Pohang mulhoe restaurant, Sunday 40-min wait tips: Ppwang Mulhoe

Ppwang Mulhoe, a Yeongildae mulhoe restaurant recommended by Pohang friends

Ppwang Mulhoe (퐝물회) is a mulhoe restaurant in the mulhoe district across from Yeongildae Beach in Pohang. My friend who lives in Pohang took me there, saying it gets recommended a lot as a top mulhoe spot. I ended up taking a sudden last-minute trip to Pohang, and since I was meeting my Pohang friends after so long, it became my very first trip to Pohang!

Pohang is famous for delicious mulhoe, right~ During our 3-day, 2-night trip I ate mulhoe twice! Hehe~~ I searched like crazy for the best mulhoe places in Pohang before going, but in the end I went to Ppwang Mulhoe on my friends' recommendation!

On the left is the half-and-half mulhoe (squid + flounder), and on the right is the Ppwang 3-combo (squid + flounder + seasonal fish)! Having actually visited, I totally understand why Ppwang Mulhoe is famous as a Pohang mulhoe hotspot, it was that good, and the variety of side dishes at the self-bar was great too! The wait was enormous, and we waited about 40 minutes before eating, and the line behind us was enormous too!

• Address: 203-1 Haean-ro, Buk-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk (1st floor)
• Hours: Sun–Thu 10:30–22:00 (last order 21:00), Fri–Sat 10:30–23:00 (last order 22:00)
• Parking: 6 spaces in front, plus the public beach car park right across the road
• Pets allowed

Where do you park at Ppwang Mulhoe?

There's space for about 6 cars in front of Ppwang Mulhoe, and the big Yeongildae Beach public car park is right across the road, so there was plenty of parking! When you put the address into your GPS, I recommend coming in along the coastal road!

That said, this is the mulhoe district and lots of people come looking for Pohang mulhoe, so traffic gets a bit backed up, and on weekends the public car park was full too.

There were Ppwang Mulhoe signs and banners hanging out front! In the shade to the side there were big tanks, and squid so fresh they were see-through at the tips were swimming around in them~

How long is the weekend wait at Ppwang Mulhoe?

We arrived at Ppwang Mulhoe around 12:45 on a Sunday and put our name down. There were 12 groups ahead of us, and we actually got in after about 40 minutes. Maybe because mulhoe turns tables quickly, 2 groups left after just 10 minutes!

The whole front of the restaurant was full of people waiting! There are waiting seats outside, and also between the entrance door and the inner door. Our waiting number was 60, and when we registered there were 12 groups ahead. By 13:20, when our turn came, there were 29 groups waiting!

Tips for the Ppwang Mulhoe waiting list

• Traffic in the mulhoe district is terrible, and on weekends the public car park is crowded too.
• If you're in a group, have one person get out early to register for the wait, then join after parking.
• Sadly, remote waiting through the Catch Table or Tabling apps wasn't possible, ㅠㅠ
• You can also call ahead and reserve.

Inside Ppwang Mulhoe: seating and facilities

The inside of Ppwang Mulhoe was packed with families, and it was so popular that people were even lining up just to register for the wait! Maybe because it was vacation season, there were a lot of big three-generation families too! There seemed to be a private room at the back as well!

Lots of takeout and delivery orders were coming in through the Baemin app too! There were signed autographs on the wall, and the fresh seafood seemed to arrive right when it was needed~

There was a Wi-Fi QR code with the password, and a QR menu for foreign guests too.

Disposable aprons and high chairs for toddlers were provided too! A few more high chairs were in use by guests mid-meal~ There are men's and women's restrooms at the back of the restaurant!

Is Ppwang Mulhoe pet-friendly?

Ppwang Mulhoe lets you bring pets, so there were lots of cute goldens (the writer's "Ganadi" nickname for golden retrievers)! While waiting, I saw plenty of dogs resting in carriers or slings!

What side dishes are at the Ppwang Mulhoe self-bar?

All the side dishes at Ppwang Mulhoe are self-service, and there was tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), gimmari (seaweed-wrapped glass noodle) fritters, turban shell snails, squid soup, and even unlimited somyeon (thin wheat noodles). There were so many people that I wanted to take detailed photos but felt awkward doing it.

• Tteokbokki, gimmari fritters
• Stir-fried sausage and vegetables, spicy stir-fried fish cake
• Onion-cucumber salad, stir-fried seaweed stems, braised quail eggs
• Salad, dried radish strips, turban shell snails
• Somyeon noodles (unlimited)
• Squid soup

Unlimited somyeon is great when you're eating mulhoe~ and right next to it there was even squid soup!!!

