Octopus and pork set for two with steamed egg in Gapyeong: Paldang

I was driving out to Gapyeong and trying to figure out where to grab lunch when I remembered a spot where I'd had really good jjukkumi (spicy octopus) before.

That was Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi, the Gapyeong Seorak spot I'd found before!

I remembered visiting with my husband and having really delicious grilled octopus-pork, and every now and then I'd think back to that meal.

Since I was heading toward Gapyeong anyway, I figured it was time to revisit Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi.

Where is Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi? Parking and the dining room

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi, a Gapyeong Seorak restaurant

There's parking space right in front of this Gapyeong octopus restaurant, so once again I could drive there comfortably.

Walking inside, it was still spacious and clean, haha.

There were families as well as customers who seemed to be stopping by on a trip, like us. There are also baby chairs, so it's easy for people with kids to visit, haha.

The octopus and pork set for two: hot plate or rice bowl?

At Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi you can have it as a hot plate stir-fry or a rice bowl, but octopus really tastes best on the hot plate!! Haha. Ordering the hot plate stir-fry also includes egg custard, so we went with the hot plate.

The first time we visited this Gapyeong octopus restaurant we had the grilled octopus-pork set for two with egg custard, and this time we ended up ordering the same thing again. There's also a handmade pork cutlet menu for kids, so if you're not great with spicy food, that's worth knowing.

What's on the self-serve snack bar while you wait

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi in Gapyeong also has a solid self-serve bar, so we grabbed a few light snacks while waiting for the food.

There's a good variety of snack dishes like tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), fried snacks, sundae (blood sausage), and jjolmyeon (chewy cold noodles) prepared, so it was nice to nibble on a bit of everything before the main dish arrived.

Picking away at snacks while waiting for the octopus at this Gapyeong restaurant, before we knew it, it was time for the octopus to come out, haha.

We also grabbed lettuce and chives from the self-serve bar to eat alongside the octopus-pork. Flying fish roe comes as a basic serving at first, and if you want more you can order it separately.

How does the flame-grilled octopus and pork taste?

The grilled octopus-pork finally arrived! A familiar taste is a scary thing, lol — the moment the food showed up, I was drooling again, haha.

It's loaded with octopus and pork belly, and since it's grilled over open flame, a subtle smoky char comes through, which is the standout feature.

The spicy sauce is well soaked into the octopus and pork belly, so it's delicious even on its own, but pairing it with the sides that come along gives it a whole different flavor, haha.

The octopus at this Gapyeong Seorak restaurant has a nice springy texture, and the pork belly has just the right amount of fat, so the combination of the two was great, haha.

Perilla leaf wraps with flying fish roe, seaweed and mayonnaise

Put octopus and pork belly on a perilla leaf, add a bit of flying fish roe and seaweed, then finish with a touch of mayonnaise — it's really delicious.

Adding mayonnaise to the spicy octopus softens the heat a bit, and the popping texture of the flying fish roe makes it fun to eat too.

The steamed egg that comes with the set

You can't skip the egg custard that comes with the grilled octopus-pork set either. It's fluffy and moist, so it was nice to have a bite alongside the spicy octopus.

Between the two of us, we kept going back and forth between the octopus and the egg custard, and even though the portion was pretty large, we just kept eating, haha.

Is Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi worth a Gapyeong drive lunch?

Smoky octopus and pork belly, spicy sauce, and fluffy egg custard on top — I'd fully recommend it as a meal, haha.

If you're planning a drive or trip around Gapyeong Seorak, or if you're just craving spicy octopus one day, Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi seems worth a stop.

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi