Post-walk deuljeongsik set at a Paju ssambap restaurant: Simhaksan

Lots of people head toward Simhaksan or stop by the Paju outlets and then look for somewhere to eat — that was exactly us this time! We ended up at Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap in Paju!! haha 🌿

Where is Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap, and what are its hours?

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap

📍 Address 📍 55-10 Dolgoji-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea ⏰ Hours ⏰ Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 (break 15:30–17:00 last order 20:00) Sat–Sun (last order 20:00) 🚘 Parking 🚘 Available

Being so close to Simhaksan, it was the perfect stop after a walk or hike! From the entrance, the whole place had this tidy, put-together feel, so I felt at ease the moment I stepped in haha. It seemed like a great Korean-set-course spot near Simhaksan for bringing your parents, or even for a date — nice and refined. The tables inside were spacious and kept clean, so we could chat comfortably the whole meal ☺️

What comes in the deuljeongsik set for two?

What we ordered was the deuljeongsik set for two! Deuljeongsik comes with pork stir-fry + squid stir-fry + doenjang stew (fermented soybean paste stew) + gangdoenjang (thick seasoned soybean paste) + stone-pot rice. With two main dishes plus stew and rice for two people, it looked plenty filling for lunch. And getting to eat both pork stir-fry and squid stir-fry!! Loved that.

Soon after, the table filled up with side dishes! At Korean restaurants I care about the main dish, but I also love these basic banchan (side dishes) — having something light alongside made the whole meal feel easier haha.

Starting with pumpkin porridge and salad

Before the meal, pumpkin porridge and salad to wake up the appetite! The porridge was soft and sweet, gone in just a couple of spoonfuls. Warming up my stomach with the porridge before the mains was nice 💛. The banchan came out clean and neatly arranged too.

The doenjang stew at Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap

And no Korean table is complete without doenjang stew, which came along too. A spoonful of hot doenjang stew followed by a spoonful of rice — that combo needs no explanation haha. Wrapping bites of pork and squid stir-fry while dipping into the stew now and then made it feel like a proper full meal. Exactly the style of doenjang stew I love.

What is the self-serve wrap-green bar like?

The biggest draw of Deulkkot Ssambap is the self-serve bar, where you can help yourself as much as you want! At Deulkkot Ssambap you can freely load up on fresh wrap greens and neat side dishes from the self-serve bar, which felt so convenient and nice. The variety of wrap greens especially was impressive — beyond just lettuce and perilla leaves, every kind looked as green and fresh as if it had just been picked from the field. Because the vegetables themselves were so fresh, even eating the wraps alone was genuinely delicious! The side dishes were clean and not over-seasoned, so I went back for refills several times 💚

Then, alongside the main pork and squid dishes, the stone-pot rice arrived and the table got even more packed and generous!

The stone-pot rice

And stone-pot rice, which I love at ssambap restaurants! Somehow getting stone-pot rice instead of plain rice makes it feel like a proper full meal haha. I scooped out the hot rice to eat with the pork or squid stir-fry, then poured water into the leftover pot to make nurungji (scorched rice) at the end — perfect finish! Between the banchan, mains, stew, and wrap greens, I ended up genuinely full by the end.

How the pork stir-fry and squid stir-fry taste

The mains of the deuljeongsik — pork stir-fry and squid stir-fry! Both went great with rice, whether spooned over the stone-pot rice or wrapped in greens. Having just one main could feel a bit plain, but with two dishes we got to alternate between them, which was great!

The moment the pork stir-fry arrived, the subtle smoky char aroma alone was a work of art! No gamey smell at all, the meat was tender and juicy, and the seasoning had soaked all the way through, so the savory heat spread more with every bite. It wasn't overly sweet or sharp — the flavor just clicked, the kind of classic taste anyone, any age, would like.

I was impressed that even though the squid pieces were really thick, they were never chewy — the texture was bouncy and tender! The sauce was spicy in a way that stayed sharp and kept perking up the appetite, so my chopsticks kept going back for more. Wrapping a big piece of squid in a leaf, the juices and sauce came together for an explosion of savoriness! haha

I kept wrapping things up however I liked. Personally, I found it delicious even piling both pork and squid into one wrap at once lol!! 😋 Somehow coming to a ssambap restaurant always makes me eat more rice than usual lol. The wrap greens at Deulkkot Ssambap especially tasted so good that my husband and I couldn't stop complimenting the meal.

Finishing a Simhaksan lunch with nurungji

At the end, we finished with warm nurungji made from the water poured into the stone pot! Paju has so many good restaurants that it's always hard to decide where to eat, but this time I left Deulkkot Ssambap full and satisfied after the deuljeongsik set. 🌿 If you're looking for a Korean set-course restaurant near Simhaksan, a ssambap restaurant near the Paju outlets, or just a clean, filling restaurant in Paju, this one's worth keeping in mind 💚