Jangan-dong seafood course with octopus stir-fry: Daemyeong Suran

I went to Daemyeong Suran, a seafood specialty restaurant in Jangan-dong where you can eat a proper energy-boosting meal. This isn't a place for everyday seafood — it's packed with premium seasonal dishes you can only get as special items, so I went in with high expectations.

On this visit I tried the restaurant's signature hamo shabu-shabu (conger pike eel hot pot), spicy octopus stir-fry to blow off some stress, and kalguksu noodles cooked in the rich broth — the full course. I'll give you a completely honest and detailed rundown of the location, menu and taste.

Where is Daemyeong Suran, and when is it open?

There aren't many places in Seoul that serve hamo shabu-shabu, and Daemyeong Suran, where we went this time, is located in Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu. We parked on the street nearby — see the details below.

• Address: Jangan-dong 429-4 (8 Janghan-ro 9-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul), South Korea
• Hours: 15:00–23:00 (closed Sundays)

What the tanks and dining room at Daemyeong Suran look like

The first thing I noticed walking into Daemyeong Suran was the large, neatly maintained fish tank right at the entrance. Seeing fresh eels and seafood swimming vigorously under the blue lighting instantly boosted my confidence in the food.

The interior had a homey yet clean old-school restaurant style. The sturdy wood-toned tables came with storage-style chairs where you could keep your belongings and coat underneath, so there was no worry about your clothes soaking up food smells. The tables were spaced generously too — a great setting for family gatherings, work dinners, or a quiet drink with friends!

Menu prices and where the seafood comes from

Check the attached sign for origin information!

• Conger eel, cockle, octopus, webfoot octopus, ark shell, sea squirt, abalone, cuttlefish, giant octopus, maesaengi seaweed, rice, kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi: domestic (Korean)
• Scallop: Japan
• Manila clam: domestic and Chinese
• Snow crab: Russia

Many restaurants use imported ingredients for kimchi, rice, or some of the seafood, but here, the kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi, and even the rice served as a side dish are all insisted to be domestic. With most of the main ingredients being Korean, this is a place you can bring your parents or someone special without any hesitation.

As befits a seasonal seafood specialty restaurant, there was a wide variety of seasonal specials available. (Note: all menu items are based on 2 people.)

• Signature dishes — Conger eel shabu ₩90,000 (half ₩45,000) / Scallop shabu ₩75,000 (half ₩40,000) / Grilled conger eel ₩75,000 / Seafood hot pot ₩70,000 / Grilled cuttlefish ₩70,000 / Giant octopus shabu, market price
• Seasonal menu (winter–spring) — Hamo shabu, half add-on: market price / Cockle shabu, half add-on: market price / Webfoot octopus shabu ₩80,000 (half ₩45,000)
• Stir-fry dishes — Octopus stir-fry ₩70,000 / Webfoot octopus stir-fry (large) ₩80,000, (medium) ₩50,000 / Cuttlefish stir-fry (large) ₩70,000, (medium) ₩40,000 / Conger eel stir-fry (medium) ₩50,000
• Seasonal seafood & noodle add-ons — Grilled prawns (autumn) ₩45,000 / Oysters (autumn) ₩30,000 / Dried saury (winter) ₩45,000 / Beef brisket add-on ₩25,000 / Extra vegetables ₩4,000 / Dumpling soup, ramen, thin noodles, dumplings, fish cake (each) ₩3,000 / Maesaengi seaweed add-on ₩10,000

We ordered the hamo shabu-shabu we were most curious about, along with the spicy octopus stir-fry.

Hamo shabu-shabu: fine-scored eel and the snow-flower blanch

Seeing the neatly sliced raw conger pike eel, I couldn't help but admire the owner's meticulous care. Conger pike eel has many tiny fine bones, so scoring the flesh finely and densely is the key step that determines the taste — and here the cuts were precise enough that you never felt a single bone.

The glossy, translucent eel flesh alone showed off its freshness. Once the broth started bubbling, you place a piece of the eel into the strainer set in the middle of the pot and blanch it briefly for about 5 to 10 seconds. In the broth, the scored eel flesh puffs up white in the blink of an eye, blooming like a single snowflake — quite fun to watch too.

I put the well-blanched hamo on a spoon with some broth and tasted it — it melted away the moment it touched my mouth, no chewing needed, and there wasn't a trace of the fishy taste eel can have. It was mild yet nutty and savory the more you chewed, with a subtle umami spreading through. It wasn't overly seasoned, just clean-tasting, and I felt healthier with every bite. There was a cleanness layered under the mildness that made it addictive!! I loved that it wasn't fishy at all.

Adding tricolor kalguksu noodles and king dumplings

The real fun of shabu-shabu is cooking noodles or porridge in the broth that's absorbed all that umami from the ingredients. After finishing off the hamo, we added the tricolor kalguksu noodles and king dumplings.

Boiling the colorful noodles and king dumplings in the broth infused with the essence of vegetables and conger pike eel made the noodles, soaked with the broth, both bouncy and incredibly tasty. The dumplings were also generously stuffed, adding to the heartiness. You have to order the kalguksu!!

Spicy octopus stir-fry and the fried rice finish

The octopus stir-fry came out in a large hot pot pan, packed generously with plump, thick, domestic octopus, along with several whole-cooked octopus heads (including the innards and ink sac).

I tasted the octopus legs first — being fresh domestic octopus, they weren't tough at all, incredibly tender yet chewy. Every bite brought out the octopus's characteristic sweetness. The sauce combined a spicy kick of red pepper flakes with just the right sweetness, making it addictively spicy-sweet.

The octopus heads still had the ink and innards intact, so cutting into them released a savory, rich flavor throughout the mouth — the combination of spicy sauce and savory innards would make an unbeatable drinking snack, I thought.

At the end, we fried up some rice in the leftover sauce, and this was genuinely a treat too!!

Who should book a table at Daemyeong Suran in Jangan-dong?

Daemyeong Suran's Jangan-dong location isn't just a place that sells food — it's a restaurant where you can eat a genuinely proper seasonal health meal. Using domestic seafood pulled straight from the tank, it boasts the highest freshness, and the combination of the mild, savory hamo shabu-shabu and the spicy-sweet, punchy octopus stir-fry was perfect. With careful ingredient prep and a clean, well-managed space, I'd recommend Daemyeong Suran in Jangan-dong if you're feeling run down during summer or seasons with big temperature swings, or if you're looking for a fresh, delicious seafood spot to treat your parents or an honored guest. I hope today's info was helpful.