Spicy octopus restaurant at Siheung's Mulwang Reservoir: Maepsi Nakji

I'm bringing you a restaurant recommended by a Sanhyeon-dong local, haha! My older sister lives in Sanhyeon-dong, and she went again recently with my brother-in-law. She says Maepsi Nakji is the only place near Mulwang Reservoir that really serves spicy food, haha. And the rice is unlimited, so it's great for big eaters too!! Here's my review of Maepsi Nakji Mulwang Reservoir Main Branch (맵시낙지 물왕저수지본점), deliciously spicy. (My last post was octopus too, but this one is the spicy octopus version... haha)

Maepsi Nakji Mulwang Reservoir Main Branch: hours, parking and facilities

Maepsi Nakji Mulwang Reservoir Main Branch is at 6-1 Dongseo-ro 857beon-gil, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do (80 Mulwang-dong). It's open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, with last order at 20:00. Parking is available, and group seating, baby chairs, takeout, local currency, Zero Pay and the high-fuel-price relief subsidy are all accepted or offered.

Parking and atmosphere at Maepsi Nakji

There's room for 22 cars in front of the restaurant!! The parking lot is pretty huge, right?

Also, the building looks like it has two floors because the ceiling is so high, but it's actually just one floor, haha.

We came around 5:30 pm on a Saturday. There was no wait, but the place was fairly full inside!! Near the entrance there's a dessert coffee station and a water purifier, and they even thoughtfully set out ice, hoho.

The high ceiling gives the room an airy, open feel. Since we had a baby with us, we sat at a sofa seat where the little one could sit too, haha.

Self-serve bar and unlimited rice

In the middle of the restaurant there's a fresh self-serve bar! It has cabbage salad, white kimchi, bean sprouts, perilla leaves and cold seaweed soup, and on the other side there's soft tofu, nurungji tea (scorched-rice tea), and rice!!

The rice is unlimited... If I'd brought my food-god friend, they'd have eaten like crazy, haha.

Maepsi Nakji menu, prices and spice levels

Maepsi Nakji isn't just octopus stir-fry. They also have stone-plate octopus with beef intestines, and stone-plate octopus with pork neck, haha.

And true to a family restaurant, they sell things kids can eat too, like pork cutlet, pajeon (savory pancake), buckwheat pancake and crab stick fritters!! My sister had the octopus with beef intestines last time, so this time we ordered the original.

• Stone-plate octopus for 2: ₩32,000
• 35cm octopus and shrimp pancake: ₩18,000
• Pork loin cutlet: ₩12,000

You can choose the spice level. Regular is milder than Shin Ramyun, and Spicy is hotter than Shin Ramyun. My sister and I both like spicy food, so we went with Spicy!! She had the spicy one last time too, she said, hehe.

They're giving out puffed-rice crackers as a freebie for saving the place and writing a review, hoho.

How spicy is the spicy stone-plate octopus at Maepsi Nakji?

The spicy stone-plate octopus at Maepsi Nakji is a little hotter than Shin Ramyun, but the heat isn't sweet, so it's the kind of spice adults will love. The side dishes came out first, and I think spicy food really needs something sour and cool like the cold seaweed soup to go with it.

As the name says, the stone-plate octopus arrives with whole octopuses on a sizzling hot stone plate. Under the two plump octopuses is a bed of spicy-sweet onions!! And we cut it up ourselves!!

It's spicy, but it's a not-sweet kind of spicy, so I thought, this is the spice adults like!! The savory depth (umami) is incredible... Honestly, it's only a bit hotter than Shin Ramyun, so if you handle spice well it'll just feel pleasantly spicy. But for people who can't take spice, it's the kind of heat that makes you go hah~ hah~ hah~, hehe.

Stone-plate octopus is best mixed into rice

The whole point of octopus stir-fry is to mix it into rice like this~~~ Add octopus and onion, chop up some perilla leaves, add bean sprouts and seaweed flakes, and drizzle sesame oil on top, and honestly it's insanely delicious... Just ask and they'll give you sesame oil!!

The default bowl of rice is already a decent portion, but if you feel it's not enough or the sauce is too spicy, just go get more rice! Maepsi Nakji has unlimited rice!! What a bargain, a total bargain!!

The onions are cut in big chunks so they're nicely crunchy, and the plump octopus isn't tough but chewy, so it's a feast of crunchy and chewy. Now I get why my sister said Maepsi Nakji is good, haha. It's seriously deliciously spicy...

Pork loin cutlet at Maepsi Nakji, good for kids

We ordered the Maepsi Nakji pork loin cutlet (₩12,000) for my elementary-school nephew, and he said it was delicious and ate almost a whole one by himself. It came with the sauce poured on top, which kept it crispier for me, and besides the cutlet it came with pasta, pickles, pickled radish, salad and rice, so it's a hearty plate.

What surprised me was the thickness! The cutlet is thicker than I expected. And it's tender, crispy outside and juicy inside, just great. And it's delicious!! My elementary-school nephew said it was so good and ate almost a whole one himself, hahaha.

What does the 35cm octopus and shrimp pancake taste like?

The Maepsi Nakji 35cm octopus and shrimp pancake (₩18,000) was bigger than I expected and tastier than I expected. There are chili peppers on it, but they're just a garnish on top, so kids can eat the octopus and shrimp pancake too!

And see how yellow it is?? It's more of an egg pancake than a flour one!!

A rich, nutty egg flavor spreads through the pancake, and my nephew liked it so much he kept asking me to cut more, haha. Auntie is busy taking photos while you're busily eating pajeon... I love you, sweetie.

Anyway!! The rich egg flavor also tones down the spice, so besides bibimbap, it's super tasty to put the stir-fried octopus on top of the pancake and wrap it up to eat, ugh. Maepsi Nakji's not-sweet spiciness made it even more satisfying!!

Baby chairs and takeout for leftovers at Maepsi Nakji

Maepsi Nakji Mulwang Reservoir Main Branch has baby chairs, and you can take leftovers home too!! On the kiosk, press Call Staff, then Takeout Container Please!, and they bring you a container like this so you can pack up everything left! The sauce was so deliciously spicy that we scraped up every bit of it to take home, haha.

The puffed-rice crackers they give to people who write a receipt review... my nephew got some too, hahaha. Kids really seem to love puffed-rice crackers, haha. We enjoyed Maepsi Nakji, which is great for a family meal, hehe.

Maepsi Nakji overall verdict and would I go back?

• Deliciously spicy!! (spicy but not sweet)
• Highly recommended for a family meal
• Unlimited rice!! Recommended for big eaters!!
• Highly recommended if you're looking for a spicy restaurant in Sanhyeon-dong or near Mulwang Reservoir

If it's a place my sister has already gone back to, I honestly trust it. My sister is pickier about food than I am, hahahaha. It's a restaurant that should satisfy everyone from kids to grandparents, so I highly recommend Maepsi Nakji to anyone looking for a family meal spot or a spicy restaurant near Mulwang Reservoir!!