Ansan unlimited eel restaurant for a family meal: Songnim Bok Jangeo

The eel my son wanted after returning to Korea

My son, who only comes to Korea once every few years, kept saying there was one thing he wanted to eat most on this visit. It was eel. Since he lives overseas, coming to Korea is not an everyday thing, and he had been talking about eel from the moment he arrived. I promised his mom would buy him some delicious eel, so this time we went to Songnim Bok Jangeo Freshwater Eel Unlimited Refill Wongok Branch in Wongok-dong.

Actually, this was not my first visit to Songnim Bok Jangeo. Not long ago, I took my mother in her eighties to a Songnim Bok Jangeo near my home and remembered having a very satisfying meal, so this time I brought my son to this Wongok-dong eel restaurant. Since it was the food my son especially wanted after coming back to Korea for the first time in a long while, I found myself wanting to feed him even better.

Unlimited freshwater eel options and price

As its name suggests, Songnim Bok Jangeo Freshwater Eel Unlimited Refill Wongok Branch is a place where you can enjoy unlimited freshwater eel. The currently listed adult price is ₩29,900 per person, and the spread includes not only freshwater eel but also pork belly and duck neck meat. If you love eel but usually find the price too daunting to eat as much as you want, the unlimited-eel setup will definitely be appealing.

Rather than eating just one item all meal long, you can grill pork belly or duck neck meat alongside the eel, which makes it easier to satisfy different tastes when several people visit together. The restaurant says it prepares live eels each morning at its eel farm and direct-sales outlet, rather than thawing frozen eel as some other unlimited-refill restaurants do.

We put the eel on the grill and cooked it until golden. Eel really does taste best grilled right there like this. As the thick flesh cooked and turned glossy, with its savory scent spreading around us, I understood why my son had wanted eel so badly.

Eating eel as a restorative meal

People often call eel food that is good for men, good for restoring energy, or a stamina food. I think it is worth knowing the facts, too. Eel is not a food that is uniquely beneficial only for men. It contains quality protein and fat, as well as nutrients including vitamin A, B vitamins, and vitamin B12, which is why it has long been enjoyed as a restorative food.

Protein is needed to maintain body tissues including muscle, and B vitamins are involved in normal energy metabolism. So there is a nutritional basis for calling eel a stamina food, but it cannot be concluded that eating eel will immediately improve a man's physical strength or sexual function. Still, it was a very fitting menu for this mother's wish to give her son, whom she had not seen in so long, a hearty meal. Perhaps because he loves eel, he ate so well.

There was another thing I was grateful for that day. While my son and I were having this quiet meal together for the first time in years, the kind owner heard our story and even gave us bokbunja wine as a service. Eel and bokbunja wine—aren't they the Avengers combination that comes to mind when you think of restorative foods? We were amazed and thankful.

Bokbunja contains polyphenols including anthocyanins and has been studied in relation to antioxidants, but it is not appropriate to think of bokbunja wine itself as a health food. It is alcohol, after all, so it is best to avoid drinking too much. Neither of us can drink, so in the end we only looked at the bokbunja wine. Still, I was so grateful for the thought behind it that it made me happy.

Why it works for family meals and groups

Many people looking for a good restaurant in Wongok-dong may be searching for somewhere to go with a family, but also somewhere a larger group can visit together. In that respect, the unlimited-eel menu is quite practical.

Those who love eel can eat their fill of freshwater eel, while anyone who finds eel alone a little overwhelming or does not like eel can grill pork belly or duck neck meat instead.

I also thought this kind of spread would be great for people seeking a Wongok-dong place for a company dinner. A company dinner does not have to mean only pork belly or beef, after all.

For coworkers who love eel, an unlimited-eel restaurant could be a different kind of Wongok-dong company-dinner option for restoring their energy. It is lovely for a family visit like ours, but it also feels relatively easy on the wallet for a large group to eat generously together, so I think it is worth recommending.

Golden eel and perilla-leaf wraps

Just looking at the plump pieces of eel turning golden on the grill makes my mouth water. Gulp. Seeing my son eat so well made this mom feel full even without eating. My son said he liked dipping it in sauce. We also made neat perilla-leaf wraps, and when you pack them with this and that, they are absolutely honey-sweet delicious.

Best of all, we could enjoy as much of this expensive eel as we wanted, until we were bursting. My son paired it neatly with the cola the owner gave us and happily chewed away at the precious grilled eel.

Bokbunja wine might have been nice, but for our family, who cannot drink alcohol, cola was just right.

The cola was even sweeter, fizzier, and colder because it was a complimentary gift from the owner. The owner took such kind care of us, and thanks to her we enjoyed the eel so much.

Meal dishes to choose alongside eel soup

Songnim Bok Jangeo also sells eel soup that it makes itself, in addition to freshwater eel. According to the restaurant, it is characterized by a rich broth made by simmering and blending various parts of the eel. Finishing a generous helping of grilled eel with a hot bowl of eel soup sounded really good, too.

There are also meal dishes such as galbitang (beef short-rib soup), yukgaejang (spicy beef soup), buckwheat makguksu (cold noodles), spicy ramen, and nurungji (scorched rice), which is an advantage because there are plenty of menu choices even if someone in your group does not eat eel.

A meal that will stay with me longer because it was with my son

This visit to Songnim Bok Jangeo will remain a happy memory for a long time, not only because of the food, but because it was time spent with my son.

Eel was what my son, whom I see only once every few years, kept saying he wanted after coming to Korea. So I came to this Wongok-dong eel restaurant determined that Mom would feed him properly this time. With unlimited refills, we could eat as much as we wanted, and both my son and I were truly satisfied.

I had wonderful memories of visiting a Songnim Bok Jangeo near my home with my mother in her eighties recently, and this time I got to eat eel again at the Wongok Branch with my son, who lives abroad and had returned to Korea after a long time. If you are looking for a Wongok-dong eel restaurant where you can eat generously, it is a place worth considering. If you love eel near Ansan Station or need a place for a group meal, the unlimited freshwater eel is worth noticing. Above all, it is good for groups because you can eat pork belly and duck neck meat as well as eel. Since I ate this eel with my son, whom I see only once every few years, this meal will stay with me even longer.