Sangam-dong eel restaurant: boneless eel bowls for beginners, Ryeok

Why I went to Ryeok Minmul Jangeogui Jeonmunjeom in Sangam-dong

Ryeok Minmul Jangeogui Jeonmunjeom (력 민물장어구이전문점) is a freshwater eel restaurant close to Digital Media City Station, on the 1st floor of 37 Seongam-ro 15-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. My partner had eel bowls here once with a friend and said they were so good, hahaha. Hearing that, I thought, maybe I should give it a try? So off I went to Ryeok in Sangam-dong!

• Address: 37 Seongam-ro 15-gil, 1st floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 11:00–23:00 / break time 14:00–16:00
• Saturday: 11:00–22:00 / break time 14:00–16:00
• Groups welcome, delivery, takeout

Exterior and location

TMI: my previous job was in Sangam, and when I got there I realized Ryeok is right where I used to walk by all the time. Instant feeling of familiarity, haha. It's close to the station, so it would also be a good company dinner spot in Digital Media City!

They say they use only Grade 1 domestic Japonica eel, caught and prepared the same day. Seeing the clean tank and the lively eels swimming around gave me tons of confidence, hahaha.

Ryeok menu: three kinds of grilled eel and lunch specials

There are three kinds of grilled eel: salt, soy and spicy sauce. And there's a nice range of sides you can add when you order the grilled dishes~!

There are also lunch specials made for Sangam office workers. My old company had team lunches a lot. If I'd known about this eel place back then, I'd have recommended it for a Sangam-dong team lunch..!! Such a shame.

A calm interior with customers coming in even on Saturday

Because of the office-district setting, restaurants around DMC are usually quieter on weekends than weekdays, but Ryeok still had customers coming in on a Saturday.

Lots of older diners came too, and the atmosphere is calm and not noisy, so it would suit an important meeting or a meal where you're treating someone.

As if to confirm it's a Sangam-dong eel favorite, the walls were covered in celebrity autographs, hahaha.

Special eel bowl ₩27,000 vs egg eel bowl ₩18,000

• Special eel bowl (₩27,000)
• Egg eel bowl (₩18,000)

You can order the lunch specials on weekends too. I ordered one special eel bowl and one egg eel bowl, and they came out at the same time, so no waiting around, haha.

The eel bowl set comes neatly laid out as a full spread on individual wooden trays.

The side dishes are almost the same, but the special eel bowl comes with extra pickled jujube. The sauce is tangy, like omija (five-flavor berry)? Whatever it is, it really wakes up your appetite!

The egg eel bowl, picked by an eel-bowl beginner

At Ryeok you can choose an eel bowl from special, egg or abalone. I'm a total beginner with eel bowls, so I went with the safest one, the egg.

The egg eel bowl comes with four fluffy slices of rolled omelet (gyeran-mari), plus wasabi, pickled ginger and other garnishes, so the colors are super pretty.

On top of the omelet sits a whole eel, glistening with sauce. Even next to the special eel bowl, the quality doesn't drop at all, and the portion was plenty satisfying!

The tare sauce soaks right into the eel, with a sweet-salty savoriness that's just wow ㅠ The eel's rich oil fills your mouth, yet it's not greasy at all and so good.

The big omelet is soft and sweetish and reeeally good ㅠ_ㅠ_ㅠ The steamed egg (gyeran-jjim) side was puddingly fluffy too and I was amazed. Ryeok might be an egg specialist, hahaha.

Today's highlight: the special eel bowl

Today's highlight is definitely the special eel bowl! The look of it is amazing ㅠㅠㅠ There's a reason it has "special" in the name, hahaha.

I really hate fish with bones, so I assumed I wouldn't like eel and never ate it. This was my first proper eel bowl, okay? Wow, I was head-banging from the first bite, it was so good, hahahaha.

Finding out only now how good eel is, I feel like I've wasted part of my life ;;;; They say it's grilled and steamed repeatedly in the traditional Nagoya way, and the texture was the best: golden outside, tender inside.

Are there bones in Ryeok's eel bowl?

The special eel bowl at Ryeok went down smoothly without a single annoying fine bone. Bones are the thing that matters most to me, so I was a little worried before eating, but thanks to that I could eat in peace, haha.

If the egg eel bowl was sweet and salty, the special eel bowl felt a bit milder? The deep, subtle flavor of the house-made tare sauce feels upscale.

How to enjoy the eel bowl, and finishing with ochazuke

I'd been mindlessly eating rice + eel + garnishes all at once when I discovered there's a recommended way to eat the eel bowl.. haha. It says to divide it into four portions with a + shape,, hehe.

But as a pair of piggy eaters, we were already enjoying it in all sorts of combos without the guide: wasabi, pickled mustard greens, sancho pepper powder and more, hahaha.

The way to finish the eel bowl is to pour in ochazuke (tea broth over rice) and eat it like a soup!

The rice and eel, softened by the warm tea broth, were mild and nutty, and my stomach felt comfortable, not bloated.

Dessert: brownie and yogurt

Dessert at Ryeok is a sweet brownie and yogurt. With dessert thoughtfully included, I felt even more looked after, haha. The brownie wasn't too sweet and was tasty!

An eel beginner's verdict

I wasn't sure Sangam-dong eel would suit my taste, but Ryeok had a neat full spread, savory eel and, above all, well-trimmed bones, so I was super, super satisfied. It was a Digital Media City meal where I properly recharged my energy with a classy eel bowl!