Hyeopjae Beach restaurant with free parking out front: Onjeong Jorim

Braised hairtail near Hyeopjae Beach: Onjeong Jorim Jeju Hyeopjae Branch

There are certain foods you have to eat when you're in Jeju. Black pork, raw fish, and braised hairtail (galchi-jorim). Skip any of these three and Jeju might get a little offended. So we visited Onjeong Jorim Jeju Hyeopjae Branch, near Hyeopjae Beach.

Parking at Onjeong Jorim: a free public lot right out front

Onjeong Jorim Jeju Hyeopjae Branch has free public parking right in front of it. When you're chasing down good restaurants around Jeju, no parking can drain you before you even walk in the door — but here, we didn't have to worry about that at all. Free parking? That's an easy 0.5 points before we even tasted the food.

Inside Onjeong Jorim: the dining room and the window seats

The interior was bigger and cleaner than I expected. We sat at a seat with a view outside. Instead of sitting across from my wife, we sat side by side looking out the window while we ate. It's not quite an ocean view, but eating while looking at Jeju scenery was still nice. Seeing each other's faces is something we can do at home anyway, but Jeju scenery isn't something we can see in Seoul. This absolutely does not mean I don't want to look at my wife's face. Please spare me.

How much is braised hairtail at Onjeong Jorim? ₩15,000 per person

Braised hairtail is ₩15,000 per person. In Jeju, seeing hairtail on a menu often means taking a deep breath before checking the price, but here the price was pretty reasonable. If you're looking for good-value galchi-jorim near Hyeopjae, this is one you can order without stress. Rice comes separately, though. It's only ₩1,000, so no need to worry about sneaking in instant rice and ending up on the news. I wanted to try makgeolli too, but the designated driver's life is a sad one, haha.

Side dishes you refill yourself at the self-serve bar

The basic side dishes are kimchi, bean sprouts, fish cake, seaweed, and other things that pair well with braised hairtail. The variety isn't flashy, but it's exactly the kind of stuff you reach for while eating galchi-jorim. Anything running low can be refilled at the self-bar. Personally, the seaweed and bean sprouts went really well with the stew's sauce. Just a note — if you pile up a mountain because refills are free and end up leaving it, you might get an awkward look from the staff, so take only what you'll eat.

How the Jeju garlic braised hairtail for two at ₩30,000 tasted

Jeju garlic braised hairtail for two, ₩30,000. Here comes the main event! This is the portion for two. It's loaded with hairtail and radish, topped generously with minced garlic. Just from the color of the sauce alone, you know it's going to steal your rice.

The sauce is sweet and spicy. It soaks well into the hairtail, and the flesh is so soft it melts in your mouth. Pick off the hairtail flesh with chopsticks, put it on rice, and that's basically game over.

The flesh was plump and tender enough to separate easily from the bone. I usually give up on picking bones the moment fish isn't that great, but this one I worked hard on. People get diligent in front of good food. I tried topping rice with the flesh and sauce — wow, the hairtail is good, but honestly the sauce is the real star here. You could mix just the sauce into rice and finish a whole bowl. Wrapping rice and hairtail in seaweed made it even better. The flesh is so soft you really need a spoon to pick it apart, everyone. A small tip for you.

The one letdown: the radish was still firm

There was one letdown, though. The radish was still firm and hadn't fully absorbed the sauce inside. It might just be that it isn't the season for good radish, but with the sauce being this tasty, it was even more of a shame. If it had been braised down further with the sauce fully soaked in, we might have ordered an extra bowl of rice. The hairtail passed, but the radish has to interview again next time.

Tip for groups: a small boiled pork platter for ₩100

There's a tip if you're visiting with more people. If you order two or more stews and add grilled hairtail, you can apparently get a small boiled pork platter for ₩100. What can you even get for ₩100 these days? A claw machine game is ₩500 a round, and here you get boiled pork. We only came as a couple so we couldn't try it, but next time we're definitely ordering it with family.

Honey, what score does Onjeong Jorim get?

• 🙋‍♂️ 4.5 — The sauce was so good I demolished a whole bowl of rice; would've been perfect if the radish were cooked down more
• 🙋‍♀️ 4.5 — The hairtail flesh was soft and the price was fair, worth coming back for
• 💑 Total score: 4.5

Great sauce, tender hairtail flesh. A restaurant worth revisiting if you're craving braised hairtail near Hyeopjae Beach.