Eel restaurant in downtown Asan for a birthday dinner: Jangeo Daega

Why choose Jangeo Daega for eel in downtown Asan?

Jangeo Daega (장어대가) is a private-room eel restaurant in downtown Asan, and we visited for my boyfriend's birthday. When we go for eel we usually head all the way to Inju, but that means a long drive, and if you want to drink, the designated driver fee adds up. So when we want eel in downtown Asan, Jangeo Daega is where we often end up. It's easy to get to and no-fuss, so I wanted to introduce it.

Jangeo Daega is at 24-7 Yonghwa-ro 48beon-gil, Asan, Chungnam, and it's open from 11:30 to 22:00. Groups are welcome too.

How do you order eel at Jangeo Daega?

The grilled eel is sold by the whole eel, so count on about 1 eel per person. You can choose salt, soy sauce or gochujang (chili paste) grilling, and mixing flavors is fine too.

The basic spread: cabbage salad, pumpkin porridge and side dishes

Each person gets a cabbage salad with soy sauce dressing as standard,

and a little pumpkin porridge comes out to start the meal~ It's secretly really good! The rice grains were nicely broken down so it was smooth, and the sweet-and-savory flavor makes it a nice light bite before the eel.

You also get lettuce, myeongi namul (pickled wild garlic-like greens), white kimchi, green onion kimchi and fried eel bones, all good with eel, but that's not the end of it!

How many side dishes come with the eel at Jangeo Daega?

Personally, one of Jangeo Daega's biggest strengths is how generous the side dishes (seuki, 스끼) are. Before we knew it, the table was completely full!

• Fish cutlet and tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty) skewer
• Salad topped with fish cutlet
• Spicy fish roe soup
• Steamed skate
• Crispy fried shrimp
• Smoked duck

We came to an eel place, and there's already so much to eat before the main dish arrives~

Fish cutlet and tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty) skewers

The fish cutlet has a crispy coating with tartar sauce on top. I wonder if they make the sauce themselves, because it seems to have mashed onion and egg in it.

The tteokgalbi skewer comes with quail eggs, mushrooms, bell pepper and onion. Slide one piece off and pop it in your mouth, and each ingredient tastes different with its texture intact. Delicious.

Steamed skate and smoked duck

The steamed skate isn't fishy at all, and the green onion soy sauce on top goes really well with it. It's salty with great savory depth, so I kept reaching for more. The smoked duck goes without saying: delicious.

How do Jangeo Daega's salt-grilled and gochujang-grilled eels taste?

We ordered 2 eels, one gochujang-grilled and one salt-grilled. Every eel at Jangeo Daega comes topped with wild ginseng, and it looks like a proper health-boosting meal! Deodeok (bellflower root) comes too, and eel with deodeok together is such a good combination~

The eel comes fully cooked, not just pre-grilled, so you can eat right away without spending time grilling it yourself.

Salt-grilled eel

I tried the salt-grilled one first, and as always, salt grilling seems to show off the natural flavor of the eel best.

The nutty flavor builds the more you chew, and you really taste that rich, oily eel character. Eel lovers will be very satisfied.

Gochujang-grilled eel

The gochujang-grilled eel has a gently spicy sauce that soaks in well, and I like that it isn't harshly hot~

Eel can feel greasy as you keep eating because of its oil, but the spicy sauce on the gochujang version cuts through that, so you can enjoy it to the end without getting tired of it.

Eating it with ginger is great too: the ginger's distinctive aroma pairs well with eel and makes it even tastier!

Are Jangeo Daega's private rooms good for birthdays and team dinners?

Every seat at Jangeo Daega in Asan is in a private room, with rooms for 4 people up to 12 or more, so it works well for company dinners. We came for my boyfriend's birthday, and the room made the meal feel much more private, which we loved.