Hyeopjae Korean restaurant lunch with hairtail stew: Onjeong Jorim

Hours: Daily 10:00–22:00

A hairtail stew restaurant near Hyeopjae Beach

I visited Onjeong Jorim Jeju Hyeopjae Branch (온정조림 제주협재점), one minute on foot from Hyeopjae Beach in Hallim-eup, Jeju-si. This is where you can try hairtail stew piled high with manong, Jeju dialect for garlic—mild but still satisfyingly punchy. Delicious rice-thief food made with plump Jeju hairtail! Apparently, it is a Hyeopjae favorite with a full house and a wait at lunchtime.

What about parking and the atmosphere?

First of all, parking was really easy, haha. There are so many rental cars in Jeju parked wherever they should not be, but here you can park comfortably right in front of the restaurant. About 20 seconds across the road is the huge Hyeopjae Beach public parking lot, and it is even free! It is so spacious that parking was really easy, haha.

The restaurant has floor-to-ceiling windows looking straight out at Hyeopjae Beach. There are about 12 tables for four inside, so it is more spacious than I expected.

The self-serve bar has kimchi, bean sprouts, and fish cake side dishes. The sides are simple, so this is a place that puts everything into the mains.

Hairtail stew and grill options, plus a pork discount

The menu is simple. Jeju garlic hairtail stew, mackerel stew, and mixed stew are ₩15,000 per serving. The grilled options are grilled hairtail for two at ₩40,000 and grilled mackerel at ₩15,000 per serving, and there is also fresh-kimchi boiled pork.

The unusual part is that if you order the ₩40,000 grilled hairtail and stew, you can get the small fresh-kimchi boiled pork for ₩100! What an amazing discount. If around four people come, ordering grilled hairtail, one serving each of stew, and the small pork plate would probably leave everyone completely full for a great price.

The review event prize is freshly squeezed Hallabong juice! When you come to Jeju, you have to have Hallabong juice at least once, haha.

Small fresh-kimchi boiled pork with a crunch

First, I ordered the small fresh-kimchi boiled pork for ₩12,000. The fresh kimchi looks really, really good, haha. The pork was not neatly arranged but sliced in hearty chunks, and somehow that made it look even more delicious.

Can you see that fresh kimchi? It is seriously, seriously delicious, haha. The pork is so tender and of course has no unpleasant smell at all; with this wonderfully crisp kimchi, it is just the best!! You do not need garlic or peppers—just this kimchi and pork are tasty enough to finish a whole bowl of rice.

It is also fantastic with rice, haha. The balance of fat and lean meat is perfect, so it is good enough to call this a boiled-pork specialist. Maybe it is because it is made with Jeju black pork??

Mild, clean-tasting Jeju garlic hairtail stew

Finally, the main dish arrived: Jeju garlic hairtail stew for two, ₩30,000. For two people, the portion was really, really generous. It is such a good-value place that I almost wondered whether this could really be Jeju hairtail.

Manong means garlic in the Jeju dialect, and the garlic in the stew makes it taste clean and pleasantly spicy.

It is just chili peppers, radish, hairtail, and garlic, but it is incredibly clean-tasting and delicious. It looks spicy, but this hairtail stew is not spicy at all.

Pull the hairtail meat neatly from the bones, place it right on top of white rice, and take a bite—absolutely knockout. Hairtail is such an easy fish to eat because the bones are easy to remove.

A bite of the well-cooked radish is also so delicious. The soft, sweet radish, rice, and savory-salty sauce work beautifully together.

It is also wonderful to pull off all the meat and vigorously mix it into the rice. And yes, I had two bowls of rice!

A satisfying lunch in Hyeopjae

Just a three-minute walk from Hyeopjae Beach, I tried a great-value hairtail stew that is hard to find in Jeju. I almost ended up waiting because I arrived only a little late, so when you come to Hyeopjae Beach, try a very delicious lunch of garlic hairtail stew!