Pohang mulhoe restaurant with a marathon runner discount: Ppwang

This is a sponsored visit, but I've written it honestly based on what I actually experienced :)

Where is Ppwang Mulhoe? Halfway between Yeongildae Beach and Space Walk

Ppwang Mulhoe sits halfway between Pohang's Yeongildae Beach and Space Walk. I went to Pohang to see the sea again after a while :D I first spotted 'Ppwang Mulhoe' while running the Pohang Marathon last time — the logo was so cute that I looked it up. Turns out this mulhoe place has a salad bar 😲 So I made a note to visit sometime! Marathon participants also get a ₩2,000 discount per person 👍👍👍

That squid character caught my eye while I was running the Steel Marathon haha

There's a parking lot right in front of the store, and a public lot right across the street too!

How long is the wait at 10:30am on a Sunday?

We visited at 10:30am on Sunday, September 13, just the two of us. I didn't realize there was another marathon that day too — a secondary battery marathon. Since marathon participants get a ₩2,000 discount, even though we did an opening run, there were tons of customers. We waited about 15 minutes. You register at the counter and wait :) They have baby chairs ready and vending machine coffee too.

We got super lucky with a window seat, so we enjoyed the mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) with a pretty sea view >< Dogs are allowed, so there were lots of customers who came with their pups too! 🥰

Ppwang Mulhoe menu and what we ordered

Here's the menu. There were several types of mulhoe — Ppwang Mulhoe (three seafood combo), squid mulhoe, flounder mulhoe, 3-combo mulhoe, and more — plus squid sashimi, flounder sashimi, seafood platters, whole boiled squid, squid pancake, Korean beef bulgogi rice bowl, grilled prawns, and more. Such a wide variety!

We ordered the Ppwang Mulhoe (three seafood combo) for ₩25,000 and a large squid mulhoe for ₩25,000 :)

How to eat mulhoe the right way

• Mix it up first as a bibim-style dish
• Use the self bar (a bit of minced chili or wasabi to taste)
• Add broth and drop in some noodles
• Mix in rice
• Eat alongside side dishes (whole steamed squid, crispy pancake)

There's also a review event where you can get fried squid, so it might be worth joining :)

What's on the self bar at Ppwang Mulhoe?

The self bar has squid soup (the broth is on the side — careful, it's hot)

The self bar had kimchi, stir-fried sausage and vegetables, macaroni salad, stir-fried seaweed stems, extra noodles, stir-fried anchovies, stir-fried potato strips, seasoned namul (vegetable side dish), stir-fried vegetables..?, braised quail eggs, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), chicken nuggets, and kimmari (seaweed rolls). Below that, minced chili, gochujang (red pepper paste), ssamjang (dipping paste), and wasabi were also available.

Since there were so many customers, everything got restocked quickly, so I got to enjoy freshly made warm tteokbokki and freshly fried chicken nuggets and kimmari :) There was dipping sauce for the fried stuff right in front too!

The mains: Ppwang Mulhoe combo and a large squid mulhoe

Ppwang Mulhoe, ₩25,000. This is the restaurant's signature dish, loaded with sea squirt, sea cucumber, abalone, and raw squid. A spicy-sweet-sour seasoned mulhoe :)

Squid mulhoe, large, ₩25,000. Loaded with East Sea squid and plenty of fresh vegetables!

The broth also comes separately

And we brought over food from the self bar too

A really generous spread was ready 😊

We mixed it all up well and ate it as a bibim-style dish first

Then we added the ice-cold broth and noodles for a mulhoe noodle dish too 😆

Mixed in some rice too for a hearty bite! 😆 It was noticeably spicy as we kept eating (though that might be because I'm a spice wimp 🤣)

The freshly fried kimmari and chicken nuggets were also delicious 😊

Is Ppwang Mulhoe worth it near Yeongildae in Pohang?

If you're visiting Pohang, why not try Ppwang Mulhoe, with its delicious mulhoe and salad bar? I really enjoyed my meal here, so I'm recommending it as a great Yeongildae seafood restaurant in Pohang :D

The weather was gorgeous too ❤ It was a pretty hot day with strong sun, and the marathon runners were impressive and cool. I should keep running too, so I can try a 10km marathon again next year 😁