Ppwang Mulhoe menu, prices and kiosk ordering

You order on the kiosk at each table. We ordered 2 half-and-half mulhoe and 1 Ppwang 3-combo at ₩20,000 each. If you join the review event, you get a free mini fried squid!

The fried squid was really crispy, not chewy at all, and so delicious, I totally recommend it!

• Half-and-half mulhoe (squid + flounder) ₩20,000 × 2
• Ppwang 3-combo (squid + flounder + seasonal fish) ₩20,000
• (Review event) Fried squid

Self-bar first: sea snails and squid soup

Before the main dishes came out, we dug into the sides we'd brought from the Ppwang Mulhoe self-bar! So varied and generous, right? And these were just the ones we picked out!

The squid soup was really refreshing! I'd only ever had the spicy version with chili powder, but this clear squid soup was so good too! It had quite a lot of squid in it, which I loved~

I twirled the snails out with chopsticks too! They were so good?? I went right back for more, haha. I brought back 9 more in one go, hehe. There are 3 of us, so 3 more each!!

The salad was fresh, and the tteokbokki tasted like the old-school kind from the snack shop in front of your school, so good! The braised quail eggs, stir-fried seaweed stems and fish cake were all tasty too~

My sweet friends were pulling out the snails for everyone to eat~~ They just grabbed them and separated the snails for each other, and it was so touching!! I took my photo and joined right in peeling shells, hahaha. Dipped in gochujang sauce, they were really delicious! Chewy texture and rich umami, so satisfying~

Half-and-half mulhoe vs the 3-combo: how did they taste?

While we were happily munching on the sides, our food arrived! Two were half-and-half bowls with squid and flounder, and the Ppwang 3-combo my friend ordered had squid + flounder + seasonal fish!

They brought the mulhoe broth too~ I also captured today's dishes on video~

How to eat mulhoe at Ppwang Mulhoe

I noticed a guide next to us on how to enjoy Ppwang Mulhoe!

• Mix it first without the broth
• Add wasabi or chili from the self-bar to taste
• Pour in the broth and try it with noodles
• Mix in rice
• Eat it with the various sides

I brought somyeon from the self-bar! People who don't eat noodles can have it with rice, and noodle lovers can eat plenty of somyeon, which seemed great~ We mixed it up as recommended, and my friends mixed the mulhoe nicely with chopsticks too~

First we enjoyed the nicely mixed half-and-half bowl without broth! The squid sashimi was really chewy and sweet! The flounder had a soft, springy texture! It went well with the cool, sweet pear and the tangy, spicy gochujang sauce~ I was so happy to eat good mulhoe after so long~~

Somyeon noodles in the icy slush broth

After eating it mixed for a while, we added the broth! Ppwang Mulhoe's broth is an icy, slushy broth~ We put in the somyeon and loosened it up!

The cold, icy broth clung to the noodles, cool, tangy and spicy, and it really got my appetite going~ The texture was great and fresh, and the squid and flounder sashimi, with their sweetness intact, were really delicious!

The squid soup in between was something I kept reaching for too! It had so much squid in it~ I ended up adding another bundle of somyeon~ Slurping it up, the happy flavor filling my mouth made me smile~

Review event: free mini fried squid

The mini fried squid from the review event was good dipped in ketchup~ The batter was super crispy, and maybe because the squid was really fresh, it wasn't chewy at all, soft yet springy, and tasty too!

Everything was so good that we ate it all up~ including the flounder sashimi!

Finishing with rice in the mulhoe broth

We mixed rice into the mulhoe too~ You know how rice in cold broth gets springy and tastes great!! The somyeon was good, but for me the rice was the real winner~

We also enjoyed the mulhoe + fried squid combo!

Is a weekend visit to Ppwang Mulhoe worth the wait?

Ppwang Mulhoe was a Pohang mulhoe restaurant where we cleaned every bowl. I went on a weekend, and even in the Seolmeori mulhoe district of Pohang, it was popular enough to have a huge wait! I recommend calling ahead to reserve, or having one person hop out of the car first and quickly register for the wait~

I liked that the self-bar had so many side dishes, and the mulhoe made with fresh ingredients made for a filling, satisfying meal! I totally recommend it to anyone looking for a Yeongildae Beach restaurant or a top Pohang mulhoe spot~~