Comparing half-and-half vs 3-combo mulhoe at Ppwang Mulhoe, Pohang

Pohang means mulhoe (raw fish in cold spicy broth), doesn't it! On the way from Busan to a Gangwon-do trip, I stopped in Pohang because I wanted mulhoe, and here's my story of Ppwang Mulhoe, a squid and flounder mulhoe spot right by Yeongildae Beach!

Location and parking in front of Yeongildae Beach

Ppwang Mulhoe sits right in front of Yeongildae Beach, so it's not just locals — a lot of tourists stop by too, it seems to be a well-known mulhoe spot in Pohang! There's a parking space in front of the shop, but it was full, so I parked across the street and walked over.

Interior and window ocean-view seats

The interior was bigger than I expected, but even on a weekday afternoon it was such a Pohang hotspot that seats filled up fast haha. We got seated near the window, so we got to eat while looking at the gorgeous Yeongildae Beach view.

What's at the self-serve bar?

On one side there was a self-serve bar with tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), tteokgalbi, sautéed zucchini, sautéed eggplant, acorn jelly, corn salad, thin noodles, and more — a nice variety of side dishes, plus tteokbokki to snack on before the main dishes arrived, so a lot of people were using it.

There were also several baby chairs in the restaurant, so it's a good spot to visit with a baby.

They were also running a Naver receipt review event — write a review and get free mini fried squid! Try joining the event and get the freebie~~ 😆

Ppwang Mulhoe's menu lineup

The menu had a good range across mulhoe, raw fish, specialty dishes, and sets — mulhoe options included squid mulhoe, flounder mulhoe, Ppwang mulhoe, abalone mulhoe, and abalone-squid mulhoe, and I liked that you could also pick hoe-deopbap (raw fish rice bowl), squid sashimi, flounder sashimi, or a half-and-half combination however you wanted. Side dishes were varied too — fried squid, whole boiled squid, whole boiled octopus, squid pajeon, hanwoo bulgogi rice bowl, shrimp fried rice, Ppwang emperor mulhoe, seasoned boiled squid, grilled prawns, Dokdo shrimp tempura — and there were set menus too, so you could order differently depending on how many people you had!

• Half-and-half mulhoe (squid + flounder)
• 3-combo mulhoe (squid + flounder + mixed fish)
• Squid pajeon

What we ordered

Before the food came out, we brought over various side dishes plus tteokbokki and tteokgalbi from the self-serve bar. There were several sides to choose from, and I was especially happy about the tteokbokki since I'm a tteokbokki lover haha.

The food came out pretty quickly.

Mulhoe and squid pajeon eaten with that gorgeous view looked even more delicious.

Squid pajeon

The pajeon (savory pancake) packed with squid looked crispy just from the sight of it, really delicious haha.

I tore it into bite-sized pieces and tried some — since it was freshly cooked, it was even tastier haha. The edges were crispy and nutty, and it was packed with vegetables and squid — totally couldn't go wrong!!

Half-and-half mulhoe (squid + flounder)

For the half-and-half mulhoe I chose the squid and flounder combination.

The thinly sliced squid and flounder looked even more appetizing, and the portion was bigger than I expected.

3-combo mulhoe (squid + flounder + mixed fish)

This one is the 3-combo mulhoe, mixing three types together — squid, flounder, and mixed fish.

Maybe it's just my imagination, but the 3-combo did feel like it had more fish than the half-and-half haha.

How to eat Ppwang Mulhoe the tasty way

According to the instructions on how to enjoy Ppwang Mulhoe, you're supposed to mix it without broth at first, then add the broth later — so I tried mixing it like hoe-muchim (spicy mixed raw fish) at first, and the fish was definitely fresh and tasty, but I think it was even better because the vegetables were also fresh and thinly sliced, not just the fish haha.

I really love mulhoe, so I figured I'd finish it all if I kept eating it like that, so I poured the broth in right away. The broth wasn't as salty as I expected, so even with a lot of broth the seasoning was still just right and good!

After eating some of the solids, I added the thin noodles — since they're thin, they really soaked up the broth well, so adding noodles is a must haha.

I'd already eaten from the self-serve bar and added noodles too, so I was too full to eat more, but my husband is the type who feels shortchanged if he doesn't mix a bowl of rice into his mulhoe, so he went right ahead and mixed in a bowl of rice and enjoyed it thoroughly haha.

Final thoughts

There are plenty of great mulhoe spots in Busan too, but eating it locally in Pohang really is different! Personally, since you eat mulhoe with a spoon, I'm not a fan of places that slice the fish or vegetables too thick, but at Ppwang Mulhoe both the fish and vegetables were thinly sliced, which made it so much easier to eat. Some places skip the broth entirely and just add ice with chojang (vinegar-chili sauce) to mix, but I definitely preferred eating it this way, poured over with icy broth!! And be sure to order the pajeon too, it went really well with the mulhoe haha.

If you're looking for a great mulhoe spot in Pohang, a great restaurant near Yeongildae, I recommend Ppwang Mulhoe, which does a great squid and flounder mulhoe ❤️