Songpa seafood restaurant for sea squirts and mulhoe: Dowon Susan

A few years ago, I fell for the taste of sea squirts and even learned how to clean them. But this year, whenever I went to the East Sea coast to eat them, it either rained or the waves were too high for boats to go out, so I did not even get to see any. I heard that Dowon Susan (도원수산), a raw fish restaurant near Cheonho Station, had great seafood such as mulhoe and sea squirts, so off I went.

The address is 26 Pungseong-ro 25-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul. It is 427 m from Exit 9 of Cheonho Station on Lines 5 and 8, in Pungnap-dong, so it is close to the station. This raw fish restaurant also takes Baemin delivery orders. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 15:00–24:00.

A tank full of fresh seafood

The large tank in front of Dowon Susan held all kinds of seafood, including rockfish, flounder, and sea squirts, and seeing it completely raised my expectations. The restaurant offers takeout and delivery, and with Baemin riders constantly arriving, I thought, ah, this really must be a well-known raw fish spot around Cheonho Station~

A tidy restaurant and self-service bar

Walking into Dowon Susan near Cheonho Station, I was struck by the clean interior and the current K-pop playing away. There is also a self-service bar where you can take as many side dishes as you want, so I helped myself to cabbage salad, peas, olgaengi freshwater snails, kimchi, and miyeok-guk (seaweed soup).

Having boiled olgaengi again after so long brought back childhood memories~ As I came in, another group of four adults entered at the same time, and before long the tables filled with more guests; I could hear people all around eating olgaengi. Haha. They were pleasantly salty and just right as a fun drinking snack while waiting for the sashimi. After 5:30 p.m., the tables were nearly full and delivery orders kept coming in. The male owner of Dowon Susan looked busy catching and bringing out fish from the tank, so I was glad I had come early.

A fresh plate of sea squirts

Just by looking at their color, the freshly prepared sea squirts seemed to carry the scent of the coast. I added just a little fresh wasabi and took a bite—such a fresh sea-squirt flavor. They tasted like sea squirts delivered that very day. I had originally ordered sea-squirt rice bowl, then canceled it and switched to a plate of sea squirts. Then another table said they wanted sea squirts too and ordered them like I did~ They seemed like regulars from nearby, so when they followed my order, I felt like I had ordered knowing exactly what was best at Dowon Susan. Haha.

There was flesh attached to the sea-squirt shells too... and they had cut up the sea-squirt horns and added them to the plate. I had neither expected nor requested it, but that is what I would expect from a raw fish specialist near Cheonho Station. Put the flesh on the shell straight into your mouth and chew to get the flavor, then spit out the shell. There is not a huge amount of flesh, but I like the chewy pleasure of it. Thank you to the owner of Dowon Susan for taking such thorough care of us 😉👍👍👍

Is one serving of mulhoe enough for two?

The temperature had dropped a lot over the last few days, but delicious mulhoe—cold raw fish soup—was impossible to pass up regardless of the weather. My anticipation was soaring after the sea squirts, so I was curious about the mulhoe. It was generous, with lots of sashimi, and perfect for two to share.

I used a ladle to stir the broth so the sashimi and vegetables were evenly mixed into it, and the lightly icy broth appeared. The tangy broth was bursting with savory depth—exactly the kind of flavor that revives an appetite when nothing sounds good. Once I had a bite, I could not stop.

It was absolutely excellent with the generous sashimi and noodles mixed in. If you want more vegetables, adding the cabbage salad vegetables from the self-service bar works wonderfully. I also added sea squirts to the mulhoe, which made it feel like assorted mulhoe, so the two of us could enjoy a variety of flavors from one serving.

After finishing the noodle mulhoe, we added a bowl of rice and mixed it into the remaining broth, then had a bite with sashimi. I was so happy. Haha. It may seem so simple, but what can you do? Delicious food puts you in a good mood and makes you happy!

When you are looking for fresh seafood near Cheonho Station

It is a five-minute walk from Cheonho Station, and the young owner couple are kind and neat, making this Pungnap-dong raw fish restaurant feel like an easy, comfortable place to eat. On weekend evenings, neighborhood residents came as couples, families, groups, and with friends, while delivery orders kept rolling in. It is already a locally famous raw fish restaurant, but if you are on a Pungnaptoseong Fortress date or looking for a good restaurant near Cheonho Station, I recommend the clean, neighborhood-favorite Dowon Susan.