Sokcho market restaurant, dine-in Set No. 12: Hwangbuja Twigim

After a trip to Sokcho, I searched for a restaurant to try the nurungji squid sundae (crispy-fried squid sausage with rice) that's trending right now. Let me introduce Set No. 12, nurungji squid sundae + Abai sundae, from Hwangbuja Twigim, a Sokcho Jungang Market favorite :)

Where Hwangbuja Twigim is and where to park

Hwangbuja Twigim is a squid sundae, Abai sundae, and tempura restaurant located inside Sokcho Jungang Market. If you're driving, the public parking lot across from the market charges a cheap ₩900 per hour, and the store gives a 30-minute parking voucher if you spend ₩15,000.

How to find Hwangbuja Twigim inside Sokcho Jungang Market

Here's the exterior of Hwangbuja Twigim, a Sokcho Jungang Market favorite. I followed a map app and it wasn't hard to find. Go one block in from the market entrance, turn left, go another block, turn right, and keep going straight — it's on your left. You can also just look for the sign above and find units 26 and 27!

Can you eat inside Hwangbuja Twigim?

A lot of people get takeout at Hwangbuja Twigim, but there are also tables set up inside where you can eat the food fresh. We wanted to eat comfortably too, so we grabbed a seat inside and ordered.

Hwangbuja Twigim menu and fried-food display

Here's the Hwangbuja Twigim menu board.

• Tempura: king prawn tempura, nude shrimp tempura, red snow crab meat tempura, squid tempura, baby crab tempura, kimmari (seaweed-wrapped glass noodle roll), peppers + perilla leaves, assorted tempura, shrimp gangjeong, and more
• Sundae: squid sundae, nurungji squid sundae, Abai sundae
• Jeon (pan-fried dishes): kimchi jeon, potato jeon, buckwheat jeonbyeong, sorghum bukkumi

The display case was packed with tempura that looked so good, you could see everything before ordering,

starting with king prawn tempura

then squid tempura and nude shrimp tempura,

snow crab meat tempura, baby crab, and assorted tempura,

and squid sundae, Abai sundae, and nurungji squid sundae were displayed as models so you could see exactly how they'd be served.

There was also pepper tempura, kimmari, and sweet potato tempura, and the batter looked so clean and delicious that I got curious about the tempura too.

It's also a place where you can try buckwheat jeonbyeong and sorghum bukkumi :)

The squid sundae, grilled to order on the griddle, looked so good.

Set No. 12: nurungji squid sundae plus Abai sundae

We ordered Set No. 12, nurungji squid sundae + Abai sundae, which was marked as a best-seller on the menu. It came with soy sauce loaded with onion and pickled radish as side dishes.

What the nurungji squid sundae tastes like

First up, the nurungji squid sundae I was most curious about. It's been showing up everywhere lately, and a coworker who traveled to Gangwon-do said this was the best thing she ate on her trip, so I ordered it with high expectations! Bottom line — it was really delicious. My husband said it was the best thing he ate at the market too.

It was fried golden-brown right when we ordered, so it was super hot and tasty! The plump squid was generously stuffed, and the outside was pressed and fried crispy like nurungji (crispy scorched rice), so the more you chewed, the more the nutty, crunchy texture came through. Biting into the plump rice grains made it pretty filling.

How the Abai sundae compares

Next up, the Abai sundae. Ordering the set meant we got to try both dishes half and half, which was great. What's sitting on top of the Abai sundae is the squid head haha

Like the squid sundae, the Abai sundae was also packed full inside, and while the texture was soft, the flavor was rich and heavy, making it a different kind of delicacy from the nurungji squid sundae. Dipping it well in the soy sauce and pairing it with onion was a really good combo too.

The squid head that came with it was also super tender and moist. Eaten plain, it was light and clean, and it was also tasty with the soy sauce.

Is dine-in at Hwangbuja Twigim worth it?

That's my record of eating Set No. 12, nurungji squid sundae and Abai sundae, at Hwangbuja Twigim, a Sokcho Jungang Market favorite. If you're heading to Sokcho and looking for sundae, I hope you'll stop by and try it!