Mild-spice octopus rice bowl near Begonia Garden in Gapyeong: Paldang

Where to eat near Begonia New Garden in Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi is a grilled octopus (jjukkumi) rice bowl restaurant at 150 Hanseo-ro, Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do. Today I stopped by after visiting Begonia New Garden in Gapyeong, and it was so good I completely fell for it — let me introduce this Seorak, Gapyeong restaurant!!

We went to see the birds at Begonia Garden in Seorak, Gapyeong with our baby on the weekend, and since we were in Seorak I figured I'd look for a good restaurant nearby to stop at on the way out. The octopus looked delicious so we headed there — and after eating it, it was genuinely so good I wished it was closer to home haha. It was a real find I'd want to visit again whenever we're back in Seorak, Gapyeong!!

First off, you can park right in front of the restaurant, so it was really convenient to drive there. Inside, there are plenty of seats too.

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi menu and prices

Here's the menu and pricing at this Seorak, Gapyeong restaurant.

• Grilled octopus rice bowl - ₩13,000
• Grilled octopus-pork belly rice bowl - ₩14,000 (octopus and thin-sliced pork belly together)
• Grilled octopus-beef intestine rice bowl - ₩15,000 (octopus and Korean beef large intestine together)
• Switching to hot-pot rice adds ₩3,000
• Adding ₩2,000 gets you steamed egg on the side
• Handmade pork loin cutlet - ₩11,000

They also had a handmade pork loin cutlet (₩11,000) that seemed easy to eat with a baby!! So we ordered two grilled octopus-pork belly rice bowls and one handmade pork loin cutlet.

What comes with the 14,000 won rice bowl: the self-serve snack bar

What genuinely surprised me was that the grilled octopus-pork belly rice bowl was ₩14,000, and yet there was a self-serve bar. I figured it would just be extra side dishes, but the variety was huge —

there was tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), sundae (Korean blood sausage), fried mandu (dumplings), and even sausages!! Getting the jjukkumi plus a fully loaded self-serve bar felt like really great value — I wondered how they could offer unlimited refills of all this at this price.

Is Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi good with a baby?

Nice touch: they had baby dishware ready and a baby chair too, which made it a great Seorak, Gapyeong restaurant to visit with an infant!

We loaded up on side dishes too—

And another point that touched me! They also provide sikhye (sweet rice punch), and coffee too! Such a nice touch haha. They really take care of dessert for you too.

While waiting after ordering, I noticed something flashing bright in the kitchen haha — it was a fire show..!! The smoky char scent wafted out and it looked so delicious and made me even more excited..!! haha

How spicy is the grilled octopus and pork belly rice bowl?

The grilled octopus-pork belly came out first! With that smoky char scent drifting off it, it looked absolutely delicious!!

It's loaded with plump octopus pieces, plus thin-sliced pork belly! The rice comes separately so you can top it and mix it up, but I wanted to taste the octopus and pork belly first. So I took one bite..!!!!! Wow!!!! It's genuinely delicious!!!!!!!!!

Being grilled over direct flame, the smoky char flavor is amazing, and the sauce is genuinely delicious!!!!!! After we both tried it, our eyes went wide and we just stared at each other lol

The rice comes out separately topped with various vegetables, so you can add as much as you like to your taste. It's loaded with plenty of vegetables, and having the self-serve bar too made it even better!

Piling the grilled octopus-pork onto the rice—

We put in half each, and it's quite the generous portion, right? Mix it all together—

I can't handle spicy food at all, and I usually struggle with how spicy jjukkumi dishes are, but the grilled octopus-pork at Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi wasn't that spicy! A spice level even someone like me could enjoy. But the flavor itself is amazing!!! The sauce is really delicious with a lot of that smoky char flavor, without being too spicy to eat comfortably — it was genuinely a delicious jjukkumi rice bowl.

It was so good while eating that I wanted to order another one lol

It was even better than the jjukkumi restaurant that's supposedly famous in my own neighborhood, and I wished this place was closer to home. Of everything I've eaten recently, this was one of the most delicious meals — Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi in Seorak, Gapyeong.

Handmade pork loin cutlet: the pick for kids at the table

The handmade pork loin cutlet is ₩11,000, and it was a large, generous portion — freshly fried, so it was extra crispy.

It was the perfect dish to order when visiting with a baby haha. This was a jjukkumi restaurant I'd want to visit again whenever I'm near Seorak, Gapyeong!!!