Seafood restaurant in Seohae, Incheon: hot-plate algoni jjim

While deciding what to eat for a weekend dinner date in Cheongna, we ended up having warm, spicy algoni jjim! This was Haemul Teukbyeolsi Cheongna Direct Store (해물특별시 청라직영점), where it arrives on a hot plate rather than a regular dish, so it stays warm as you eat. When looking up agujjim restaurants in Incheon, lots of places also serve seafood braises or algoni jjim, but I noticed that this place serves its menu as a full set meal.

Haemul Teukbyeolsi Cheongna Direct Store

A weekend dinner visit in Cheongna’s dining alley

Haemul Teukbyeolsi Cheongna Direct Store is in Cheongna’s dining alley. We visited on a weekend evening, and it was already busy, so there were no spaces in the parking lot. If you visit during the weekend peak, it seems best to allow a little extra time for parking.

Once inside, nearly every table was occupied. Guests kept coming in while we ate, too. There are plenty of tables, and the layout generally works well for meals with a larger group.

There is also a private room farther inside. It can accommodate groups of up to 60, so it looked suitable for family gatherings, work dinners, or larger meetups such as wedding-invitation gatherings. If you are looking for an agujjim restaurant in Cheongna for a group, it is worth checking whether a private room is available.

What comes with the hot-plate algoni jjim set and its price

The main options include a whole-squid hot-plate seafood-braise set, hot-plate agujjim set, hot-plate algoni jjim set, and whole-squid seafood-soup set. They also sell seafood kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) at lunch. We ordered the small hot-plate algoni jjim set for ₩43,000! It comes with tasting-size clam soup, hot-plate corn cheese, flat dumplings, and side dishes. Many seafood-braise places in Cheongna serve only one main dish, but here the appeal was being able to eat several things together in one set.

The basic side dishes came out first: pickles, baek-kimchi (mild white kimchi), and green-onion kimchi, all neatly prepared. Since the algoni jjim sauce is spicy, they were great to eat along the way!

Then came the hot-plate corn cheese included in the set. It was nice to have a few bites while it was warm before the main dish arrived.

The flat dumplings come with it too. You can eat them on their own, or once the algoni jjim arrives, top them with bean sprouts or roe and wrap them up together. I liked being able to change up the combinations instead of eating just one thing the whole time.

Also included in the set was the tasting-size clam soup! Despite the name, it was enough for the two of us to share before the main dish came out. The broth had a pleasantly spicy kick, so it was good to spoon up between bites of algoni jjim.

Algoni jjim that stayed warm to the last bite on the hot plate

And finally, the main dish appeared! It looked even more generous on the table than it had in the photos. The hot plate was piled with roe, goni (soft fish milt), and bean sprouts, arriving with the sauce still sizzling.

Rather than being served on a regular plate, Haemul Teukbyeolsi says the dish stays warm on the hot plate as you eat. If you are looking into agujjim restaurants in Incheon and are curious about one served on a hot plate, that seems like a clear difference.

First, the roe, which I love! The pieces were large, with real presence when picked up with chopsticks. Eating them with the bean sprouts and sauce added a crisp texture that worked really well.

And of course, the goni could not be missed. The soft goni coated in spicy sauce had me alternating between it and the roe. It is disappointing when an algoni jjim has lots of roe but little goni, or vice versa, but here we could pick at both.

Bean sprouts with spice level 1

There were plenty of bean sprouts beneath the roe and goni as well. We mixed them well with the sauce and ate them alongside the roe or goni. We chose spice level 1. The spice can be adjusted, so anyone who does not handle spicy food well can choose their preferred level when ordering.

We mixed the sauce and bean sprouts evenly across the hot plate. It stayed warm throughout the meal, which I liked because the temperature did not drop much from the first bite to the last. If you enjoy your agujjim piping hot, the hot-plate style should be a good fit.

Looking at the algoni jjim alone, I thought the small size would be just right for two, but with the corn cheese, flat dumplings, clam soup, and side dishes all included, we were quite full by the end. We visited for a date, but the set also looked good for a family sharing several things together.

We both usually enjoy roe and goni, so this time we chose algoni jjim instead of agujjim, and the set was quite filling for two. More than anything, what stayed with me was being able to keep eating it warm as it simmered on the hot plate, right through the end of the meal. It may be useful for anyone looking for a place in Incheon with choices beyond agujjim, including algoni jjim and seafood dishes; for those seeking a Cheongna seafood-braise restaurant with a room for gatherings; or for anyone researching agujjim in Cheongna. If, like me, you enjoy both roe and goni, the hot-plate algoni jjim set at Haemul Teukbyeolsi could be a good pick.