Eel BBQ ordered by portion, not kg, near Songjeong Station, Gwangju

Today was a historic day for a beginner driver like me. I drove my husband to and from his business trip and had the steering wheel in my hands the entire day, haha — and that included Songjeong Station, packed with people and cars!

On the way back to Songjeong Station to pick up my husband after his trip. Today, both of us had worked hard, so neither of us had the energy to cook, and we deserved a proper reward. ⍤⃝

Meat is great, but for recovering your energy, it's eel!

A 10-minute walk from Songjeong Station — but what about parking?

• Ppaksen Freshwater Eel Songjeong Station Branch
• Parking in front, takeout, reservations available
• Mon–Thu 15:00–23:00
• Fri–Sun 15:00–24:00

It's very close to Songjeong Station, where I'd gone to pick up my husband — less than a 10-minute walk. (Travelers visiting Gwangju could easily stop here to eat too.) Of course, parking is also available.

About 5 cars can park in front of the restaurant, and 2–3 more on the side. If you let them know ahead of time, they'll save you a spot in front.

And no need to worry — there are plenty of public and paid parking lots around the restaurant. Even coming as a group, parking is never an issue. (For a nervous beginner driver like me who avoids places that are hard to park at, lots like these are truly precious.)

Eel stocked under 14 months from fry — priced at ₩9,800

Ppaksen Freshwater Eel apparently only uses eel under 14 months from when the fry were stocked. As tough ("ppaksen") as the name suggests, they manage the eel closely during the period when it tastes best. (Just like with meat, timing matters just as much with eel.)

The eel is only ₩9,800...! ★★★★★ Five stars...!!

They're even running a weekday event right now — reserve an early weekday visit between 15:00 and 17:30 and get 1 portion of eel free.

How many kilos of eel should I order? Here, it's by the portion

The biggest reason I chose Ppaksen Freshwater Eel for dinner tonight!!!! Eel is usually sold by the kilogram, right? I could never figure out how many kilos to order for how many people, ugh. (The older generation always seems to order confidently... at my age in my 30s, I guess I still count as "no elders at home yet" haha.)

But here, I could order with confidence. You just order the same way you would at a Korean BBQ restaurant!

Group seating for up to 64 and high chairs

Where should we sit~ With group seating for up to 64 people, there are so many tables. Square tables line the walls, and most of the restaurant is filled with round tables.

And for group dinners and gatherings, there was another table where the round tables were connected down the middle so you could use them all in a row.

That group table was so fascinating I kept going "wow~" while looking at it. I told my husband how interesting it was too, and he said he'd seen it a few times before, haha. (I'd never seen one, since I'm not exactly an office worker.)

They have high chairs, so you could bring a baby along too. ♥ But since we don't need one yet (lol), we just grabbed aprons and headed to our seats. (Someday I'll be the one hunting for restaurants with high chairs...)

The side dishes and sauces

Our table was the square one by the wall. They neatly set out side dishes that go well with eel.

The side dishes were doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), green onion kimchi / garlic / ginger / rakkyo (pickled scallions) / garlic stems / preserved perilla leaves / baek-kimchi (white, non-spicy kimchi). (*The bold ones are just the ones I like, haha.)

The sauces were ssamjang, teriyaki, and pickled onion & chive with wasabi.

Ordering for two: 3 portions, a recap of the unit system

We ordered 3 portions of salt-grilled eel for the two of us.

• First order minimum is 3 portions, additional orders start from 2 portions — keep this in mind! (Sold in 1-portion units)
• Like at a Korean BBQ restaurant, matching the number of people or ordering people × 1.5 portions works perfectly.

You can grab as many side dishes as you want from the self-serve bar. I went and loaded up on perilla leaves. Personally I love lettuce, but for eel specifically, perilla leaves are the way to go. ★

And next to the self-serve bar was a drinks fridge. Bokbunja (Korean black raspberry wine) would be perfect with eel, but... we still had plans for later, so we skipped the alcohol.

The charcoal that would be responsible for tonight's smoky eel flavor.

Pre-grilled eel, cut into bite-size pieces by staff

When the eel came out, a staff member cut each piece into bite-size portions for us.

The eel, neatly arranged in place. 💓 Look at that glossy shine!! Since it comes pre-grilled, you only need to cook it a little more.

The doenjang jjigae inspector's verdict

While waiting for the eel to grill, my job was to taste-test the doenjang jjigae. I hold a (self-appointed) certification as a doenjang jjigae inspector at BBQ restaurants, so...

This is truly the real deal — a genuinely delicious BBQ-restaurant doenjang jjigae. And rice is essential with that.

We ordered a bowl of rice right away. Rice here is ₩900...? In this economy??

The first bite, and my own combinations

The eel, grilling golden brown. Finally, the first taste. For the first bite, I went with the classic teriyaki + ginger combo... savory with just the right amount of richness. So good... And above all, the eel was so well prepped that there wasn't a single bone in the way, and no fishy smell at all.

And then, the real fun began — mixing and matching different side dishes. ↓ My own combinations. Everything tasted good no matter how I ate it.

It was my first time eating garlic stems with such a red seasoning. It wasn't very sour, which actually let the eel's flavor stand out more. All the side dishes were chosen to pair with the grilled eel, so I could mix things up bite after bite. Every single bite was a lot of fun...

Scorched rice served in a stone pot

And then they cut the green onion kimchi into easy-to-eat pieces too... My husband tried it and,

ordered scorched rice. But here, the scorched rice... comes in a stone pot!! You can eat it piping hot all the way to the end. They should really put "stone-pot scorched rice" on the menu in bold letters. I thought it was just plain scorched rice!

He piled green onion kimchi on top of the scorched rice and scraped the whole bowl clean. The green onion kimchi has just a touch of spice — the perfectly spicy kind, he said.

A dinner that left us really full. It was such a satisfying meal that we're planning to bring my parents next time. (Before bringing the parents, I always have to do a scouting trip first, haha. Honestly, when I ate there, the main customer base was the kind of middle-aged men often called "good-restaurant detectors" — meaning it's a certified good restaurant, safe to bring the parents.)

Who I'd recommend this to

☞ If any of this sounds like you, Ppaksen Freshwater Eel is for you! (Oops, I see myself in every single one of these~)

• You have no idea how many kilos of grilled eel to order.
• You want to pair grilled eel with more than just ginger.
• You want the meal menu to be solid too.
• You're looking for a group dinner spot with convenient parking.
• You're a nervous beginner driver who can't go anywhere without easy parking.
• You're visiting Gwangju and getting off at Songjeong Station.
• Your parents have picky taste, lol.
• You're curious about a doenjang jjigae certified by the doenjang jjigae inspector (me).

(+)

When the Gwangju Sangsaeng Card discount rate is high, load up a lot~~ See you again, tough eel!