Korean breakfast with my husband in Jungmun, Jeju: fat mackerel

Anyone who's been to Jeju a few times pretty much knows this place, right? I've known about it for ages too, and Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap (중문고등어쌈밥) is still so famous that it's always packed. Mackerel that tastes like it's been brushed with honey and grilled abalone made a perfect breakfast, so let me tell you how happy I was with it.

Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap location, hours and parking

Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap is 5 minutes by car from Jungmun Tourist Complex, 10 minutes from Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliffs and 15 minutes from Seogwipo Recreational Forest. It's open from 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with no break time, and last order is at 7:00 p.m. It may close early if ingredients run out.

• Group seating available
• High chairs available
• Corkage allowed: ₩10,000 per bottle
• Free parking in a large private lot in front of the restaurant

A Seogwipo restaurant for group meals: Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap inside and out

Exterior

Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap is seriously one of Jeju's famous restaurants. Just from the outside you can tell it's a huge place. I really liked the clean, neat look of the building.

Interior and atmosphere

If you're looking for a place in Seogwipo that can handle a group meal, Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap is perfect. It's a big restaurant, so even a large group has plenty of room. The place was full of people having breakfast, so I couldn't take photos inside, but there were lots of tables and they were really big.

What are the signature dishes at Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap?

As the name suggests, the signature dish is aged-kimchi mackerel ssam-bap (mackerel stew eaten wrapped in leaves) with abalone stone-pot rice. A whole fat grilled mackerel is also a best seller. They also sell plenty of other good breakfast dishes, like grilled abalone, abalone and sea urchin seaweed soup, and grilled tilefish.

There were only two of us, so we could only order two dishes, which was a shame. If you go as a group, you can order a wider variety and try everything, which sounds even better.

Self-serve side dishes and free abalone porridge

The self-bar at Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap was amazing. It has 16 side dishes, including stir-fried pork and japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), so people eating with kids shouldn't have any trouble feeding them. And until 12 o'clock they serve rich abalone porridge made with the abalone innards too. Abalone porridge is a pricey dish, so getting it for free is amazing!

How do the 30,000 won butter-grilled abalone and 17,000 won mackerel with abalone rice taste?

This time we ordered the butter-scented grilled abalone (₩30,000) and the fat grilled mackerel with abalone stone-pot rice (₩17,000).

They bring out the basic side dishes once, and if you want more you just grab it from the self-bar. The self-bar has even more side dishes, so you can fill the whole table.

The moment the grilled abalone, grilled mackerel and abalone stone-pot rice arrived, the smell was so good I couldn't wait to dig in.

Butter-grilled abalone

My husband loves this dish so much that he picked it. He raved that the abalone was big and the chewy texture was the best.

Look how golden and well grilled it is! Of course there was no fishy taste at all, just a clean flavor and a wonderfully nutty butter richness. The plump, chewy texture was amazing, so if you go for breakfast at Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap, definitely try this butter-grilled abalone.

Abalone stone-pot rice

The abalone stone-pot rice that came in the set with the mackerel was cooked so perfectly fluffy that I thought, can rice really be this good? Topped with mild, not-too-salty abalone, the savory depth was amazing.

It goes well with the grilled mackerel, and it's a flavor everyone will like, so nobody's going to turn their nose up at it. I loved that.

Fat grilled mackerel

I thought I might leave Jeju without eating grilled mackerel this time, so I was glad to see Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap serves it. You'd think grilled mackerel is about the same anywhere, right? Nope. A good place is definitely different. Honey-sweet grilled mackerel with no fishy taste at all, you can find it at Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap.

Once you start on the grilled mackerel, you need more rice right away. The abalone stone-pot rice looked like it would take a while, so I ordered an extra bowl of plain rice. It was the best grilled mackerel I've had in Jeju.

I plan to come back for breakfast on my next Jeju trip too.

Because that's how I get to eat this nutty abalone porridge for free. When you hear "free porridge," you'd expect hardly any ingredients in it, right? The porridge at Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap was full of them. The owner is so generous!

After a cup of sikhye (sweet rice drink) from the self-bar to finish, I thought, could there be a more filling breakfast than this?

After breakfast: souvenir corner and a 3,500-pyeong garden stroll

When you pay and head out of Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap, they also sell Jeju specialty products, and the Jeju granola was so cute I wanted to buy it. If you haven't picked up any Jeju souvenirs yet, the prices were reasonable enough that you could buy them here.

There was after-meal coffee, so I got a cup and took a walk in the garden, which is the pride of Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap.

They say the garden is 3,500 pyeong. The flowers apparently change with the seasons, and next time I really want to come when the canola flowers are in full bloom.

After a delicious breakfast and a walk in the pretty garden, the trip mood felt even better and we made some good memories.

Verdict: Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap for a big-family Jeju breakfast

If you're looking for a breakfast spot on a big-family Jeju trip, Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap is just right. It's good value, the taste is guaranteed, and you can even take a walk after the meal, so it's a nice place to bring your parents. It's only 5 minutes by car from Jungmun Tourist Complex, so if you're staying in Jungmun, definitely stop by!