Cheongju Japanese restaurant: weekday mulhoe set with mom at Akiaki

Summer heat is finally here!! Today I went to Akiaki in Cheongju for the mulhoe set (mulhoe is a cold raw fish soup), and I was shocked by how generous it was 🫢 If you're looking for a good mulhoe place in Cheongju, I totally recommend Akiaki, which is famous for its omakase ✨ Your parents will be really happy if you take them!!

Where is Akiaki in Cheongju, and what about parking and hours?

Akiaki is at 528 Sunhwan-ro, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk. Go past the Medicheck health center in Bongmyeong-dong and it's next to McDonald's. Hours are Mon–Sat 11:30–21:50 and Sunday 11:30–21:20, with last orders at 13:30 and 20:30 and a break time of 14:50–16:30. Both parking and valet are available.

This is the entrance to Akiaki! It was a weekday lunchtime and the parking lot was already full. I guess lots of people come here for lunch. One spot was left so I parked right away, but if there's no space, just double-park and give your key to the staff, haha

Are Akiaki's private rooms good for a meal with parents?

Akiaki is a private-room restaurant, so you can eat in comfort! It's a great fit for important gatherings, company dinners, or a parent's birthday or 70th birthday celebration.

We booked ahead, and they showed us to Room 12! If you want to reserve, you can use Akiaki's Naver Reservation 😄

It was such a cozy meal that we chatted comfortably the whole way through the mulhoe course 🥰

When I visited, Akiaki was running a review event, and if you join you could get either Shanghai butter rice cakes or handmade fruit mochi! They also had takeout menus, and the lineup looked upscale and neat.

They have a huge variety of sake too, which looked great with omakase sashimi. We came for lunch, so we skipped the drinks!

What's in the Akiaki mulhoe set course?

Akiaki's mulhoe course goes roughly in the order below. It was really generous and every dish was delicious, so my mom was super satisfied.

• Abalone porridge, salad
• Seasoned pollack
• 5 small starters (sukkidashi)
• Sashimi, mulhoe
• Sushi, fried scallop
• Steamed cod, spicy fish stew
• Health juice

Now let me go through the dishes in detail 😙

Abalone porridge and watermelon salad to start

The Akiaki mulhoe course starts with abalone porridge. It was nutty and a great way to begin. The water isn't plain water but tea, which went well with the raw fish ><

There's also white kimchi and a watermelon salad! Fresh and refreshing, just right for summer.

Seasoned pollack wrapped in seaweed

They brought seasoned pollack and seaweed sheets and recommended wrapping the pollack in the seaweed. Tangy-sweet pollack wrapped in nutty seaweed really got my appetite going!

5 small starters (sukkidashi) and sashimi

The 5 small starters (sukkidashi) were varied, from squid roe to sea squirt (meongge) and seasoned pufferfish skin!

The sashimi that came next had 3 slices each of sea bream, bluefin tuna, flounder and sea bass, and it was fresh and delicious! Eaten with the shiitake mushroom wasabi sauce, it's truly the best combo 🤤

How is Akiaki's mulhoe served, and how do you eat it?

After enjoying the sashimi, the main dish, mulhoe, finally arrived! A generous bowl of mulhoe came with broth, rice and even somyeon (thin wheat noodles)!!😲

You pour in the broth and mix it up, and the crunchy vegetables and raw fish go really well together!

About halfway through, I added the somyeon and mixed it in. The noodles didn't stick together and blended in smoothly, which I liked.

Sushi, steamed cod and fried scallop

I also happily polished off the sushi that came with it 😋

And it doesn't end there!! Steamed cod (daegu-jjim) and fried scallop came out. The cod was sweet and soft, easy to eat, and the fried scallop was totally crispy outside and moist inside. Great.

Finishing with spicy fish stew (maeuntang)

And the grand finale, spicy fish stew (maeuntang)!! The broth was really refreshing and so good. Koreans have to finish with something spicy, right ><

The fish was tender and the broth was spicy and hearty, so I was nicely full right to the end!

Dessert at Akiaki: house-made detox juice and coffee

For dessert, Akiaki serves a detox juice they make themselves! We chose the Citrus Refresh, the fatigue-recovery drink.

It has apple, yuzu and lemon in it, so it was fresh and perfect as a dessert!

When you leave after the meal, there's a coffee machine next to the entrance! If you want to finish with coffee, grab a cup ☕️

Is Akiaki worth it for mulhoe in Cheongju?

And that's the end of the Akiaki mulhoe course. Doesn't the spread look really generous even just in the photos..!! Good mulhoe places aren't easy to find, and the mulhoe I had at Akiaki was truly satisfying..⭐️ If you're looking for a mulhoe restaurant in Cheongju, I recommend Akiaki!!