Byeongjeom squid restaurant for group dinners, self-serve bar: Haetan

Today I want to share a place where I ate really well after a while. You know those days when you have no appetite or you're just craving something spicy and filling?

That's exactly when I found Haetan Byeongjeom. If you're looking for a good squid restaurant near Byeongjeom, you've probably heard of this place before.

After visiting myself, I get why it's known as a Byeongjeom favorite. You can try squid with pork all at once — from the squid-and-pork stir-fry to sweet-and-tangy squid salad with vinegar dressing to crispy fried squid — which also made it great for a group visit.

Is Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom big enough for a group dinner?

Haetan Byeongjeom is spacious and clean, so it works fine as a group dinner spot too. The first thing that caught my eye walking in was the wide, tidy interior. You'd expect a place serving stir-fries or pub-style dishes to feel a bit casual and cluttered, but Haetan Byeongjeom felt much cleaner and more put-together than I expected!

The tables were spaced out generously, so I never felt cramped against the next table. And best of all, the tables were wide, so it was easy to lay out several dishes at once without things getting crowded.

It's tasty on its own, but dipping it lightly into the squid salad sauce or the squid-pork stir-fry sauce was also a nice touch. Getting to try several squid dishes in one sitting felt like a pretty satisfying setup for anyone who loves squid.

It's a good spot for a family meal, and it also suited eating with friends or looking for a group dinner venue. The whole place was kept clean and tidy, which put me in a good mood even before the food arrived.

What the self-serve bar holds: wrap greens, corn mayo, rice and soup

Haetan Byeongjeom's self-serve bar has lettuce and perilla leaves for wraps, corn mayo, seasoned bean sprouts, and even rice and soup ready to go. It's not just the main dishes that are good — the side dishes to go with them were well stocked too, which I loved.

There were fresh, crisp lettuce and perilla leaves ready for wrapping, perfect with the squid-pork stir-fry. And honestly, the corn mayo quietly won me over.

Squid salad in vinegar dressing that wakes up the appetite

Haetan Byeongjeom's squid salad, with its vinegar dressing, was the perfect sweet-and-tangy counterpart to the spicy hot-plate squid-pork stir-fry. Switching between the spicy stir-fry and the tangy-sweet squid salad completely reset my palate. The sour-sweet sauce with crunchy vegetables and plump squid really revived my appetite.

The crunchy corn kernels and smooth mayonnaise paired really well with the spicy food. Taking a bite whenever the heat crept up made everything feel gentler in the mouth! The seasoned bean sprouts were also crisp and not too heavily seasoned, so they paired nicely with the main dishes.

If you love spicy food especially, ordering one of these tangy side dishes alongside will make the meal feel much more varied.

Crispy fried squid at Haetan Hwaseong Byeongjeom

And you can't skip the fried squid! Big chunks of squid fried until crispy outside and moist inside — really satisfying texture. Eating one warm right out of the fryer, the crunchy batter and the chewiness of the squid worked really well together.

Best of all, rice and soup were both easily available at the self-serve bar, which is great for anyone wanting a really filling meal.

The main dish: hot-plate squid stir-fried with pork

Finally, the hot-plate squid stir-fry with pork I'd been waiting for arrived. It came out sizzling on the hot plate, so the visuals alone were a knockout.

And the sauce I saved for last! It would be such a waste to skip mixing it with rice. Mixing rice into the sauce spread the spicy flavor evenly through every grain — it felt like a whole separate dish.

As soon as the dish arrived, the smoky char and spicy sauce smell hit me — genuinely the kind of smell that makes you crave rice, haha. The squid wasn't too chewy, with a soft yet springy texture, and the pork was well seasoned enough to enjoy on its own.

Eating the squid and pork together and getting both textures and flavors at once seems to be the real charm of this dish. With the sweet-spicy sauce and that subtle smoky char, it's the kind of flavor that keeps you thinking about rice! It's delicious on its own, but I still think eating it as a wrap was the best.

Lay a lettuce leaf, add a perilla leaf, pile on plenty of squid and pork, top with a little corn mayo, and take a big bite... spicy, savory and chewy all hit at once, and it's genuinely delicious. You have to try this combination :)

Is Haetan worth the trip for a meal in Byeongjeom?

Overall, after finishing my meal, my impression was that this is a great squid restaurant for eating your fill. The place is spacious and clean, the self-serve bar is well stocked, and above all the main dishes pair so well with rice that it's a great spot when you want a hearty meal. Especially if you love spicy food, or you love squid!