Jinhae mackerel and spicy pork sets for two: Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo

A friend who lives in another area started talking about Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo one day, saying it was so good and that I absolutely had to try it if there was one nearby. I looked it up and found out it's a chain with branches all over the country — and it turned out there was one in Changwon too, so I got curious and went to check it out.

I usually like grilled fish, but I don't cook it at home very often since it makes the whole place smell and cleanup is a hassle. So I was extra excited to hear that this place grills fish in a wood-fired oven over 500°C, giving it a crispy outside and moist inside.

This time I visited the Changwon Yongwon branch of Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo. Besides the grilled fish sets, they also have a pork bulgogi set and a self-serve bar with all kinds of food, so we left having eaten a really filling meal.

Where is Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo in Yongwon-dong, and is there parking?

Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo, Changwon Yongwon Branch is located at 16 Yongjae-ro, Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, 1st floor. It's open 11:00–21:00 with no days off, and you can park right in front of the restaurant.

There are about 4 parking spots set up right in front of the restaurant.

Curtain seats and private rooms inside Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo

The inside was bigger than I expected. There's regular open seating, plus fully enclosed rooms with doors and curtained-off areas.

There were quite a lot of curtained seats in particular, which made it easy to eat without worrying much about nearby tables. It seemed like a good spot for a family meal or a meal with your parents too.

Menu line-up and the one-dish-per-person rule

The whole menu is set up as full sets, and ordering any set means you also get access to the self-serve bar.

Since the self-serve bar is included, anyone elementary school age or older has to order one menu item per person, and ages 5–7 have to order from the kids menu. The kids menu has its own separate options — mackerel set for ₩9,000 and hand-made wood-fired tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) for ₩10,000.

What we ordered was the mackerel set and the pork bulgogi set.

I said since the restaurant's whole name is literally 'mackerel grilled in a wood oven,' we should both just get the mackerel set — but my husband insisted pork bulgogi is a soul food for men and we had to have it, haha. In the end we each ordered one and shared.

At first, six basic side dishes come out with the meal. If you run out, you can grab more from the self-serve bar, which has a much wider variety than just what comes out at first.

There was also a doenjang chili-pepper mix, but luckily it used mild cucumber peppers so even I could eat it fine, haha.

How does the wood-fired mackerel set taste?

Given the restaurant's whole name is about mackerel grilled in a wood oven, the grilled mackerel was obviously what I was most curious about! The mackerel set comes with half a mackerel, and since it's grilled in an oven over 500°C, the skin was golden brown and beautifully crisp.

They apparently use salt that's had the bitterness drained out for over 10 years, to bring out the flavor of the fish.

Looking at it from the outside, it looks tightly grilled and crisp, but once you flake the flesh apart it's completely the opposite — the inside was really soft and moist. The description 'crisp outside, tender inside' fit perfectly.

It's already seasoned well enough on its own that I didn't dip it in soy sauce — just added a little wasabi. The salty mackerel paired really nicely with the wasabi, and it was delicious.

How spicy is the jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) set?

The pork bulgogi my husband insisted we had to order, haha. To cut to the conclusion — it was also delicious. Compared to the grilled mackerel, it's a bolder, more intense flavor, the kind that keeps you reaching for more.

There was also lettuce at the self-serve bar, so I tried wrapping rice and pork bulgogi together in a lettuce wrap — it was even better eaten that way.

That said, the pork bulgogi was spicier than expected. I'm pretty weak with spicy food, and my husband literally told me from the start not to even try it. Still, I was curious and gave it a shot — it was definitely spicy. Luckily the heat didn't linger in my mouth for long, and it was tasty enough that I ended up going back for about three more bites, haha. If you can't handle spicy food well, this is worth keeping in mind.

What's on the self-serve bar?

The self-serve bar had quite a wide variety too. You could grab more of most of the side dishes that came out at first, plus there was braised lotus root, which wasn't among the initial side dishes. The lotus root was nice and crunchy, so this was tasty too.

Beyond the side dishes, there was also japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), stir-fried sausage, tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes), braised tofu, and sungnyung (scorched rice tea), among other things. Rice was also at the self-serve bar, so you could freely grab more if you ran out.

On one side there was even a self-serve bibimbap (mixed rice) station. Four kinds of seasoned vegetables were set out — bracken, bean sprouts, radish salad — and you could mix in sesame oil and gochujang (red chili paste) to your taste.

I love seasoned vegetables and bibimbap normally, so I really wanted to try this too, but the problem was the main dishes alone had already filled me up completely, haha. We even had to leave a little of the mackerel and pork bulgogi, so getting to the bibimbap was simply out of the question.

What we would order on a second visit

There was such a variety of food that it was almost a shame we couldn't fully take advantage of the self-serve bar. Grilled fish sets are the main draw here, but with the self-serve bar included, it honestly felt like a Korean buffet with really good grilled fish thrown in.

Cooking fish at home leaves a lingering smell that makes it hard to do often even if you like it, so being able to eat wood-fired mackerel without any of that hassle was a real plus.

Overall, with mild side dishes paired with grilled fish, this place seems like a great fit if you're looking for a Korean restaurant in Yongwon-dong, Jinhae-gu, or somewhere to have a filling meal with your parents. When we visited, we actually noticed older couples dining together and families bringing their mothers along.

Next time I visit, I'm not going to be greedy — I'll pace myself with the mackerel first and make sure to try the bibimbap too!

Final verdict on Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo, Changwon Yongwon Branch

• Wood-fired grilled mackerel, crisp outside and tender inside
• A self-serve bar with everything from side dishes to bibimbap
• Curtained and private room seating, good for family meals
• A hearty Korean meal without worrying about the smell of grilling fish