Soma Museum area monkfish stew for two, no spice: Ttoksuni Jamsil

The breeze was so cool and perfect for a walk~~ high blue skies 🍁 autumn agujjim season

Where is Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil, and when is it open?

Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil Direct Branch sits at 48 Wirye-seongdae-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul, right across from the Soma Museum of Art at Olympic Park. It's open daily 11:00–22:00, with a break time from 15:00–16:30, and last order at 21:00.

Walking into this Olympic Park monkfish stew spot, there's a wall of Korean Culinary Master awards displayed next to the self-serve corner. I've eaten at other award-winning places before and the quality really does feel different, so seeing those plaques bumped my expectations up right away.

The side dishes: eolgali yeolmu kimchi and perilla-seed pollack seaweed soup

An Olympic Park monkfish stew spot The basic banchan

The banchan (side dishes) came out homestyle. Since agujjim is meant to be eaten spicy, the mild side dishes suited my taste perfectly. The eolgali yeolmu kimchi (young radish greens kimchi) was exactly my style! It tasted just slightly aged with a nice tang, and wasn't tough at all texture-wise. I hadn't had yeolmu kimchi like that in a while and I still remember the taste vividly — loved it. I also finished the soft perilla-seed pollack seaweed soup before the agujjim even arrived. Haha~~ it was too good to hold back.

The squid pancake wasn't fried to order, but it still tasted good — I figured it would've been even better earlier in the day. You could tell real care went into the side dishes, and it made sense that this Olympic Park monkfish stew place had earned a Korean Culinary Master award.

Why there is a line at the self-serve side dish bar

The self-serve banchan corner had new items too, like wasabi, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), and gochu-buchak (fried pepper chips), and there was actually a line for refills. Waiting in line for extra side dishes, haha — apparently everyone else already knew about this except me~~

Agujjim for two: which spice level should you pick?

Agujjim for two

I can't handle spicy food well, so I ordered the mild version. On the table-order screen you can pick a spice level — mine was mild, then slightly spicy (about Shin Ramyun level), spicy, and very spicy, I believe. I agonized (?) hard between the Shin Ramyun-level spice and mild, lol, but in the end — mild it is!

There was plenty of monkfish meat and a generous pile of bean sprouts, and the minari (water dropwort) on top smelled wonderful. Minari pancakes are trendy these days and I've been seeing minari in a lot of restaurant dishes lately — here at Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil it was arranged nicely on top too, looking great and adding a rich aroma that paired well with the stew.

What is disappointing about the mild, no-spice version

The one letdown while enjoying the monkfish was that, probably because it was the mild version, the flavor felt a bit thin. That was my own doing since I'm the one who ordered mild, so I can't really blame anyone... ㅠㅠ Even though it looks red, it's not spicy, so it's a good option for kids too. Korean chili powder usually has a sweetness alongside the heat, giving even spicy dishes a certain sweet edge, but I didn't get that here, which felt like a small miss. Still, we waited for a table to open up at this Olympic Park monkfish stew spot and sat down as soon as it was cleared, so maybe it's just personal preference~~

Freshly popped rice snacks by the register

A fun dessert Freshly popped rice snack

The entrance doubles as the register, and right next to it is an instant popped-rice snack setup — there's literally a machine there, so once the stock runs out, they pop a fresh batch right away, haha. I noticed coffee, drinks, and ice cream as dessert options, but I didn't expect an instant popping machine too~~ Everyone was busy munching away on the way out the door. It was such a good palate cleanser after the spicy agujjim. The cool plum tea, sweet with plum aroma, is also good for digestion — a nice thoughtful touch.

Is Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil worth a visit?

With 50 years of tradition behind it, the spicy version of Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil's monkfish stew is probably even better — if you're craving something spicy and can handle heat, this Olympic Park monkfish stew spot is a great place to eat.