Cauldron rice set for two at Yeseoban, a Sillim Korean restaurant

📍 Location: 225 Munseong-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, South Korea ⏰ Hours: 11:00–21:00 🙏 Break time: 15:00–17:00 ❤️ Last order: 14:10, 20:10

This is Yeseoban, a restaurant near Sillim Station. It's a Korean restaurant in Gwanak known for its cauldron rice, braised skate and braised pollack. Two years ago my mom said she wanted Korean food in Sillim, so I looked around and found this place — it was so good I've kept coming back ever since! It's close to both Sillim Station and Seowon Station.

Is there a wait at Yeseoban? Full even at 2 p.m.

I usually show up right at opening to be the first customer, but today I came a bit after lunchtime. Last order is at 2:10pm, and even though we arrived at 2pm, the place was already full.

I came outside lunch hours hoping to avoid crowds, but customers kept streaming in nonstop. We waited in line, and there were people ahead of us too. I wanted to take photos of the shop but the waiting line was so long I could only do it after we'd finished eating. A wait like that is basically a certification mark for a good Korean restaurant in Sillim ✨

While waiting, I looked around and realized both chefs have incredibly impressive careers — real masters! I never noticed in two years of visiting because I always rushed straight in at opening 😱 My instincts had led me to a great restaurant, and it turns out there was a real reason it was so good!

Yeseoban menu and prices

• Braised pollack: 2 people ₩30,000 / 3 people ₩45,000 / 4 people ₩60,000 / 1 person ₩15,000
• Braised pollack with radish greens: 2 people ₩34,000 / 3 people ₩49,000 / 4 people ₩64,000 / 1 person ₩17,000
• Braised skate: 2 people ₩40,000 / 3 people ₩52,000 / 4 people ₩64,000
• Stir-fried baby octopus (2+): ₩13,000
• Hot pot bulgogi: ₩13,000
• Budae-jjigae (2+): ₩12,000
• Radish greens add-on: ₩4,000 / rice cake add-on: ₩3,000 / tofu add-on: ₩3,000
• Kimchi buckwheat crepe: ₩9,000
• Seasonal menu — kong-guksu (cold soybean noodles): ₩10,000, soybean broth to go: ₩8,000
• Drinks — soju, beer: ₩5,000 / makgeolli: ₩4,000 / cola, cider: ₩2,000

Budae-jjigae (army stew) is a newly added menu item, orderable for 2 or more, and comes with instant ramyeon noodles included!

Inside Yeseoban: dining room, seating and the waiting bench

There's a waiting area right by the entrance and the windows are spotless ✨ There are also chairs outside, so we could sit down while waiting.

Inside, there are 7 tables for 4, but the place is much bigger than it looks from outside. That means it can seat a lot of guests without feeling cramped or crowded — it actually feels open and spacious. Tight tables and narrow aisles can make a meal stressful, but Yeseoban's wide layout made it comfortable. There are also tables for 5 or more, seating up to 6 people together. It's a great spot to book ahead if you're coming with a group.

Six side dishes, including mung bean jelly and lotus root in yuja-perilla sauce

They prepared six kinds of side dishes: soft chewy mook (jelly), kimchi (a must for any Korean), unusually flavored gungchae greens, lotus root in yuja-perilla sauce, blanched bean sprouts, and crisp radish. The side dishes alone were enough to finish a bowl of rice.

Everything was tasty, but the mook was especially soft and tender, and the lotus root was cooked just right — crisp with a refreshing sauce.

Braised pollack with radish greens for two, with extra radish greens

Finally, today's star arrived — the braised pollack with radish greens for two, small size! I love radish greens so I added extra. The braised skate is delicious too, but I'm the type who sticks to one dish once I've tried it, so since I started with braised pollack, I just keep ordering that. According to the owner, the braised skate is soft like crab meat and it's a popular dish. Yes, owner, I promise I'll try the braised skate next time.

Here it is next to the side dishes — the spread looked really hearty and neat. It's a great restaurant to bring your parents to, and also great for gatherings among older folks.

I really love braised dishes. And I love radish greens. Radish greens in a braised dish? That's basically guaranteed to be something I love.

Garae-tteok rice cake, split down the middle

Some of you might be wondering, what is that thing that looks like a chonggak kimchi radish?

It's rice cake! This is always a distinctive touch — Yeseoban doesn't just toss in a few flat wheat rice cakes, they use garae-tteok (long cylindrical rice cake) sliced lengthwise in half. Cutting it up with the provided tongs and scissors made it easy to eat. The braising sauce is delicious, and eating it with the rice cake gave a nice chewy texture that blended perfectly with the sauce.

How can you not love radish greens. Ugh, I want more already. Looking at these photos makes me want it again. Come out of the monitor already 🥺🥺🥺 Next time I'll take the owner's advice and get the braised skate. The owner described it so appetizingly ㅠㅠ I guess I need to add braised skate as a new milestone in my one-track braised pollack life.

There's also soft tofu cut into big chunks. With so many different ingredients, every bite felt new.

Yeseoban's cauldron rice and its scorched rice crust

Yeseoban's pride and joy, practically a main dish in its own right: the cauldron rice ✨

When you open the lid, steam bursts out along with the smell of delicious rice. This is a proper cauldron rice — I've had a lot of cauldron rice lately, and once I visited a place that had absolutely no crispy crust at all. I felt totally cheated. I'm making up for that disappointment here at Yeseoban. This is what real cauldron rice looks like.

They poured water into the cauldron and transferred the rice out. The rice was glossy and shiny, neither too dry nor too mushy — just the perfect cauldron rice. I used to not understand why older people loved cauldron rice so much, but somehow I've reached the age where I get it now. Turns out I love cauldron rice too...

The pollack was braised so well that with just a light touch of chopsticks, the meat separated right off the bone.

There were two whole pollack in the pot, with so much meat and volume that I wondered, is this really just for two people? Both my friend and I eat a lot, and even we felt like there was too much. I was so happy about that. No matter how much you eat, there's still more food 🥹❤️

I didn't bother cutting up the radish greens separately — just piled some onto a spoonful of cauldron rice and ate it in one bite.

It's seriously so good ㅠ I'm someone who loves braised dishes, and Yeseoban really knows how to do braised dishes... How do they cook the radish greens like this? They're seasoned so well that I feel like I could eat three bowls of rice with just the radish greens...

Take a piece of that plump, meaty pollack with a bite of rice, and…

Call the police, there's a rice thief here

As instructed, mixing the bean sprouts in the sauce with a piece of braised pollack and rice brings back even a lost appetite. If you love Korean food and braised dishes, this Korean restaurant in Sillim is a must-visit.

Where to take your parents for Korean food in Sillim

We kept eating and eating, and the radish greens just kept coming — even accounting for my extra order, I wondered just how much was in there? Partway through I lifted up the radish greens on my side and there was already this much.

Wow, this much radish greens — am I in heaven?

It was truly a generous, well-put-together meal that felt worth every won. Sillim tends to bring to mind a youthful street full of bars, but Yeseoban is genuinely a great restaurant that draws all kinds of people, young and old alike. If you're looking for a Korean restaurant to eat with your parents or older family members in Sillim, I recommend Yeseoban. This is Yeseoban, the Sillim restaurant I've been bringing my parents to for two years.

Please do visit. I recommend it wholeheartedly.