Yeonsu, Incheon seafood stew lunch for two: small size at Haemokjeong

There are so many good restaurants clustered around Yeonsu Station that I go there often haha! Today I was craving a spicy seafood stew and the place I visited turned out to be really great!

Where is Haemokjeong Yeonsu Main Branch, and what does it look like?

This is Haemokjeong! It's a chain, and the Yeonsu branch is actually the original main branch.

It's been featured on TV and YouTube a lot, so some of you might already know it! I mostly like seafood while my husband is a total meat-eating dinosaur, so picking a menu can be a struggle. When we go somewhere that sells both seafood and meat, though, we don't fight and both end up eating happily!

Inside Haemokjeong: dining room and menu lineup

The inside of Haemokjeong Yeonsu Main Branch is very spacious, and what stood out was the display of various ginseng liquors — like the place was saying 'we sell healthy food.' Maybe that's why so many of the customers were middle-aged!

The signature dishes include spicy pork ribs, boneless anglerfish stew, spicy beef rib stew, abalone seafood hot pot, and seafood stew! If you want pork ribs and seafood together, you can order the seafood rib stew. What really stood out was something called the Haemokjeong Emperor Special — a menu where you can enjoy abalone seafood rib stew and a hot pot at the same time! I saw the table next to us order it and wow, the visual was incredible — I told myself I'd definitely order that next time with family!

Ordering the small seafood stew in the spicy version

We ordered the small seafood stew, and you can choose a spicy level! Apparently the best way to eat it is to wrap the various seafood with chives, jellyfish noodle salad, and perilla leaves. And when the broth is left over, adding fried rice or noodles to stir-fry is supposed to be great too haha!

We had reserved ahead, so maybe that's why our cozy table was all set up when we arrived! There was neat sesame salad, sweet-and-sour jellyfish noodle salad, pickled chili, white kimchi, chives, braised potatoes, and seaweed soup!

And the seafood stew came out surprisingly fast!!! It's fully cooked in the kitchen so you just need to reheat it — and since they use a safe induction stove, it seems like a good spot to bring kids too! At a glance you could see it was packed with all kinds of seafood, anglerfish, and gonyi (fish roe sac).

Apparently their seafood rib stew won a grand prize award, so I'm even more curious how good it must taste.

They cut everything into easy-to-eat pieces haha! The whole squid, boneless anglerfish, gonyi, roe, and whole octopus were so fresh and plump — my mouth was watering just watching them cut it.

How were the whole octopus and boneless anglerfish?

The octopus was chewier and more tender than I expected — the cooking level was perfect. I don't like tough octopus, but this one was so soft it was really delicious! And the boneless anglerfish was so moist! I eat anglerfish stew a lot, but this one ranked among the best I've had!

My beloved squid is always good anywhere, but since it was whole squid, the texture was outstanding here too. I also like roe and gonyi, and they were nice and plump. The seasoning wasn't overpowering, so you could really taste the seafood's own flavor — just the right amount of spice and savoriness. I think adults would especially love it, and if you go for the mild option, kids should be able to eat it just fine too!

The owner was really kind too, and on our way out we had a refreshing cup of barley tea.

Parking and opening hours at Haemokjeong Yeonsu

The parking lot is spacious and they also give out a free public parking coupon, so there's zero parking stress! It was great being able to enjoy such a rich spread of both land and sea delicacies together with the whole family in one place.

• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:50
• Break time: 15:00–16:00
• Last order: 21:00
• Open during Chuseok holiday too