Gwacheon Korean restaurant for a weekday lunch: Haenon Miyeok

A Gwacheon seaweed soup stop for a weekday date lunch

It had been a while since my husband and I lined up our vacation days and went on a relaxed weekday date :) Weekends are always crowded wherever you go, but taking a day off on a weekday definitely felt more leisurely, haha. We had an errand in Gwacheon that day, then stopped by Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch (해논미역 과천직영점) for a warm bowl of seaweed soup for lunch!

There was plenty of parking in front of the restaurant too, so it was an easy visit!

At the entrance, I saw that pregnant guests and birthday guests receive one complimentary abalone!! Since I’m pregnant too, I happily got my abalone :)

A spacious restaurant and self-service side-dish corner

The restaurant was really spacious and clean, so I thought it would be great for family meals too!

There was also a self-service side-dish corner on one side, and the overall atmosphere was lovely!

Ordering flounder and sea urchin roe seaweed soup

I already tend to love seaweed soup, so whenever I hear a place is known for it, I can’t help getting excited. There were lots of menu options here, so my husband and I ordered different dishes. I chose flounder seaweed soup, and my husband ordered sea urchin roe seaweed soup.

There was a review event too, so be sure to join that~ You can order from your table.

A mildly seasoned spread with refillable side dishes

After ordering and waiting a little, a neat full spread arrived with the seaweed soup. It wasn’t just soup—there were several side dishes too, and everything was lightly seasoned, just right.

Rather than food that is too salty or intensely seasoned, I like flavors that are just right and keep me reaching for more, and the side dishes really suited my taste.

The side dishes could be refilled too, so you could get more if you ran out while eating. I secretly loved that, haha. At first I took only a little of each, but they were tasty, so I kept picking at them, you know? lol

Two seaweed soups with different-colored broths

What was interesting was that the flounder seaweed soup and sea urchin roe seaweed soup had different broth colors! The broth was really rich and arrived piping hot too~ I heard that Haenon Miyeok cooks each individual earthenware bowl directly over a flame.

Mild, satisfying flounder seaweed soup

I ordered the flounder seaweed soup, and with flounder in the soup, the broth was mild yet satisfying. Having a bowl of rice with warm seaweed soup felt easy on my stomach and made for such a nice meal. I also really enjoyed my complimentary abalone for pregnant guests :) That kind consideration warmed my heart!! The seaweed in particular was cooked nice and soft, making it easy to eat with the broth. Once I picked the flounder meat apart and ate it with the seaweed, it was an even more filling meal than I expected :)

Sharing a taste of the sea urchin roe seaweed soup

My husband ordered the sea urchin roe seaweed soup. It had a different feel from the flounder soup I ate, so we traded dishes and sampled each other’s a little, and the sea urchin roe soup was delicious too. If you like sea urchin roe, it might be worth ordering at least once.

If you visit as a pair, I recommend ordering different dishes and sharing them like we did, haha. It was nice to compare two flavors instead of having just one. The rice portion is small because there are so many side dishes, but they’ll bring more if you need it, so keep that in mind! As my husband and I ate slowly, chatted, and tried all sorts of side dishes with the delicious seaweed soup, we ended up completely stuffed, lol. The side dishes were mildly seasoned and refillable, so I kept eating without even realizing it. It didn’t feel like we simply finished one bowl of soup; it felt like we had properly eaten rice and side dishes too, making it quite a hearty lunch.

If you’re looking for a warm, filling meal in Gwacheon and love seaweed soup, I highly recommend Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch. Next time, I’d like to try another seaweed soup option :)