Mapo seafood restaurant, crispy shrimp heads: Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada

A seasonal seafood spread near Daeheung Station

One weekday, I finished work early and rushed all the way from Jamsil at 4 p.m... and arrived at Daeheung Station... I was going to the sea with my friends... straight to Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada (제철담은 마포바다) ^^

One day, salt-grilled shrimp suddenly took over my Instagram algorithm... It kept appearing at every possible moment and it was torture, but I finally went to eat it ㅠㅠ With two friends who are absolutely crazy about seafood, too,,

It is exactly a one-minute walk from Exit 3 of Daeheung Station... This brand-new restaurant only opened in September, and I happened to see it while it was under construction,, then saw the place packed on opening day? I think that made me want to come even more.

Ah, the weather is so nice. Perfect weather for sashimi.

They open at 5, so I hovered around the door from 4:50... Since I had booked ahead, they were getting this and that ready beforehand. It looked like there were quite a few reservations too—about three parties just at 5.

We sat at an inner table... The restaurant is fairly spacious, and most of the guests were families! There are lots of apartments in Mapo-gu, but not many well-known sashimi restaurants with plenty of tables.

There is a wide variety of drinks and alcohol, too. They especially stock sake, so lots of people were drinking sake!

What comes with the Mapo Bada Signature Set?

While I was looking around, a huge table suddenly appeared from somewhere ;; They carried the whole table over and sort of slid it into ours(?). So fascinating! We ordered the Mapo Bada Signature Set. It is meant for four, so it was a little much for three people, but we still cleared almost all of it,, There were seriously sooo many things that I could not stop eating.

This was only the first round ^^ It really just keeps coming. It almost felt like an imokase-style spread.

According to the menu, it includes 18 salt-grilled live shrimp; raw shrimp, gizzard shad sashimi, and a large assorted sashimi platter; assorted seafood; four grilled gizzard shad; boiled pork with radish kimchi; abalone and maesaengi (seaweed) porridge; assorted fried items; and fried shrimp heads.

• The precious, precious grilled gizzard shad
• Salt-grilled live shrimp
• Abalone maesaengi porridge that you absolutely have to eat as soon as it arrives
• Assorted fried items
• Raw shrimp, gizzard shad sashimi, and a large assorted sashimi platter — that day it included flounder, yellowtail, red sea bream, and striped beakfish,,

Before we really get going, let me inhale some abalone maesaengi porridge. When the owner says, “Eat it before it gets cold~,” you should listen.

There was boiled pork, tofu kimchi, and steamed egg to nibble on as palate cleansers in between;;

The corn mayo salad was seriously so good.

The table was full of sauces and side dishes that went well with sashimi. The chamnamul greens and bossam (boiled pork wraps) were quietly standout items too. They also gave us cheongsangchu lettuce and perilla leaves, and all the vegetables were so fresh—total pass.

Starting with raw shrimp, gizzard shad sashimi, and assorted sashimi

And now, let’s properly get into the assorted sashimi. I started with the raw shrimp. The flesh was translucent and springy~ and a subtle sweetness came through the more I chewed. Yep, these really were shrimp in season..

Next to the raw shrimp was gizzard shad sashimi, with such an appealing pleasantly chewy bite. The flounder was mild and firm, while the yellowtail was a little softer and richer than the flounder, so they were nice to alternate. With the gizzard shad too, it felt exactly like eating a plate of autumn seasonal seafood ^^~~ I am completely a chojang person, so I love dipping any sashimi in chojang (sweet-tangy red chili sauce),,

They quickly made four pieces of sushi and brought them over. They said these were best eaten right away too, so straight into my mouth. Ahhh~~ They melt in your mouth.

As you have a bite of bossam, before you know it the shrimp will be fully cooked. Before that, reset your tongue a little with a bite each of seaweed soup and fried food.

I picked some flesh from the grilled gizzard shad too... Eating this made me want to bring my mom and dad here ㅠㅠ

Just as I was about to eat the shrimp, the owner suddenly brought over live octopus too. Owner, we still have not finished everything ㅠㅠ But it was so fresh that I put it straight in my mouth anyway.

Salt-grilled live shrimp and fried shrimp heads

Phew, I finally arrived at the salt-grilled live shrimp. It is 18 shrimp on paper, but we had to eat six each between friends, and wow, it was more than I expected. Then they grill the heads too, so it felt like eating 12 shrimp. Seriously, after eating shrimp here I wanted even more shrimp.

Once you peel them, the flesh is plump and springy~ Even one fills your mouth;; A light salty flavor has seeped into the flesh, so they are delicious without any sauce... Whoever put salt-grilled shrimp in this course meal: compliments to you.

As you eat the shrimp, cut off the heads with scissors and collect them in a separate bowl; the owner takes them away and cooks just the heads again until crisp. Here come the fried shrimp heads. They look a little unfamiliar, but I do not care about that, so let’s try them.

Mmmm!!!! It was my first time eating shrimp heads on their own, and wow, seriously incredible;;;; The shell was crispy while the inside was savory and salty, almost like eating chips;;; Personally, this was the menu item I remembered most that day,, Sorry, friend, but I ate eight of them.

Here it is, my friend’s pick. My friend ate 80% of this.

I am not actually great with this kind of raw seafood, so I only had one bite of each, but it was fresh with no fishy smell! Abalone, sea cucumber, scallop, and sea squirt all come together, and the crunchy texture of the sea cucumber was especially appealing..

It was so nice to be able to eat so many kinds of seasonal seafood at once while shrimp and gizzard shad are delicious like they are now... The service was good too, so I definitely want to come back next time... If you want salt-grilled shrimp and seasonal sashimi together, you really have to order this whole spread.. It was a meal well worth the money.