Yuseong Oncheon pub: seasoned hagfish and soy egg rice at Jinppaei

Where is Jinppaei and when is it open?

Jinppaei is a hagfish and grilled clam restaurant in Bongmyeong-dong, near Yuseong Oncheon Station, at 102, 21 Oncheonbuk-ro 13beon-gil, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. It's open from 18:00 to 02:00, closed every Sunday, and offers free parking support at a nearby lot.

Hagfish makes me think of Busan, and Jinppaei is said to taste exactly like the real Busan thing. Doesn't the name itself have a Busan vibe haha. The sign really stood out, so even on a busy street I found it right away.

How do you park at Jinppaei?

Luckily there was street parking when we visited, so we parked and went straight in — but apparently if you park at the nearby Skyview City parking lot and mention it, they'll cover it..! Parking really matters ✨

Is the hagfish at Jinppaei really live?

Jinppaei cleans live hagfish freshly caught on site, so you can see live clams and conger eels right in front of the store. There aren't many places where you can eat hagfish this fresh!!!!

Inside, Jinppaei has that full old-school pub atmosphere. By the time we sat down, the tables filled up almost completely — it seems like a hagfish spot that regulars already know well.

Jinppaei's menu and our order: Set 1 seasoned hagfish

At Jinppaei you can get hagfish, conger eel, cod soup, and grilled clams, and I liked that you could try a variety through the set menus. I ordered Set 1 with hagfish and a clam sampler.

You can choose your hagfish salt, seasoned, or stone-pan stir-fried. I agonized between salt and seasoned but went with seasoned...! Every other table had gone with salt, so I thought, oh no,, guess I'll try salt next time 🥹

Jinppaei's basic side dishes and soup

These are the side dishes Jinppaei gives you by default. Quail eggs, cucumber, carrots, and seasoned lettuce and perilla leaves were great to nibble on while waiting.

The seasoned sea squirt was especially a standout, and it was great dipped in anchovy gochujang too. The basic soup they give you is refreshing and spicy, so delicious. If the basic soup is already this good, imagine how good the cod soup must be...

How should you grill Jinppaei's seasoned hagfish?

For the seasoned hagfish at Jinppaei, the owner coats it in sauce and cooks it through already, so all you need to do is grill it a little just enough for the seasoning to soak in. The owner pulls the hagfish straight from the tank and cleans it herself, using only 100% clean wild-caught hagfish, so you can eat without worry. Seeing them still alive like that.. it's shocking every time, but I guess that's exactly what makes them so fresh! Sorry but I'm going to enjoy this!!!! 🥲

We didn't have to worry about anything — they coat it in sauce for you already. Since it's cooked chewy and springy all the way through, you just need to grill it enough for the sauce to soak in deliciously. The texture is insane 〰️🖤

Since it can burn, I'd recommend putting small amounts on the grill at a time. Because it's seasoned, putting too much on at once seems like it would burn easily. Grilled golden brown, it was truly delicious. From now on, whenever my hagfish craving hits, it's Jinppaei for sure ✔️

Hagfish is really delicious just dipped in garlic oil sauce, and wrapping it with white kimchi and garlic is also amazingly good. When we finished the perilla leaves, they refilled them right away.. the owner and staff were so kind that it made the meal even more enjoyable.

What's in Jinppaei's clam sampler?

The clam sampler in Jinppaei's Set 1 came with fan mussel, scallop, and even a fist-sized abalone. Isn't that a pretty generous lineup for a 'sampler'? It came out topped nicely with cheese and sauce.

Put it all on the grill and take a group shot. Scallops are always delicious no matter when you eat them, and the fan mussel was substantial too. But above all, the abalone was so incredibly tender.. seriously the softest, chewiest abalone I've ever had. Maybe because it was so fresh, it tasted even better ㅠㅠ

Jinppaei's palate cleanser: soy sauce egg rice and cold milmyeon

For a palate cleanser at Jinppaei, my husband got soy sauce egg rice and I got milmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) haha. We probably could've ordered just one and shared, but we're the type who each need to eat what we want. The soy egg rice was great, and the milmyeon was great too.

After the seasoned grill and the clam grill, having that refreshing cold milmyeon really made it feel like a trip to Busan. You absolutely have to try the hagfish 🤎 If you're looking for a second-round drinking spot in Bongmyeong-dong, I recommend Jinppaei as the go-to hagfish and grilled clam spot near Yuseong Oncheon Station.