can pick either white rice or brown rice. When I later ordered extra rice, I noticed brown rice costs more.

How the wood-fired mackerel and Spanish mackerel taste

The mackerel I ordered came out first.

It was glistening, and you could tell just by looking that the skin was crisp.

The fish was so big and plump that even after I pulled off a generous piece, you couldn't tell anything was missing.

Put a piece on top of rice and I'd say it rivals a royal banquet table.

Then the samchi gui (grilled Spanish mackerel) finally arrived. It was much bigger than the mackerel, way bigger than an adult's palm. I made up my mind and scooped out the flesh with a spoon. Honestly, isn't this why we eat out? I don't know why I can never get this look at home.

Is this the right time to use the word "crispy outside, moist inside"? The outside was really, truly crunchy, and the inside was full of moisture, just like in the photo.

Highly recommended: wood-fired pizza dipped in honey

And here's the wood-fired pizza I was recommending so strongly. The cheese pull was insane.

Dip it in the honey that comes with it and wow, it's amazing. I actually don't like pizza dough because it tastes floury, but baked in a wood-fired oven it's crispy and chewy and tastes different. I guess this is why people keep shouting "wood-fired pizza!" If you come with kids, ordering the pizza will definitely make you a hit.

That was my honest review, strongly recommending the wood-fired pizza at Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Dangjin Wondang Branch, a Korean restaurant in Dangjin.