Pohang raw fish restaurant with ₩60,000 squid sashimi: Ppwang Mulhoe

Chuseok holiday, and my squid sashimi cooldown was up — back to Ppwang Mulhoe

I went back to Ppwang Mulhoe on Haean-ro near Yeongildae Beach in Pohang for dinner during the Chuseok holiday. I'd been once before, paying my own way, and this time my squid sashimi cooldown had reset, so back I went.

Did everyone have a good Chuseok holiday? I stayed home for a while and it was such a happy time, haha. Still, being home for three days straight got to me, so yesterday I went out for a bit of fresh air. Trying to decide what to eat for dinner, I picked Ppwang Mulhoe!

What kind of place is Ppwang Mulhoe?

Ppwang Mulhoe is a mulhoe restaurant at 203-1 Haean-ro, 1st floor, Buk-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, where you can enjoy both the gochujang (red chili paste) mulhoe broth and the slush-style mulhoe broth. The bright lighting makes it stand out from far away, and the name just sticks in your head somehow. Pohang mulhoe places are usually all about the gochujang broth, but Ppwang Mulhoe also gives you the slush broth, so you get to enjoy both kinds.

Interior seating, payment, and amenities

The inside of Ppwang Mulhoe is spacious and bright, so it works fine for groups too. The Pohang Love Gift Certificate works in both paper and card form, and Naver Pay is accepted as well. There's Wi-Fi, disposable aprons, and baby chairs too.

Each table comes stocked with vinegar-chili sauce, soy sauce, wet wipes, paper cups, napkins, and utensils, and the rest of the side dishes are available at the self-bar. Ordering is done right at the kiosk, payment included!

What's on the menu at Ppwang Mulhoe?

Ppwang Mulhoe is a mulhoe restaurant in Duho-dong, Pohang, where you can enjoy squid mulhoe year-round.

Besides mulhoe, there's squid sashimi and flounder sashimi, plus fried squid, whole steamed dish, jeon, and fried rice. There's also a drinking-snack version of mulhoe and set menus. For drinks there's zero-sugar Coca-Cola, and interestingly, Gooksoondang makgeolli (rice wine) too.

If you take part in the review event they give you a taste of fried squid, and once it's all cut up, it turns out to be a decent amount. Crispy and delicious.

How are the side dishes at Ppwang Mulhoe's self-bar?

I don't think Ppwang Mulhoe had a self-bar on my last visit, but now that it's there, the side dishes have gotten almost as varied as a Korean buffet. There's the tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cakes) I enjoyed last time, and also dishes like tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) or sanjeok (skewered beef and vegetables) — total kid-pleaser territory!

There are also three sauces available — seasoned chicken sauce, ketchup, and chili sauce — and the side dishes are basically full-meal level: stir-fried sausage, stir-fried anchovies, stir-fried doraji (bellflower root), stir-fried zucchini, stir-fried ham, braised quail eggs, and more. My partner cleaned an entire bowl of rice off the back of this.

The braised quail eggs and the tteokbokki are genuinely delicious — the tteokbokki tastes exactly like the mild, not-spicy kind from stationery-shop stalls when I was a kid. Total nostalgia trip.

Squid sashimi small at Ppwang Mulhoe, ₩60,000 — how big was the portion?

The squid sashimi small at Ppwang Mulhoe is ₩60,000 and comes with garlic, chili, and lettuce wraps. I'd ordered half squid, half flounder, but there was a mix-up and only squid sashimi came out. The owner said they'd give us a bit of flounder as an extra, though, so honestly, even better!

These days people keep saying squid prices are through the roof, but even though this was the small size, the portion was pretty generous.

I like mulhoe too, but I'm more of a raw fish person, so I ordered squid sashimi — and chewing on a big mouthful of it made me so happy.

How does the value compare to squid sliced at Jukdo Market?

I ordered this wanting to eat a lot of raw fish, and I was very satisfied. Squid is expensive these days, so even having it sliced at Jukdo Market costs a lot per fish — and while the market price per unit is lower, you don't get the side dishes that come with eating at a proper hoe restaurant. For this price, with a side-dish lineup like Ppwang Mulhoe's, the value really is excellent.

And considering Yeongildae Beach is normally a pricier neighborhood, this feels like really good value. I'd originally ordered zero-sugar cola, and well... yeah, that's how it went.

Why I recommend Ppwang Mulhoe when you're craving squid sashimi

At Ppwang Mulhoe, I refilled on self-bar tteokbokki and got to eat squid sashimi generously and satisfyingly again after a long while — it was great.

Ppwang Mulhoe has private rooms inside, baby chairs, and a parking lot right out front, so it's pretty accessible too. Craving squid sashimi? I'd recommend Ppwang Mulhoe near Yeongildae Beach in Pohang.