Milyang loach soup restaurant with a weekend wait: Ilpum Irojeong

In weather with such a big daily temperature swing, it's the perfect season to catch a cold 🥹 That's exactly when a hot bowl of soup starts calling your name! I went to Ilpum Irojeong, a loach soup (chueotang) spot in Milyang known for restoring your energy. Here's my review after a hearty meal of hot, rich loach soup and delicious side dishes — go!

Where is Ilpum Irojeong in Milyang, and its hours and parking

Ilpum Irojeong is located at 75-1 Baekmin-ro, Beomchang Building 1F, Milyang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. Hours are 11:00–21:00, break time is 15:30–17:00, and last order is 20:30. There's public vacant-lot parking nearby you can use.

You can park at the public vacant lot right next to Insam Pork Gukbap, or the one next to MS Karaoke :) We parked with no worries at all and headed in!

How long was the weekend lunch wait at Ilpum Irojeong?

Even though we visited a bit past weekend lunch hour, there were still two parties waiting ahead of us! We put our name in using a table-management app and waited — thankfully they had chairs set up for waiting guests, so we could sit comfortably :)

The menu has a variety of set combinations, and you can also order the loach soup as a single dish :)

What we ordered: boiled pork, grilled mackerel and loach soup set for two

ORDER 📝 Boiled pork + grilled mackerel + loach soup set for 2 (minimum order for 2 people). We also added a side of potato pancake :)

So hearty, right?! A table absolutely packed..!! Felt like I was really going to be restored haha.

Ilpum Irojeong's thick loach soup and turmeric rice

Ilpum Irojeong's loach soup (chueotang) is thick with generous ingredients! The flavor was the kind of classic chueotang taste that's easy for everyone to like. (While I was filming, my mom just casually dumped in the chili paste like it was nothing..^^♥) And the rice was turmeric rice, which made me — a turmeric rice lover — so happy 🍚 It wasn't mushy rice either, but fluffy, well-separated grains, which made it even better with the soup, haha.

Each table has garlic, chili paste, and sancho (Japanese pepper) prepared, so you can season it to your own taste!

Grilled mackerel: two fish, one per person

Can you see how moist that mackerel is..! The seasoning on the mackerel liver was nicely salty and went perfectly with rice, and there was no fishy smell at all, so I really enjoyed it :) It's a menu that requires a minimum order of 2, but since two whole mackerel come out, each person gets their own — such a nice touch!

The boiled pork, mostly lean meat

Personally I prefer boiled pork (suyuk) that's mostly lean rather than fatty, and this place's suyuk was exactly my style! Since it was mostly lean meat, it was light and easy to eat without feeling heavy :)

Eating the suyuk together with the seasoned chili side dish was absolute perfection… Suyuk alone can feel a bit plain, but the seasoning and the crunchy texture of the chili paired so well with it :)

Fried loach and fried sweet potato in the set

The fried loach comes with fried sweet potato too, and the sweet potato was super sweet 🍠 while the fried loach was nutty and delicious! Perfect to pick at bit by bit while eating the soup :)

The potato pancake we added as a side

The potato pancake (gamjachaejeon) is made with julienned potato, so you could really taste the nutty potato flavor and crispy texture :) Dipping it into the accompanying onion soy sauce added a nice salty kick that made it even tastier!

How the self-serve side dish bar and free dessert work

At Ilpum Irojeong, if you run low on side dishes, you can just help yourself at the self-serve bar :) I liked that you could take exactly as much as you'd eat and refill comfortably!

They also have gangjeong (rice puff snack), sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch), sweet pumpkin sikhye, and a coffee machine, perfect for a simple dessert after the meal :)

They said if you write a review for their event, you get purple sweet potato heart puffed rice snacks, so I jumped right on that haha 🍠

Private rooms at Ilpum Irojeong for family gatherings

The restaurant also has private rooms, which seemed great for important occasions like meeting future in-laws or family gatherings :) If you want a quiet meal, I'd recommend booking a room!

Is Ilpum Irojeong worth it for loach soup in Milyang?

It had genuinely been a while since I'd had loach soup, and it turned out way more delicious than I expected, haha. Everything was generously portioned overall, and with the side dishes and dessert all thoughtfully prepared, it's a great place to bring your parents too! If you want to restore your body with a hot bowl of loach soup, I recommend Ilpum Irojeong :)

tmi.. I licked the bowl clean..^^