Udo abalone restaurant, butter-grilled abalone set: Soseom Jeonbok

A great spot to look at the sea through floor-to-ceiling windows while having a hearty, energy-boosting abalone meal

Where to find Soseom Jeonbok on the road to Geommeolle Beach

Soseom Jeonbok is an abalone restaurant standing alone in a fairly large building on the way to Geommeolle on Udo. The building is big enough that it catches your eye even just passing by.

It's a great spot to stop for a proper meal while wandering around Udo. The ocean view spreading out beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows is amazing

Inside Soseom Jeonbok: floor-to-ceiling windows and the Udo sea view

The tables at Soseom Jeonbok are spaced generously so you can eat at ease, and above all, the sea view through the floor-to-ceiling windows was genuinely great.

The wide-open, unobstructed sea view comes right into your eyes and really makes you feel like you're eating a meal on Udo.

What comes with the 48,000-won wedding table set

We ordered the wedding table set for 48,000 won. The set lets you choose 2 dishes, and we picked abalone hotpot and abalone mul-hoe from among abalone hotpot, abalone sea urchin seaweed soup, abalone mul-hoe, and abalone porridge.

From abalone rice to black pork skewers: the full spread

The side dishes are also really generous. Seasoned bean sprouts, soy-marinated crab, kimchi, red abalone innards jeotgal (salted seafood), and even a black pork skewer. Once the skewer arrives, cutting it into bite-size pieces and topping the meat with a bit of the jeotgal is delicious

And topping the abalone rice with a little of the jeotgal is also really good

It's not just eating abalone dishes — rice and side dishes come along too, so it ends up being a pretty hearty meal.

Alright, now let's actually dig in. The view is insane, right?

Abalone hotpot: clean-tasting and savory

Soseom Jeonbok's abalone hotpot had a good amount of abalone along with various other seafood packed in. In Jeju, seafood hotpot is a common dish, and for first-timers it might be easier to think of it as a doenjang (soybean paste) soup with seafood in it.

The savory doenjang base combined with the refreshing flavor coming from the seafood makes it light yet warming to the stomach.

Abalone mul-hoe: tangy, cold and refreshing

Soseom Jeonbok's abalone mul-hoe had a gochujang (chili paste) base. Jeju-style mul-hoe is usually made with a doenjang base, but here — probably because it's aimed at travelers — it's gochujang-based.

It has that sweet-and-sour, tangy flavor we usually think of when we think of mul-hoe. Definitely a different charm from the abalone hotpot. On a hot day out and about on Udo, I imagine this would go down super refreshingly.

Butter-grilled abalone: tender, chewy and rich

The abalone butter grill that came with the wedding table set — what more is there to say. A gentle buttery aroma with abalone that's soft and chewy in texture.

The clean flavor of the abalone itself combined with the rich, nutty butter is a combination that's hard to go wrong with.

That unexpectedly cute Zero Cola cup

While eating, we also ordered a zero-calorie cola, and the cup was so cute I had to snap a photo

Verdict: who should eat at Soseom Jeonbok on Udo

Udo's Soseom Jeonbok was a great place to visit when you want to try a variety of abalone dishes. The wedding table set let us enjoy abalone butter grill, abalone hotpot, and abalone mul-hoe all at once, and it came with abalone rice and several side dishes too, making for a pretty filling meal.

The wide-open sea view through the floor-to-ceiling windows is especially nice, making it a good spot for a break during a trip around Udo. The abalone hotpot was light, refreshing and savory, and the abalone mul-hoe was tangy and bright with its gochujang base. The abalone butter grill was delicious too, with soft, chewy abalone and buttery flavor. Worth a stop if you want a hearty meal of abalone dishes while looking out at the sea on Udo