Muan octopus restaurant set meal with galnaktang: Dongsanjeong

Muan Mudflat Octopus Dongsanjeong

It is at 176 Seongnam 1-gil, Muan-eup, Muan-gun, and open 09:00–20:00; on Fridays and Saturdays, it is open 09:00–21:00. For parking, you can use the Muan Octopus Alley Parking Tower public lot, with free parking for 2 hours on weekdays and 24 hours on weekends!

A Muan octopus restaurant I visited during my Mokpo trip

I came to Mokpo for this trip! I really wanted some proper octopus dishes on this trip. And when it comes to octopus, Muan octopus! So I headed to Dongsanjeong, a popular spot in Muan-eup that does Muan mudflat octopus properly~

Dongsanjeong says it uses only 100% domestic octopus, sourced directly through auction every dawn! I was so excited to eat fresh Korean octopus rather than imported or frozen octopus, haha.

The signature set filled with different octopus dishes

Menu

Rather than having just one octopus dish, I wanted to try a range of them together, from tangtangi to horong gui, stir-fried octopus, and galnaktang. So I ordered the Muan mudflat octopus signature set for two!

I heard this place has carried on a 45-year tradition, but perhaps it had been newly remodeled—the restaurant was incredibly neat and clean! I visited around 4:30 on a Monday. By nearly 6, the tables were almost full. There seemed to be lots of locals!! You know it is the real deal when there are lots of older guys there, hahaha. Almost everyone was having the set course! That octopus was alive and kicking!!!!☆

My honest review of the signature set

A generous full spread came out, like a Korean table d'hôte meal!

Sannakji tangtang

Of course, if you have come for Muan octopus, you cannot leave out sannakji tangtang (chopped live octopus). Since it is fresh octopus cut into small pieces and eaten with sesame oil, the texture of the octopus itself is so important. One bite, and I could really feel its chewy yet springy texture. The nutty aroma of sesame oil made me keep reaching for more.

Personally, I liked starting with a dish like this, where you can enjoy the octopus's natural flavor and texture, rather than an octopus dish with strong seasoning from the outset~ It also made me feel like I was really eating octopus properly in Muan.

Horong gui and galnaktang

The next dish I tried was horong gui (spiral-grilled octopus). The octopus was rolled up and grilled, so it caught my eye from the look alone, and the added seasoning gave it great savory depth! The tender yet springy octopus, smoky grill aroma, and seasoning made it feel completely different from sannakji tangtang. It was fun how the same octopus could taste and feel so different depending on how it was cooked.

What unexpectedly stayed with me among the set dishes was the galnaktang (beef short rib and octopus soup). They added freshly caught live octopus right away—amazing... isn't that practically a restorative meal...!!! Since it is simmered with octopus and beef short ribs, I first thought it would taste a little heavy, but it worked so well with the broth.

After having several octopus dishes beforehand, the warm broth felt comforting in my stomach. Eating it with beef ribs instead of continuing with octopus alone also gave the meal a nice change of flavor! Galnaktang was especially well suited as a meal dish.

Stir-fried octopus mixed into seaweed-flake rice

The stir-fried octopus was such a rice thief! And, of course, you cannot leave out stir-fried octopus! It is one of the first dishes that comes to mind when you think of octopus cuisine, and I loved that the seasoning was neither too spicy nor too salty!! I think anyone who likes spicy seasoning would be especially happy with this dish.

Put rice and stir-fried octopus into the big bowl of seaweed flakes served alongside, then mix, mix~ It was seriously ridiculously delicious, hahahahaha.

A generous spread right down to the sides

The octopus pancake was beautifully crisp on the outside and nutty and delicious! The octopus was tender too, haha.

I had really wanted soy-marinated crab too!! I was so happy it came with the set course~~ The blue crab meat was so silky~~~ and the soy sauce was not overly salty, just pleasantly sweet ><

They also steamed live abalone right away. It was the softest abalone I have ever had, and even the innards were easy to enjoy~

This glutinous-rice tteokgalbi (grilled minced beef patty) was seriously delicious too, hahaha. The outside was glutinous rice and the inside was a very thick tteokgalbi patty, drizzled with sweet teriyaki sauce, so the combination was spot-on. The patty was thick enough that you could really taste the meat, and it is the kind of flavor kids would truly love!

There was octopus in the salad too! Haha. Yeongam figs are famous nearby, apparently! There were figs on top as well, haha. It was a balsamic-based salad~

This is gat jangajji (pickled mustard greens), and this was tasty too, haha. All the other side dishes were delicious as well, so I happily finished everything~~

If you want to enjoy octopus in many ways in Muan

In a word, the Muan mudflat octopus signature set for two that I had this time was “a generous spread that let me enjoy octopus in many ways.” I could enjoy the chewy texture of octopus with sannakji tangtang, taste seasoned octopus through horong gui and stir-fried octopus, and finish with warm broth in galnaktang, so the lineup was wonderfully abundant!

With soy-marinated crab, glutinous-rice tteokgalbi, steamed abalone, salad, lotus-root salad, and side dishes added in, even two people could try quite a variety of foods. If you are planning a trip to Muan and looking for a good restaurant, I think octopus dishes are worth putting high on your list. I especially recommend this menu to anyone who wants to try Muan octopus properly or sample several octopus dishes at once.