Raw mideoh and octopus stew at Donghae Bada Hoetjip in Cheonan

Last time I had a clean, satisfying meal here with the sashimi platter and braised seafood combo. Lately I've been eating a lot of meat, so I kept craving something clean and light — seafood, sashimi, the smell of the sea.

So I went back to Donghae Bada Hoetjip, a Dujeong-dong, Cheonan restaurant that left a great impression last time, and this round I tried the sashimi platter paired with spicy seafood stew instead. The composition and freshness were satisfying again overall, so I wanted to share this with anyone looking for a good sashimi restaurant in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan!!

Location and hours at Donghae Bada Hoetjip

• Address: 5-11 Neulpureun 6-gil, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea, 1st floor
• Hours: Daily 11:30–22:00
• Other: dedicated parking lot out front, group seating available, wifi, separate men's/women's restrooms, baby chairs, reservations possible

Exterior

Easily accessible from Dujeong Station, Donghae Bada Hoetjip serves seasonal fresh sashimi along with king prawns, gizzard shad, braised seafood, seafood stew and more. It's already earned a reputation as a go-to seafood spot in Dujeong-dong for its variety of fresh, whole seafood dishes.

The fish tank set up at the entrance of this Dujeong-dong restaurant looked clean and well-maintained, which put my mind at ease about hygiene before I even stepped inside.

Private rooms inside — good for group dinners?

The interior ranges from a main hall to independent private rooms. The space works for a small Dujeong-dong date as much as it does for larger groups, so it's easy to book ahead for a Dujeong-dong staff dinner or group gathering.

The separated private rooms were full of guests having group dinners and gatherings, and the spacious hall area filled up quickly too — clearly popular. Overall the place stayed comfortable and pleasant, good for chatting over a meal.

Menu and what we ordered this time

One of the strengths of Donghae Bada Hoetjip is its well-composed set menus. There's also a good range of seasonal à la carte dishes, so there's plenty of choice.

Each table has a tablet kiosk that makes it easy to see the full menu and order at your own pace. Since I'd already had the sashimi + braised seafood set on my first visit, this time I went with sashimi + seafood stew. With so many à la carte and seasonal specials, it's a fun place to choose from for a Dujeong-dong, Cheonan group meal.

• Sashimi platter + seafood stew for 2 (₩55,000/person)
• 1 bottle soju
• 1 bottle cider

What's in the sukiyaki-style banchan spread?

After ordering, a neat sukiyaki-style spread of banchan came out — not just for show, but genuinely substantial.

There was appetite-sparking cabbage salad, salty pop-in-your-mouth beondegi (silkworm pupae) as a good protein snack, and well-aged mukeunji (old kimchi) to pair with the sashimi and boost the savory flavor.

There was also a golden, salty grilled saury and a small plate of tender boiled pork bossam, perfect for taking the edge off hunger before the main dishes arrived.

Along with a subtly sea-scented seaweed soup with shrimp, we got a vegetable jeon (pancake) that was crispy outside and moist inside. It could've been an ordinary pancake, but the pockets of savory oil made even the basic side dishes feel substantial.

The sashimi platter — raw mideoh and flounder

First, the main dish — the sashimi platter — arrived. It included three kinds of flounder, tuna sashimi, swordfish sashimi, and raw mideoh (croaker) sashimi.

Neatly arranged on the plate, the cleanliness of the cuts and the fresh texture were visually satisfying. Being able to taste multiple fish at once really showed off what makes a sashimi platter great.

The mideoh sashimi was cut thick, giving it a distinctly firm, chewy bite and deep umami. Raw mideoh is a cut you can only enjoy when the fish is extremely fresh — dipped lightly in salted sesame oil, its rich, nutty flavor really stood out.

The flounder was, hands down, the standout for texture — springy and chewy. The more you chewed, the more a clean, subtle sweetness came through. If you like the appeal of clean white fish, this is a flavor you'll enjoy.

The accompanying tuna and swordfish sashimi seemed to be thawed from frozen. Wrapping the tuna in seaweed with a bit of mukeunji, wasabi, and sesame oil made for a clean bite with a pleasant richness of fat.

The seafood stew — starts with no broth, ends in seafood juice

After working through the sashimi, the seafood stew from the set arrived. Abalone, scallop, roe, gonyi (pollack milt), blue crab, octopus, squid, giant octopus, whelk, clams, and shrimp — the pot was packed with a generous variety of seafood.

It's served without broth at first, but as it heats, the seafood releases its own juices, naturally forming a rich broth. Given how generous it looked, we quickly added a bottle of Rin soju, a Chungcheong regional soju, to enjoy alongside it, haha.

Once it started boiling, we added fragrant minari (water dropwort) and let it cook down, which gave the broth a spicy, refreshing depth. The minari really brought out the cleanness and refreshing quality of the broth.

Thanks to the freshness of the ingredients — shrimp, abalone, whelk, roe — the seafood stayed tender rather than tough.

Braised seafood or seafood stew — which to choose?

The braised seafood I had last time was equally generous and delicious, with the sauce's savory richness front and center, but the seafood stew's broth wasn't quite my personal style. That said, the texture of the seafood itself was softer and more delicate in the stew, so the flavor and texture of the seafood came through more fully — you get more of the seafood's natural taste compared to the thicker, sauce-heavy braised version.

If you prefer a rich, saucy flavor with fried rice, go for the braised seafood. If you prefer the natural taste of the ingredients with a warm broth, I'd recommend the seafood stew.

The roe in this particular stew was honestly insane. It wasn't chalky at all — it melted, packed with nutty richness. It was so uncannily smooth and creamy, almost like milk or kaymak, that I ended up eating all of it myself. The roe is genuinely delicious — highly recommend!!

The fried crab meat from the review event

I also received fried crab meat as part of a review event, and one bite surprised me. It was honestly the best fried crab meat I've ever had in my life... crispy outside, soft inside, like a croquette. The creamy, nutty flavor of the crab meat paired beautifully with the crisp batter. If you're here, order the fried crab meat no matter what!!

The drink lineup was solid too, useful whether you're here with friends or on a date at this Dujeong-dong, Cheonan restaurant.

On the way out after the meal, I dropped ₩100 into the vending machine at the entrance and finished things off cleanly with a warm milk coffee.

Final thoughts

Donghae Bada Hoetjip let us enjoy high-freshness seasonal sashimi and hearty seafood dishes in one solid set. The spacious, comfortable space with private rooms makes it a good fit for a Dujeong-dong staff dinner, a group gathering, or even an atmospheric Dujeong-dong date.

If you're looking for a good seafood restaurant in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, or just want a generous sashimi platter with a glass of soju, I recommend Donghae Bada Hoetjip — a satisfying meal awaits.