Balsan Station Japanese restaurant, Hwang Jung-min's unagi don: Ilpum

I brought it, everyone!

Where is Ilpum Magok?

Ilpum Magok (일품 마곡점) is on the ground floor of Leaders Tower, about 394 m from Exit 8 of Balsan Station.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the celebrity autographs hanging on the wall!

The interior is upscale and tidy, with both table seats and bar (dacchi) seats, so the mood for a meal was great.

There are even coat hangers on the wall, which felt like a thoughtful little touch.

Ilpum Magok menu and how to order

I heard Ilpum started with its Magok flagship in 2023 and has since expanded to Yeouido, Gangnam, Gwanghwamun and more.

Kaisendon and unagi don, of course, plus salmon sake don, hon-maguro tsukedon, aburi don, uni toro don, seasonal greater amberjack don, sashimi and sushi! If you love Japanese food, picking a dish is going to be a real struggle, haha.

You order with Catch Order through the QR code on the table, which was convenient.

I ordered the unagi don and the basic kaisendon!

What is the unagi don that actor Hwang Jung-min picked like?

The first dish out was Ilpum Magok's unagi don, which actor Hwang Jung-min reportedly chose! It's an eel rice bowl: seasoned rice topped with Japanese-style rolled omelet, and a whole eel on top of that.

Seasoned rice, Japanese-style omelet, and a big whole eel on top. The look of it was seriously awesome.

The eel is topped with sliced green onion, and pickled ginger and wasabi are tucked inside.

The eel was well seasoned and really delicious,

and the omelet was soft and sweet, a real treat.

Take a bit of everything in one mouthful, rice, omelet, eel, a little wasabi, pickled ginger and green onion, and it's pure heaven!

Eel rice bowls can get a little heavy partway through, but not here. I enjoyed it to the very last bite.

What comes in the basic kaisendon?

Next, instead of the premium kaisendon that Lee Young-ja picked, I ordered the basic kaisendon.

Even though it's the basic one rather than the premium, it didn't feel skimpy at all.

It has a variety of sashimi, shrimp and even ankimo (monkfish liver), so picking out one piece at a time was fun.

The rice is seasoned too, so it goes well with the seafood. Wrapping it in the seaweed and white kimchi served on the side was delicious, and eating it with gamtae (a fine seaweed) was a treat as well. Above all, the ingredients were really fresh, and I was satisfied the whole way through.

Tempura udon and tofu pudding dessert

Ilpum Magok also brought out udon during the meal, and it wasn't plain udon but tempura udon. Little details like that made me think the quality is good all round.

Finally, near the end of the meal, a dessert was served too. It had a soft, tofu-pudding-like texture with a sweet sauce on top, a perfect palate cleanser after eating.

My thoughts on trying kaisendon for the first time

If you want fresh kaisendon, sushi and a proper eel rice bowl in Magok, I totally recommend Ilpum Magok. This was my first time trying kaisendon and it was honestly such a treat, haha. If you like Japanese food, it's worth a visit at least once.