Goyang Korean restaurant for perilla-oil mackerel: Min Cook Apbadang

A grilled fish restaurant in Seongsa-dong to visit with parents

A restaurant that is perfect for taking your parents to ♥

Guksabong, where so many great restaurants in Hwajeong-dong and Seongsa-dong are gathered!

A new grilled-fish specialty spot in Seongsa-dong, opened by the very famous lunch sushi restaurant near Hwajeong Station! I had bookmarked it because it is a great place to bring mackerel-loving parents, and finally went! Min Cook Apbadang Seongsa: 171-1 Seongsa-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si; 10:50 AM–9:00 PM; closed every Monday.

The self-service corner is set up buffet-style!

Inside this neat grilled-fish restaurant in Seongsa-dong

This Seongsa-dong spot, Min Cook Apbadang, was opened by Chef Min Cook, who received a Korean cuisine master medal, so it feels even more trustworthy! The certification displayed at the front of the restaurant is gleaming!! The rice at the original sushi restaurant was already famous for being so good because they paid such close attention to it, so I was excited for the combination of grilled fish and great rice!

Neat side dishes you can enjoy even more from the self-service corner

They brought out the side dishes so neatly arranged, too!

The steamed cabbage, wrap greens, seasoned vegetables, acorn jelly salad, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), doenjang soup, and more were all such neat side dishes—almost like a full Korean table setting! You can bring back more of every side dish from the self-service corner buffet-style, and they also sell the side dishes separately for takeaway~!

Eek, and the real standout! This was a thin cabbage pancake. Wow~ I think they drizzled soy sauce and perilla oil over the top, because the aroma was so nutty, and the beautifully crisp pancake whetted my appetite as an appetizer! We ordered the grilled-fish set but got to eat such a generous spread, so there were lots of families here at this restaurant that is great for taking your parents!

Perilla-oil grilled mackerel set with sotbap for two

The grilled mackerel set (₩20,000) carries that wonderfully nutty perilla-oil aroma! With generous side dishes and a thick, freshly grilled mackerel, its tender flesh beneath the crisp skin is the kind of meal that revives even a missing appetite~~~!

• Grilled mackerel
• Sotbap (rice cooked in an individual pot)
• Buckwheat cabbage pancake
• 6 seasonal side dishes
• Seasonal salad
• Doenjang soup
• Cabbage and lettuce wraps

A neat self-service corner set up buffet-style

The sotbap came as a portion for two, so it was easy to divide up as much as we wanted~ Such charming sotbap! As expected, every grain was plump and glossy, and this wonderfully chewy rice was so delicious even on its own that it lit a fire under my low-carb, high-fat resolve? Put a piece of savory, salty mackerel on this delicious rice and, truly, Korean food is the best~ It felt like a tired day was instantly recharged! After finishing, pour hot water into the scorched rice and enjoy it as nurungji porridge—Koreans' miraculous dessert that somehow naturally settles your stomach~~~

Nutty grilled mackerel with a perilla-oil aroma! The tender white flesh just melts away~~~ It is seasoned enough to eat as is, but dip it in wasabi soy sauce and it becomes a total rice thief! I love white fish, especially mackerel, because it is one of those protein-rich meats that is so good for you~! They also have seasonal grilled fish and braised assorted fish, so instead of going through the trouble of cooking fish at home and having the smell linger, I think I will just come here to eat it~

The lunch specials are even better value, so I need to come back for the assorted grilled fish at lunchtime, too~ They say that when you come with your parents to this parent-friendly restaurant, they will pack up marinated flower crab for you? Amazing!! After a hearty mackerel set, we finished with coffee and sikhye (sweet rice punch), looked at the nearby cats, then headed home for the sweetest sleep~! The autumn night air has been absolutely lovely lately! White fish is protein that is good for you, you know! Mackerel in particular is rich in omega-3s, so it is such a nice healthy meal out for parents. Great for my diet too, since I worry about losing muscle (..?)