No-fishy-smell eel buffet in Ansan, mul makguksu finish: Songnim Bok

It's been so hot and I was so worn out that I wanted something other than chicken, so: eel!! To get my energy back, we went to a newly opened all-you-can-eat eel place, Songnim Bok Jangeo Freshwater Eel All-You-Can-Eat Ansan City Hall Direct Store (송림복장어 민물장어 무한리필 안산시청직영점).

Where is Songnim Bok near Ansan City Hall, and where do you park?

The Ansan City Hall branch is in Units 201 and 202 of the building at 33 Danggok-ro, Ansan, Gyeonggi, and it's open 11:30–22:00. Private bookings are possible too. For parking, you can use the building's underground car park (free) or the public lot right in front (paid). Double-check which is free and which is paid before you park~!!

It feels like all-you-can-eat eel places have been popping up more and more lately. This one is the best for us after a date nearby, and it's easy to get to, so we ended up at the City Hall branch.

Come in through the ground-floor entrance, take the escalator right away, turn the corner to the right, and keep going straight in.

The dining room is spacious and works for group dinners

The inside was much bigger than it looks from outside. Another table was having a company dinner in the middle, so I couldn't take photos of the center seats, sob. It's great for groups too, so I'd recommend it as a Gojan-dong spot for company dinners!!

Ordering for two and the basic spread

There were two of us, and since eel is the only menu, we ordered the all-you-can-eat adult set ×2 and the table setting fee ×2.

After we sat down, the staff set up quickly and brought pickled onion, white kimchi, green onion kimchi, ginger and pickled perilla leaves.

Opening event bokbunja

We got bokbunja (Korean black raspberry wine) as an opening event too!!! I was so surprised they'd give it away even if it's only 360ml, haha. It's sweet, not bitter, so we drank it as is without mixing anything in, and bokbunja plus eel^^ is the best combo, right? haha

What's at the self-bar?

At the self-bar you'll find side dishes other than the eel, chicken neck and pork belly, and the sauces and vegetables are all there too. You can even make fried eggs!! We meant to make some partway through but forgot, haha.

How do you grill eel so it tastes good?

To start, they give you 3 pieces of eel, 2 pieces of pork belly and 2 pieces of chicken neck!! When grilling eel, always cook the skin side first, then flip it when it starts to curl. I didn't know that, but the owner kindly explained it, haha. Otherwise the precious eel ends up tasting bad, so be careful!!!

Golden brown 😍😍😍 The pork belly wasn't thin or poor quality either, it was plump and thick and so good!!!

The best eel combo: pickled perilla leaf + teriyaki sauce + ginger

The best eel combo is a pickled perilla leaf with teriyaki sauce, eel and ginger. Ginger, definitely!!!! I think that's how you can eat a lot without getting sick of it or feeling greasy.

Even my fishy-smell-sensitive boyfriend ate it happily

I've gone to well-known eel places in Japan and famous ones on Jeju Island, and apart from Japan I never found one I liked. My boyfriend, who couldn't eat Jeju eel because of the smell, ate Songnim Bok's eel so happily!! He picks up off-smells and fishy smells really easily and can't eat if there's any, but he said it was so good and asked how this can even be all-you-can-eat, hahaha.

There really was no off-smell at all, so we enjoyed it a lot. They give teriyaki sauce by default, and there's a red sauce at the self-bar too, haha. I like spicy food, but teriyaki went better, so we stuck with teriyaki instead of the red sauce, haha.

Refresh with mul makguksu when you're getting full

After a few more refills, when we started getting tired of eel, it was mul makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles in broth) time!!!!!!

I asked for seasoned sauce with the mul makguksu and it was so good!!!!! It refreshed us and we dug in again, hahaha. It feels different from naengmyeon (cold noodles), and I think mul makguksu goes better with eel than naengmyeon does. Honestly I didn't expect an all-you-can-eat place to be this good and satisfying.... who knew there'd be a great eel place like this near Ansan City Hall!!

It's getting really hot lately and the time when you need an energy boost, so I highly recommend everyone give it a try. In summer, eating well and getting your health food in is the most important thing, haha.