Late-lunch pot rice restaurant in Sangam: sticky abalone rice, Solsot

Why someone with no pot rice expectations went to Solsot Sangam Branch

I tried the abalone pot rice and the sea bream and scallop pot rice at Solsot Sangam Branch, and to cut to the chase, it was good enough to change how I think about pot rice. I had always known Solsot was famous. I often saw paid-with-my-own-money Solsot reviews in mom cafés, local food cafés, wedding-prep cafés and so on, but I also heard that taste and satisfaction vary from branch to branch, so I was curious but never quite got around to going.

Honestly, I don't have many memories of eating pot rice and being blown away. About four years ago I visited a famous pot rice chain in Gangnam and remember it being more ordinary than I had hoped. To me, pot rice was just rice you could also eat as nurungji (scorched rice) at the end, nothing special.

Then, while watching my diet recently, the menu choices got limited and even picking a meal wasn't easy. After some thought, I decided to visit Solsot Sangam Branch this time. I had seen plenty of good reviews, but my own experience with pot rice had set the bar low, so I went without much expectation.

But the pot rice that day was far more satisfying than I expected. I found myself thinking, wow, rice itself can be this good, and both my husband and I wanted to come back.

Where is Solsot Sangam Branch and what are its hours?

Solsot Sangam Branch is at 75 Maebongsan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, B1, Unit 101. Hours are Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00, with a break from 16:00 to 17:00 and last order at 20:30. Parking is available, with 1 hour covered.

Sangam has lots of office workers, so I figured every restaurant would be packed at lunchtime. I wanted to eat in a bit more peace, so I went after the lunch rush.

A clean restaurant, the menu and kiosk ordering

Solsot Sangam Branch is on the building's first basement level. Both the exterior and interior were clean.

I looked over the menu to decide which pot rice to get.

I hadn't noticed it on the regular menu, but when I ordered at the kiosk there were separate set menus. There was a set that included fried shrimp, so instead of just pot rice we decided to have it together.

We ordered the abalone pot rice and the sea bream and scallop pot rice. My husband chose the sea bream and scallop, and I chose the abalone. Honestly, even when ordering I didn't expect much. I figured that even with abalone, sea bream or scallop, the pieces might be cut tiny or laid on thin, looking nice but with no real chew. But once the food came out, I completely changed my mind.

Solsot abalone and sea bream scallop pot rice: how generous were the toppings?

The abalone, sea bream and scallop were far more generous than I had imagined. What caught my eye first was the amount of topping on the rice. It didn't feel like thin slices spread wide just to look plentiful; the pieces were big enough to really chew, which I liked.

As soon as the pot rice arrived, I started filming my husband mixing his sea bream and scallop pot rice. But he seemed to be having a hard time mixing it. I asked why, whether it wasn't mixing well, and he said the rice wasn't mixing as easily as he expected. It's rice, how hard can it be, I thought, but I got curious.

Then I mixed my abalone pot rice, and trying it myself I understood. The rice was surprisingly heavy. I thought a few stirs with the spoon would do it, but the grains were clumped together stickily and wouldn't mix easily. I usually think of pot rice as fluffy, separate grains with toppings on top, but Solsot's rice was different in texture from the start.

Abalone pot rice that goes beyond chewy

The abalone pot rice at Solsot Sangam Branch wasn't just chewy; the Korean word jjwan-deuk (an extra-sticky, springy chew) suits it better, it was that sticky and heavy. My husband, who tried the sea bream and scallop first, said it smelled amazing and tasted clean and mild, and urged me to hurry up and try mine. So with half hope and half doubt I took a bite of the abalone pot rice, and it was really unexpected.

It was sticky yet hefty, and the more I chewed, the more I could feel the texture of the rice itself. It suddenly reminded me of yakbap (sweet glutinous rice with nuts and jujubes). I really love yakbap, and the sticky texture of Solsot's rice felt similar to eating it. Of course I don't mean the taste or cooking method is the same, just that the strong stickiness and heavy texture were that memorable. Personally, this texture suited my taste perfectly.

Since it's abalone pot rice, the flavor and texture of the abalone were good too, but what I liked most was that the rice itself was delicious. The abalone wasn't cut so small that it had no presence; it was big enough to chew properly. Eaten together with the rice, it was mild yet the texture of the ingredient came through, which I found satisfying.

I'm someone who never found much charm in pot rice, but that day I kept thinking how good it was as I ate. Even at a pot rice specialist, I think the rice has to be good in the end, and in that sense Solsot Sangam Branch was quite impressive.

