Sinsa gizzard shad sashimi set with seafood ramyeon: Parang Haenyeojip

Parang Haenyeojip Sinsa

📍Location: 5-minute walk from Sinsa Station, near Garosugil 📍Menu: Jeoneo sashimi sea ramyeon set, rock octopus bossam

Why Garosugil near Sinsa Station works as a date course

I've been reeeally agonizing over where to go on dates every single week lately, because everywhere is just packed with people. Among all the options, the neighborhood I recommend is Sinsa Station's Garosugil! Compared to hotspots like Hongdae or Seongsu, it's much more comfortable, quiet, and romantic. There are so many good restaurants it's hard to pick, but if you want seafood and good seasonal drinking snacks, I recommend this spot 👍

What is Parang Haenyeojip Sinsa Direct Store like inside?

There are so many cramped, noisy izakayas these days ㅠㅠ Parang Haenyeojip is spacious, so I felt good the moment I walked in. It seems newly opened, since there's a fresh, brand-new interior vibe to it. We sat behind the picture window, but if you sit near that ocean screen area, I think it'd be really great for photos 🫢🫢

They had regular beer and Kirin draft too, so I couldn't resist again haha. Draft beer never betrays you. The weather was cool and the place was so open, it was perfect for drinking.

Rock octopus and haenyeo bossam: how big are the portions?

The signature menu finally arrived — rock octopus and haenyeo bossam (diver's bossam). Seeing it in person, it was seriously huge in quantity, I was surprised by the size. Feels like we might need to push another table together.

The octopus samgyeop bossam comes with aged kimchi, dried radish strips, and napa cabbage. What stuck with me most was the flavor of the aged kimchi. The doenjang (soybean paste) taste of the boiled meat paired with the slightly sweet, tangy fermented kimchi gave a really nice impression.

The octopus felt quite well-cooked and soft, but the overall spread was so good that wrapping it up big in cabbage was very satisfying ☺️ Dried radish, garlic chili, ggosiraegi (seaweed), makjang (spicy sauce) — it's amazing that all these combinations come on one plate so you can mix it up different ways...!! I thought young people these days would really love this. Of course, I'm a proud representative of that generation.

Everyone, say aaah!! For me, stuffing the cabbage full with radish strips, garlic, octopus, and aged kimchi and taking one huge bite was the tastiest way to eat it. You know that feeling of stuffing your mouth till it's packed full, chubby-style, right?

Seasonal gizzard shad sashimi with the seafood ramyeon set

Next up is the jeoneo (gizzard shad) sashimi that's exactly in season right now, along with the seafood ramyeon set. If you order jeoneo sashimi, they automatically give you the ramyeon — the value is seriously great...

The filleted jeoneo pieces came out looking so pretty... haha, I'm going to eat you up.

Before it gets soggy, I slurped up the ramyeon first. Even though it's a side dish ramyeon, the mussels are seriously plump. If you come here fully intending to drink, this alone could get you through a whole bottle. Normally in a nice, comfortable downtown sashimi restaurant, ordering a seafood ramyeon like this costs at least ₩15,000 to ₩20,000, so this is the most satisfying value I've seen.

Aged gizzard shad filleted, not chopped bone-in

This is the first time I've had jeoneo sashimi that looks like this. They told us it's filleted rather than sekkoshi-style (bone-in, sliced whole)!! It's generally softer and has less bone to chew through than sekkoshi, so it feels like a much easier eating experience than sekkoshi jeoneo — I think women would especially like it. Also, since this place specializes in aged sashimi, the flavor was completely different from the live jeoneo sashimi I've had before!

It tasted like the herring sashimi sushi you occasionally find at sushi restaurants...? It had that aged blue-fleshed fish flavor. Less chewy, more soft and rich in texture.

Hahaha, yes, this is what two people ordered... but somehow we finished it all by the time our stomachs were about to burst.

Even as a side dish that came with the set, the ramyeon was absolutely packed with seafood (though the broth was a little watery). Being able to eat jeoneo, exactly in season right now, in the middle of Sinsa is really the big draw here.

The seafood in the ramyeon also seemed to be fresh. We had so much else to eat that it cooled down a bit, but I think it'd taste even better freshly boiled. Next time I'd order one anju (drinking snack) each and slowly enjoy it with drinks.

I really thought there was no way the two of us could finish it all, but we fought our way through it haha.