Suhyup wholesaler eel buffet in Ansan, no muddy taste: Songnim Bok

I visited Songnim Bok Jangeo Freshwater Eel All-You-Can-Eat Ansan City Hall Direct Store (송림복장어민물장어무한리필 안산시청직영점), a famous eel spot near Ansan City Hall! Let me introduce it to you~

Where is Songnim Bok Jangeo Ansan City Hall Direct Store?

The restaurant is a 5-minute walk from Ansan City Hall and 6 minutes by car from Jungang Station on Subway Line 4. The address is Units 201 and 202, 33 Danggok-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi (528-1 Gojan-dong).

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor of the building, and it was easy to get up by elevator or escalator. Opening hours are 11:20–22:00.

They say Songnim Bok is a partner of wholesaler no. 8 at the Freshwater Eel Farming Fisheries Cooperative. So you can trust you're eating better-quality eel.

The seating inside is really spacious, so it seemed great for group gatherings or company dinners.

How much is the eel buffet near Ansan City Hall, and how long can you stay?

At Songnim Bok you can eat eel, pork belly and chicken neck all-you-can-eat, for ₩29,900 per adult and ₩14,000 per child (elementary school). A ₩3,000 table setting fee is charged separately, except for children!

They also sell a variety of meals to go with the eel, such as eel soup, yukgaejang (spicy beef soup), galbitang (short rib soup), buckwheat makguksu (noodles) and spicy ramyeon.

The wall listed the benefits of freshwater eel and pork. Freshwater eel, the classic stamina and health food, is said to reduce fatigue substances and help recovery, and to be rich in nutrients like immunity-boosting compounds, calcium and iron. Pork is described as rich in collagen, thiamine, iron, minerals and vitamins B1 and B2, good for blood production, nervous system function, skin health, anti-aging and brain function, and protective of the body's nerves. I had no idea pork had this many benefits, haha.

The all-you-can-eat time limit at Songnim Bok is set at 2 hours. Instructions for grilling eel well are posted around the restaurant, so I could grill the eel while reading them.

What comes with the basic table setting, and which meat arrives first?

The basic setting at Songnim Bok comes with small plates, paper cups, pickled perilla leaves, green onion kimchi, white kimchi and radish pickles. They also brought tongs and scissors for grilling the eel, plus eel sauce and shredded ginger for dipping.

At first they bring chicken neck, pork belly and eel. When you need more, they told us to use the self-serve corner.

Soon after, they brought the charcoal, and the charcoal was really good.

I took as much sauce as I wanted into my sauce dish. It comes in a squeeze style, which was convenient and more hygienic.

How to grill freshwater eel over charcoal, step by step

The fresh eel served first at Songnim Bok was placed skin-side down on the grill and grilled first for us. After that, they cut off the middle of the back, the side fins and the head fin with scissors.

Then you cut it into bite-size pieces and stand them up to brown the cut sides!

The nicely browned eel can be dipped in salt or in sauce, whichever you like! Even for me, someone who doesn't really love eel, there was no earthy taste and I enjoyed it.

What's at the self-serve corner?

At Songnim Bok, you use the self-serve corner when you want more meat and side dishes.

The self-serve corner had assorted side dishes and wrapping vegetables like lettuce, perilla leaves, garlic, chili peppers and ssamjang (dipping paste)! There was salt too, so I sprinkled some on while grilling the eel.

How were the pork belly and chicken neck?

The pork belly and chicken neck served alongside were juicy and not stiff, so I enjoyed them. Pork belly cooks relatively fast, so I recommend grilling the eel while you eat the pork belly.

Kids, takeout and dessert at Songnim Bok Jangeo

Songnim Bok also has baby chairs, so you can seat a little one well away from the hot charcoal.

They also sell eel for takeout, 650g after trimming from 1kg! They give 2 sauces for free. I could see the clean kitchen too.

There was a coffee machine for after the meal, and they also sell nurungji (scorched rice) and kkwabaegi (twisted doughnut) snacks! They sell eel juice too.

That was Songnim Bok in Ansan, a great eel spot near City Hall where I could eat good-quality eel without limit!