Sea bream and scallop pot rice with mild fish and chewy scallop

In the sea bream and scallop pot rice at Solsot Sangam Branch, the clean flavor of sea bream and the texture of scallop went well with the sticky rice. I tasted my husband's too, and from the first bite he was happy, saying it smelled good and tasted mild.

What stood out was that the rice in the sea bream and scallop pot rice was also very sticky. At first I thought the texture of the abalone pot rice was uniquely impressive, but here too the grains clumped stickily and gave a heavy, chewy texture. The sea bream was mild, so it was easy to enjoy the ingredient's own flavor, and with the sticky rice added, every bite was satisfying.

The two pot rice dishes differed in taste depending on the toppings, but the rice itself being delicious was the same in both. Thinking about it, because the rice is good, whatever you put on top probably tastes good. At a pot rice specialist, toppings matter, but I think the flavor of the base rice matters most, and Solsot Sangam Branch especially satisfied me there. Personally I enjoyed both the abalone pot rice and the sea bream and scallop pot rice, and next time I'd like to try other pot rice menus.

Solsot fried shrimp set: worth ordering?

My husband liked the fried shrimp set at Solsot Sangam Branch so much that he called it his number one fried shrimp. Besides pot rice, Solsot has set menus that include fried shrimp, so we ordered one. At first I wondered whether we really needed fried shrimp with pot rice.

There was even a set that included Asahi draft beer, and I figured some people must enjoy fried shrimp and beer with their pot rice. But once I actually tried the fried shrimp, I understood why that combination exists.

To be fair, lots of places fry shrimp really well these days, with big shrimp in crispy batter. Solsot's fried shrimp also had long, big shrimp in a crispy coating, so it was tasty on its own.

But what impressed me personally even more was the tartar sauce that comes with it. Dipping into it, I could feel the crunch of onion, and the rich flavor of egg yolk came through nicely. Soft, rich tartar sauce on crispy fried shrimp was a really good combination. The shrimp itself was good, but I thought the sauce played a big part.

As I ate, I understood why they sell fried shrimp together with beer. A bite of crispy fried shrimp and a sip of cold beer would make a great snack pairing. I came for pot rice and left happy with the fried shrimp too. If you're deciding on a set menu, it's worth looking at the ones that include fried shrimp.

Solsot nurungji is made by pouring in broth

At Solsot Sangam Branch, you make nurungji by pouring broth, not plain water, over the leftover rice after finishing your pot rice. Following the instruction sign, I poured in warm broth and enjoyed the nurungji. I don't know exactly what the broth is made from, but poured over the nurungji it tasted different from the nurungji I usually eat at home.

After pouring the broth and waiting, the nurungji took on a faint brown color, with a little butter aroma left in the rice, the nutty flavor typical of nurungji, and the depth of the broth on top. It felt clearly different from nurungji made with plain warm water. The rice was good, but finishing with nurungji made wrapping up the meal fun.

Above all, my husband doesn't usually like nurungji. When I make it at home or it comes out at a restaurant, he hardly touches it, but that day he said the nurungji was good and finished every last bit. Seeing him enjoy it was amazing to me too. The sticky texture of the rice was great, but the broth nurungji was also one of the things I remember about Solsot.

How much parking does Solsot Sangam Branch cover?

Parking is available at Solsot Sangam Branch: the first 30 minutes are free, and they support an additional 30-minute parking ticket, for 1 hour in total. If you're coming by car, it's worth checking about parking. I received a parking discount ticket during my visit, so keep that in mind if you're driving. The parking support conditions may change, so it may be a good idea to check with the restaurant before you visit.

Solsot Sangam Branch changed my mind about pot rice

I'd heard for ages that Solsot is famous, but since I'd never had a particularly good pot rice, I went without much expectation again. Yet both the abalone pot rice and the sea bream and scallop pot rice had more generous toppings than I expected, and above all the sticky texture of the rice was really impressive. The abalone pot rice especially was so heavy and sticky that it went beyond chewy, and it suited my taste.

The fried shrimp was better than expected too. The big, crispy fry went well with tartar sauce that kept the flavors of onion and egg yolk, and even my husband, who doesn't like nurungji, happily ate the broth nurungji. From the pot rice to the fried shrimp to the final nurungji, there was nothing I was majorly disappointed by, and I ate very satisfied.

Of course, taste varies by person, but even someone like me with no expectations of pot rice felt like going back. If you want a hearty meal in Sangam, or you're looking for pot rice loaded with ingredients like abalone pot rice and sea bream and scallop pot rice, Solsot Sangam Branch is worth a visit. If I eat near Sangam again, I'd like to try the other pot rice menus too.