Eel restaurant in Sangam-dong, Seoul: Nagoya-style hitsumabushi, Ryeok

Is it okay to have such a hearty lunch?! A hitsumabushi spread piled high with thick eel. Ryeok Minmul Jangeogui Jeonmunjeom in Sangam-dong.

Eel lunch in Sangam-dong with my cousin, who's busy moving

I had lunch at Ryeok Minmul Jangeogui Jeonmunjeom (력 민물장어구이전문점) in Sangam-dong with my cousin, who's in the middle of getting ready to move. Body and mind must both be busy, and that's exactly when you need to eat well! So the menu was a no-brainer: hitsumabushi. The place I'd pick for a hearty, restorative meal was this eel restaurant in Sangam-dong.

Ryeok uses only Grade 1 domestic Japonica eel. And the eel is caught and prepared the same day, so my expectations for freshness were sky-high, haha. The name says grill specialist, but you can also get rice bowls and the like, so lots of people pick it for team lunches in Sangam-dong.

Ryeok's exterior and opening hours

Even before you reach the entrance, a Superman statue greets you. Maybe it means "eat eel and power up like Superman"? Haha. There's also a big lunch special menu board out front, and it says the hitsumabushi follows the authentic Nagoya method, which got me so excited! (I used to live in Nagoya.)

The shop has a clean white exterior, and the square sign with the name "력" (Ryeok) sticks out in 3D, so it's easy to spot. It looked neat and stylish even from far away.

• Hours: Mon–Fri 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Sat 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
• Break time: 2 p.m.–3 p.m.
• Closed every Sunday
• Delivery/takeout available, groups welcome
• No parking (use a public car park)

What are the interior and seating like?

As soon as we stepped inside, the business license, origin labels and a Korean consumer industry rating certificate hung neatly on the wall caught my eye. Having these things in order makes the place feel more trustworthy.

Inside, white walls, black chairs and wood-tone tables make for a clean look. It felt pleasant overall, and the tables were quite roomy, so it's great for family meals or group gatherings too. No wonder it gets recommended for team lunches in Sangam-dong, haha.

One side had a row of celebrity autographs, including one from Professor Kwon Il-yong, the profiler, which was a fun surprise, haha. I've been hooked on current affairs shows lately, so I felt max inner closeness, lol.

We were shown to a window table, set with disposable paper cups, sansho pepper powder and shichimi (Japanese chili spice blend).

Do you need a reservation for grilled eel at lunch?

At lunch, Ryeok takes grilled eel orders by reservation only. If you want the grill, call at least 30 minutes before you visit, so keep that in mind! I guess it takes time because everything is grilled to order.

A big menu hung on one wall, and each table had a tablet, so checking the menu and ordering was easy. There was also a review event, with steamed egg on offer, haha. Can't miss that one!

What's in the special eel bowl (hitsumabushi) set

We'd reserved ahead and pre-ordered 2 special eel bowls, so the food came almost as soon as we arrived, haha. And I was totally startled by the spread, lol. How can it be so showy and yet so neat??

This is Ryeok's signature special eel bowl. It looks hearty at a glance, and every dish was prettily arranged, so it was fun just to look at. Surely that's enough to recommend it to anyone hunting for eel in Sangam-dong, right? Haha.

The table also had detailed instructions on how to enjoy it. So all that's left is to taste step by step and enjoy!! And this hitsumabushi is the real deal, isn't it? Haha.

Let's look at the sides first. The basic set was really varied: salad, chopped mustard leaf kimchi, pickles and pickled radish, chawanmushi (savory steamed egg custard), seaweed soup, and even umeboshi (pickled plum), which isn't common in Korea, haha. It was packed, and with yogurt and a bite-size dessert at the end, it felt like a full, complete meal.

I tried the chawanmushi first, and it was so soft and silky, great! It melted in my mouth, haha. The seaweed soup had a rich, refreshing broth.

Was there any fishy smell?

Ryeok's hitsumabushi had no fishy or off smell, just a faint sweet sauce aroma rising up. Eel glossy with well-soaked sauce was generously piled over rice in a big bowl. Toppings like seaweed, scallion, ginger and wasabi were prettily arranged too, so it whetted the appetite just by looking. And not only the looks, what about the smell?! Nutty and sweet.

Eating hitsumabushi 4 ways

Hitsumabushi means dividing the rice into four portions and eating each differently. Time to follow the recommended method and enjoy it slowly. First I divided it into four, haha, and gently moved a portion into the extra bowl.

First: plain, the original flavor

The first bowl I ate as it was, for the original flavor. The glossy eel was soft and moist, and the sweet-salty sauce went really well with the rice. You have to take a big mouthful with rice, that's the whole point!

Second and third: chopped mustard leaf kimchi, then ochazuke

In authentic hitsumabushi, the second step is mixing in wasabi and scallion, but Ryeok brings out chopped mustard leaf kimchi (gat-kimchi), lol. Its sharp, tangy kick added a new charm. The third is of course ochazuke (rice in hot broth), haha. Pouring on warm broth gave yet another feel from the earlier tastes. Kind of a soft, slurpy slide down.

Fourth: the way you liked best

For the fourth, you eat it the way you liked best! I ended up liking the plain way most, haha. You taste the eel's own flavor and the sauce completely, so the basic one suited me best.

Enjoying it in several ways, I got quite a range of tastes from a single bowl. A showy spread that's a feast for the eyes, plus the fun of different flavors, so I'd recommend this eel bowl in Sangam-dong, haha.

And a proper dessert!

To finish the special eel bowl, we had the yogurt and a bite-size chocolate cake, of course. Ending on a sweet dessert kept the good mood going to the very end of the meal.

Verdict

Fresh, thick eel and a neat, generous spread! A place to enjoy hitsumabushi properly.

I felt rather proud to have given my busy cousin a proper restorative meal. Ryeok's eel had none of that typical fishiness, so nothing bothered me, and I was happy with everything from the showy spread to the thick, moist eel. Being able to eat it in several ways meant no boredom through the whole bowl, haha. If you're looking for eel in Sangam-dong, how about a hearty Nagoya-style hitsumabushi lunch special? I'm sure you'll have a good time!