Sagajeong eel restaurant: stamina lunch & ginseng soup, Cheonsangae

A healthy lunch pick in Myeonmok: "Cheonsangae Jangeoga Myeonmok Sagajeong Branch"

It's June, and I switched on the air conditioner for the first time this year. As it gets hotter, I somehow feel drained the moment I get home, sigh. Times like this call for a healthy, restorative meal, so I visited Cheonsangae Jangeoga Myeonmok Sagajeong Branch (천상애장어가 면목사가정점)!

Location and hours of Cheonsangae Jangeoga Myeonmok Sagajeong Branch

The restaurant is at 370 Myeonmok-ro, 1st floor, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, roughly halfway between Myeonmok Station and Sagajeong Station. It is open Monday to Sunday 11:30-21:30, with a weekday break time of 15:00-17:00 and no break on weekends.

It's a comfortable walking distance from both Myeonmok Station and Sagajeong Station.

Quite a lot of good restaurants are clustered around here, but Cheonsangae sits right on the main road, so it was easy to spot.

How cheap is the Cheonsangae lunch special?

The special point here is the lunch special! Come at lunchtime and you can get the set for 2 for ₩20,000 less. If you're looking for a lunch special in Myeonmok, run on over here!

Atmosphere, seating and bringing a baby

The interior was lovely, with a toenmaru (traditional wooden porch) feel and cozy lighting. Sections are divided into seats for 2, family seating and group seating, with some private spots and some more open ones, so it looked suitable for dates or group gatherings.

I didn't get a photo, but they also have baby chairs, so it's a good place to eat out with a baby around Sagajeong and Myeonmok! The whole place was clean and pleasant, and I couldn't see any smoke at all, so you can tell they manage ventilation well.

What we ordered on a weekday lunch, and the prices

I visited on a weekday at lunch and ordered the weekday lunch special, charcoal-grilled freshwater eel for 2 (₩59,000), and added the wild ginseng eel soup set (₩9,000) too!

• Weekday lunch special, charcoal-grilled freshwater eel for 2: ₩59,000
• Wild ginseng eel soup set: ₩9,000

Side dishes and the self-serve bar

The basic side dishes come as a proper Korean meal spread, including cultivated wild ginseng roots and Tongyeong salted oysters (eorigul-jeot)..! You can get more vegetables and wrap greens from the self-serve bar.

A sign of a good restaurant: instead of plain water, they bring out a nutty tea. The tea was refreshing and nutty, and I loved it haha.

How is the hygiene?

Individually wrapped aprons are provided *_* Every table has a cutlery drawer, and the spoon and chopstick sets come wrapped in disposable paper, so it feels even cleaner! They've earned the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's "Excellent" hygiene grade, and you could feel the care they put into hygiene everywhere.

How is the charcoal-grilled freshwater eel cooked?

After you order, they bring in the charcoal first. It's white charcoal (baektan) made from domestic Yeoju oak, finished at a high temperature of 1,000°C, and they grill the eel over it.

Grilling over such high-quality charcoal gives you eel that's crispy outside and juicy inside!!! The size and color of the eel are insane, right?

They only use domestic Japonica freshwater eel delivered straight from Jeolla, and they prep it in-house every day. The eel is plump and fresh, and they said this method brings out the eel's natural flavor best. Even I, who don't know much about eel, could tell it was simply great eel!

You just sit there while the owner expertly grills the eel for you. All you have to do is open up like a baby bird, so comfortable, the best...

Is the wild ginseng eel soup set worth adding?

Midway through grilling, they brought out the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) that comes as standard, along with the wild ginseng eel soup set I'd added. I was curious about the eel soup on the lunch special, so I ordered it too, and it was rich, nutty and packed with cultivated wild ginseng roots. Highly recommended!

What is Seolhwa wild ginseng eel?

It's called "Seolhwa Sansam Jangeo" (snow mushroom wild ginseng eel), a premium restorative combination you can only taste at Cheonsangae: snow mushroom (seolhwa beoseot), cultivated wild ginseng roots and domestic eel.

The snow mushroom comes already cooked, and the owner said to have it cut up and eat it right away! It was my first time trying snow mushroom, and the texture was unique. It felt a bit like wood ear mushroom, and I enjoyed it.

A flavor even eel beginners can handle

The eel itself was excellent too: very nutty and less greasy, so it tasted clean. And strangely, it had a smoky char flavor haha, which made it taste even better! There was no fishy smell at all, so even eel beginners (?) like me can enjoy it.

I topped well-grilled eel with snow mushroom and cultivated wild ginseng roots and made my own Seolhwa wild ginseng eel wrap. One bite and I felt energy surging 💪🏻 Power power power!

Wrapping it with ginger and sauce is tasty too, and I only just learned that salted oysters could be this good.. They just slide right down.

When should you order the nurungji tea?

Cheonsangae's nurungji sungnyung (scorched rice tea) is a free service item, and it reportedly takes about 10-15 minutes to come out. I ordered it when we were almost done eating, but I recommend ordering with the timing in mind!

To finish, I had the leftover eel soup with the nurungji tea and my stomach felt so settled, sob. I really got my restorative meal.

The charcoal potato and the "insult to the potato" incident

When we'd finished, the owner said there was actually a potato hidden away in the charcoal hahaha, and took it out for us.. ❤️ I was too full, so I planned to eat it later as a snack and tried to just carry it out in my hand, but the owner saw me on the way out and I got packed up (?) hahaha.

I said it was fine, I could just carry it in my hand so as not to bother them, but the owner said, "That would be an insult to the potato." (those were really his exact words) and put it in a special potato wrapping paper and plastic bag, sob haha. He said lots of people take it that way, and they even finished it with adorable potato packaging.. The owner and staff were all kind and witty, and we kept laughing throughout the meal hahaha.

Restroom and facilities

The restroom is inside the restaurant, so it's very convenient and clean, nice! They even had mouthwash and feminine products. The path to the restroom is outdoors, so the sky was wide open, and for a moment it felt like I was in Bali~~

Services and events at Cheonsangae Jangeoga Myeonmok Sagajeong Branch

The restaurant is running events for seniors, pregnant guests, firefighters and police officers, and they're really touching.

• Free eel for guests aged 80 and over
• Free eel for pregnant guests
• 10% off for firefighters and police officers

Isn't this the model of a kind neighborhood restaurant? haha I think places like this deserve to be flooded with customers (dolijjul).

Fully recharged with eel. Sagajeong Station eel restaurant, approved! Highly recommended as a lunch special in Myeonmok.