Grilled tilefish dinner at Siheung Korean restaurant Seolak Chueotang
In short
Seolak Chueotang Hwadeok Saenggeongui Mulwang Reservoir Main Branch is a loach soup and wood-fired fish restaurant in the Mulwang-dong local food village near Mulwang Reservoir in Siheung, Gyeonggi. For dinner, a couple ordered the basic chueotang (loach soup), wood-fired semi-dried grilled tilefish for 23,000 won and a small plate of fried loach, finishing every bite down to the scorched rice from the pot rice. Even a wife who usually dislikes chueotang called it delicious, so Seolak Chueotang is a good pick for finely ground loach soup with no fishy smell.
Good to know
- Location
- 40 Dongseo-ro 857beon-gil, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do — Mulwang-dong local food village
- Parking
- Restaurant parking lot on site
- What we ordered
- Basic chueotang (loach soup), semi-dried grilled tilefish, small fried loach
- Grilled tilefish price
- 23,000 won
- Reservations
- Booked ahead — the restaurant was full
- Price reference
- ₩23,000 ≈ $17 (2026-09-24)
as written by the visitor on Sep 24, 2026
A must-visit restaurant near Mulwang Reservoir in Siheung
Where is Seolak Chueotang near Mulwang Reservoir, and is there parking?
Seolak Chueotang Hwadeok Saenggeongui Mulwang Reservoir Main Branch sits in Siheung's Mulwang-dong local food village, and parking is easy since there's a lot right at the restaurant. Chueotang (loach soup) is one of those summer body-boosting foods, but I didn't get a chance to have a single bowl this summer because of work — so at the start of fall, I finally got to taste it again after a long while.
At Seolak Chueotang Hwadeok Saenggeongui, a must-visit spot by Mulwang Reservoir in Siheung, my wife and I had chueotang with a shot of soju for the first time in a while. We also got fried loach, chueotang's best sidekick, plus grilled tilefish — such a good combo.
Oho — she said it was tasty, and it really seems to be. The place is packed with customers. I honestly don't know what we'd have done without a reservation. Since even my wife, who dislikes chueotang, says this one is good, I'm confident there's none of that muddy off-taste here. She also said the fried loach was good, so my expectations are through the roof.
The full table: loach soup, grilled tilefish, fried loach, banchan and pot rice
The chueotang, grilled tilefish and fried loach we ordered arrived. The tilefish is pretty cheap for a must-visit spot near Mulwang Reservoir — just ₩23,000.
The side dishes are nothing fancy, but they're served so neatly that they make you want to dig in, haha. The cabbage salad was great after a long time, and the kimchi was clean and good too.
The rice comes in a little pot, which is always a win for me — I was already thinking about the scorched rice I'd make later, haha, I love that. Chueotang comes in several varieties here, but I went with the most basic plain version. Adding a bunch of extra ingredients can be nice too, but I tend to prefer the food's original, essential flavor...
Small plate of fried loach, crispy right down to the bones
I ordered the fried loach in the small size, and after popping one in my mouth, there was no fishy smell at all and it was fried crispy all the way to the bone — really good. Honestly, it's already lightly seasoned so you don't even need to dip it in soy sauce, haha.
It's a bit far from my usual stomping grounds so I couldn't have more than one drink, which was a shame, but my wife had beer instead so it's all good, haha.
How does the loach soup taste? Finely ground broth with no fishy smell
Let's try the chueotang — hmm... it's delicious. This is exactly how chueotang should taste. Zero fishy smell, and the loach is blended so finely you can't even spot one, so even someone squeamish like me can enjoy it, tasting just the essence of the loach. The chueotang at Seolak Chueotang Hwadeok Saenggeongui is really good.
Adding a bit of Korean pepper (sancho) on top makes it even better, haha. It's good even without extra seasoning.
Wood-fired semi-dried tilefish, 23,000 won
Here's the grilled tilefish. I had fresh tilefish a while ago, but this place serves semi-dried tilefish grilled crispy over a wood fire. Semi-dried tilefish isn't the most natural match for wood-fire grilling, but eh, who cares — as long as it tastes good.
Oho, this is good. It has a different charm from fresh grilled tilefish — deep, savory flavor rises up from the flesh.
Time for the fried loach I love — hmm... this time I dipped it in soy sauce, and the flavor twist was great. This kind of clean, light fried loach is also good dipped in just salt.
Anyway, this chueotang is seriously delicious. I'd eaten a late lunch and wasn't planning to finish everything, but it was so good I ended up cleaning the whole thing.
Finishing with the scorched rice: is Seolak Chueotang worth a return visit?
Wrapped up the tilefish deliciously to the end, haha. Seolak Chueotang Hwadeok Saenggeongui, a must-visit spot by Mulwang Reservoir, haha — I'll have to stop by again whenever I'm in Siheung. Next time I should bring a business contact and have a soju.
Haha, after finishing all that chueotang, capping it off with tasty scorched rice — haha. What do you think? If you're in Mokgam-dong, Siheung, Seolak Chueotang Hwadeok Saenggeongui near Mulwang Reservoir seems like a great choice. I feel my strength surging back.
Seolak Chueotang Hwadeok Saenggeongui Mulwang Reservoir Main Branch
Where it is
40 Dongseo-ro 857beon-gil, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea경기도 시흥시 동서로857번길 40
