Sindorim hagfish BBQ for first-timers, ₩47,000 meal: Meongteongguri

Why I tried hagfish for the first time in Sindorim

I found Meongteongguri Kkomjangeo Makchang Guro-gu Sindorim Branch (멍텅구리꼼장어막창 구로구신도림점) while searching for a good hagfish place in Sindorim. A while ago I was walking around Euljiro, or maybe Jongno, and spotted a place selling charcoal-grilled hagfish. I'd never tried it, so it caught my eye and I thought I'd want to eat it soon! Since it was on my mind, I figured why not go right now, and off I went.

How to get to Meongteongguri in Sindorim

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor of a building at 620-1 Gyeongin-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul. Just look for the sign above.

It's on the 2nd floor, so we took the stairs at the end of the building! It's open Tue–Sun 16:00–24:00, closed every Monday, and there's no parking.

Inside, the retro vibe is the real deal. I love places that commit to a concept like this, so just looking around was half the fun haha

Meongteongguri menu: salt-grilled or spicy?

The hagfish (kkomjangeo) comes in two kinds, salt and spicy, and I was told your first order has to be 2 servings of the same flavor! Hagfish is the specialty, but there are plenty of other dishes too. If hagfish feels unfamiliar, you can choose from spicy baby octopus (jjukkumi), fiery chicken feet, galbi-sal (rib meat), makchang, pork belly and more, so order whatever you like ❤

The salt-grilled one is the top seller, and I remember almost every table ordering it when I visited. Makes sense: it arrives pre-grilled with a smoky char, and the salt adds a clean, mild flavor with no gamey smell, so it's a taste everyone from kids to grandparents likes! But I'm a spicy-sauce person no matter what the food is, so I stuck to my guns and ordered the spicy one,, a secret sauce plus fire-grilled flavor can't possibly be bad, right?

If there's too much good stuff and you can't decide, pick from the combination menu! The owner put those combos together, so they should be tasty with no real hits or misses.

What are the seating and facilities like?

The restaurant is one large hall with plenty of table seats and sofa seats, and it's a nice atmosphere for chatting!

The kitchen is in its own separate space, which made the place look even roomier.

They provide storage chairs so smoke smell doesn't soak into your clothes, bags and other belongings, and the restroom is inside the restaurant, so you don't have to go out!

Receipt review perk and side dishes

At Meongteongguri, a receipt review gets you your choice of steamed egg or doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) 😍

Basic side dishes come out when you order, and the spicy bean sprout soup was really good.

I don't usually eat side dishes much, but here the geotjeori (fresh kimchi salad), kimchi, perilla leaves and the rest were all so good that I cleaned them out!

What we ordered

• Spicy hagfish, 2 servings: ₩32,000
• Old-style makchang: ₩15,000

What does hagfish taste like the first time? Spicy hagfish review

The spicy hagfish arrives pre-grilled, so you only need to give it a quick sear and eat. It was spicy, smoky, and had a distinctive crunchy chew. I went in knowing absolutely nothing about hagfish, so I assumed it would look like regular eel.

But a total stranger showed up. It looked kind of like deodeok (a root vegetable), or maybe the ankle of a chicken foot(?)... Meanwhile it smelled amazing, so whatever it was, it definitely looked delicious hahahahahaha

At first I didn't realize it was pre-grilled and kept grilling, wondering how far to take it. It turns out the seasoning and cooking are already done, so you just heat it lightly and eat right away!? I thought that was so thoughtful 👍 Hagfish isn't exactly mainstream, so a lot of people must be trying it for the first time, and being a place anyone can eat comfortably at makes me want to recommend it!

As for the flavor, it just goes down without you thinking about it. The secret sauce has insane depth, spicy yet clean, with that fire-grilled aroma, the kind of taste that makes you wonder why you hadn't tried it sooner. And the texture was so unusual. Crunch,, crunch-crunch,, I loved that chew. A familiar taste is scary, but an unfamiliar one is scary too... I kept thinking about it even after I got home haha

Is the old-style makchang a must-order?

The old-style makchang (₩15,000) is a generous portion even for one serving, and it comes pre-grilled, so it was crispy outside and juicy inside. I'd had an unfamiliar taste, so now I'm adding a familiar one, which is the truly scary kind, lol. With a name like old-style makchang, it sounded delicious from the start.

It's one serving but the amount is really big!? The makchang also comes pre-grilled, so you just heat it through and eat, and wow, crispy outside and juicy inside is no joke.

The sauce that comes with it is a crazy good pairing too, and the charcoal flavor is soaked right in, so it was chewy, mild and so so delicious 😭

Dipping it with a perilla leaf and the sauce is great too.. The restaurant's name has hagfish and makchang in it, so I ordered one of each, but I bet the other dishes are all delicious too. That's how much trust this place earns 😍

Sindorim was just a transfer hub for me, and I never knew a gem like this was here. From now on, Sindorim is my go-to meeting spot. If you visit Meongteongguri, please order the makchang!!!