Paju Korean restaurant: soy-marinated crab and 20+ sides at Tteurak

Simhaksan Tteurak Paju Main Branch: location, hours and parking

Simhaksan Tteurak Paju Main Branch (심학산 뜨락) is at 136 Dolgoji-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the first floor. It is open daily 11:00 to 21:00 (last order 20:00). Break time is 16:00-17:00 Monday to Friday, and there is no break time on Saturday and Sunday.

Parking is easy too. You can park in front of the restaurant, and they also have a lot across the road! They say up to 8 large buses can park.

A barley gulbi Korean restaurant in Paju's Simhaksan Food Village

I visited Simhaksan Tteurak in Seopae-dong, Paju. It sits in Simhaksan Food Village and is close to Lotte Premium Outlets Paju, so it would make a nice combo trip. A great Paju spot near Simhaksan 🩷

The place is very famous for barley gulbi (bori gulbi, dried croaker aged in barley). They reportedly run their own gulbi drying yard in Beopseongpo, Yeonggwang and manage everything from choosing the fish onward, so you can enjoy big, deep-flavored barley gulbi at a reasonable price!

There's a parking lot right in front of the shop and another one across the road, haha. It was busy, but parking was still easy. They say 8 large buses can park here.

Is there a wait at Simhaksan Tteurak?

I hear there's a bit of a wait at mealtimes, but I came a little after lunchtime, so I got in right away!

Inside Simhaksan Tteurak: hall, window seats and group rooms

As soon as I walked in, a staff member showed me to a seat,

There's an inner hall and sunny window seats,

and there were private rooms further in as well. When I visited they were occupied by regular guests, but since they're separate, they'd be great for group gatherings!

Simhaksan Tteurak menu and prices

There are 3 menu items: barley gulbi set, soy-marinated crab set and Tteurak set (pork bulgogi) 😀 The signature is barley gulbi, but I was craving soy-marinated crab that day, so I ordered the soy-marinated crab set for 2 at ₩54,000.

• Cauldron rice
• Soy-marinated crab
• Salad
• Jeon (savory pancakes)
• Japchae (glass noodle stir-fry)
• Namul (seasoned vegetables) and other side dishes
• Doenjang stew (soybean paste stew)

Soy-marinated crab set for 2: how much crab do you get?

After a 5-10 minute wait, the 20-some side dishes and the soy-marinated crab all came out at once 🙈

It's for 2 people, but the amount of crab is really big! I hadn't had gejang in a while, and I was so hungry just taking photos 👍

You can see the yellow roe, and we got 4 crab shells! I put on gloves, mixed rice right in the shell, and ate away,

and one bite of the crab meat filled my mouth. So delicious 😌

A Paju Korean set meal with refillable side dishes

True to a Paju Korean set-meal restaurant, the soy-marinated crab set came with lots of tasty side dishes: japchae, jeon and salad. Any side dish that runs short, japchae included, can be refilled, so I ate really well.

The muk (acorn jelly), cabbage wraps, various namul and other sides were all seasoned just right, haha. You can tell they use good ingredients.

Cauldron rice, nurungji tea and doenjang stew

The rice here is cauldron rice too, and for 2 servings it comes in one pot! They even bring separate bowls for the rice and the sungnyung (scorched-rice tea), plus a ladle 👍 The rice tasted sweet, and I finished with the hot sungnyung 😌

The doenjang stew, with deep-flavored tofu and lots of vegetables, was excellent too.

Can you buy barley gulbi at Simhaksan Tteurak?

The restaurant sells barley gulbi gift sets, soy-marinated crab, boneless barley gulbi and more. On my way out I saw a wide selection, and the barley gulbi looked really great in both size and condition,

so I wanted to take some home, but I had plans all day and sadly couldn't. Next time I definitely want to order and try the barley gulbi too 😀

With its out-of-town feel, friendly service, tidy side dishes and a hearty, delicious main, Tteurak was a great Paju spot near Simhaksan 😆