Lunch on the way to Wolmido with rear parking: Sopuri, Yeonan Pier

Tada, today's spot is an Incheon Yeonan Pier restaurant — 24-Hour Sopuri Yangpyeong Haejangguk, Yeonan Pier General Fish Market Branch!!

We needed lunch on the way to Wolmido, and the weather was gray and kind of chilly, so hot soup was calling my name haha. My husband and I used to eat raw fish salad near Yeonan Pier back in the day, and I remembered there being a lot of good restaurants around there, so we searched and stopped by.

Where to park at Sopuri, Yeonan Pier — the lot behind the building is huge

Naver says you can use the nearby public lot or park in front of the store (about 3 spots), but if you loop right around the store to the back of the building, there's actually a pretty large parking lot haha. If the lot manager comes out, just tell them you're visiting Sopuri Haejangguk.

I really liked how clean and spacious the interior is. The tables are spaced well, and even where tables sit next to each other, they're wide enough that you're not squeezed in. While eating, I noticed a lot of people coming in for breakfast near Yeonan Pier, Incheon, plus what looked like workers from the nearby passenger terminal and fish market.

Haenaetang vs. haejangguk, and Sopuri's unlimited ox blood

The menu is simple. The difference between haenaetang and haejangguk seems to be whether it has innards or ox blood in it. But here we picked up a great tip — ox blood is unlimited refill!!!!! So instead of haejangguk, we ordered haenaetang and beef head gukbap. We both almost ordered haenaetang, but split them so we could share and try both.

Basic side dishes: radish kimchi and napa cabbage kimchi

The basic side dishes that come with your order are radish kimchi and napa cabbage kimchi. I tried a bite — the radish kimchi is nicely fermented, tangy and crunchy, and seemed like it would pair well with the clear, savory beef head gukbap. The napa cabbage kimchi is crisp and refreshing, and seemed like a good match for the haejangguk dishes. I'm not sure if they make their kimchi in-house, but it was crunchy and really delicious!!

On the table there's chili paste, seasoning paste, chili oil, pepper, perilla seed powder, and salt. Personally, a lot of places skip the chili oil and chili paste, so I really appreciated having them. Very satisfying haha.

What's at the self bar — don't skip the yeolmu kimchi

Before the main dishes arrived, we went to check out the self bar. Sopuri Yangpyeong Haejangguk's self bar has onions, chili peppers, and yeolmu kimchi (young radish greens kimchi) — you have to try the yeolmu kimchi. Totally delicious. I liked the radish kimchi and napa cabbage kimchi too, but the yeolmu kimchi was so crunchy and refreshing that I went back for it three separate times hahaha.

And here's one of the decisive reasons we chose this place!! Unlimited refill ox blood!!! Even the rice is unlimited refill. The ox blood and rice are kept in a rice warmer, so you can help yourself without any hesitation. The ox blood wasn't just sitting in a regular bowl either — it's kept warm, so it stays moist and softly savory, which really showed the owner's thoughtfulness.

Korean beef head gukbap, served with somyeon noodles too

After scooping up some ox blood first and dipping it in the sauce, the main dishes arrived. My order, the Korean beef head gukbap!! Milky broth packed with plenty of Korean beef, and the meat had zero smell. The meat broth was incredibly savory, and the head meat inside the gukbap was chewy and clung to your mouth in the best way.

The beef head gukbap comes with somyeon (thin wheat noodles) on the side, so before digging into the rice, I swirled the noodles in and slurped them up in one go!! Somyeon really does make a difference with beef head gukbap haha — funny how something so small matters so much.

Haenaetang, regular size — glad we skipped the large

Then my husband's haenaetang arrived!!! But honestly, I regretted it the moment it showed up. The smell was insane ㅠㅠㅠ That perfectly spicy-yet-savory smell drove me crazy. A spoonful of chili paste~ two swirls of chili oil~ a dash of pepper~ a bit more seasoning paste mixed in to make it just right!!

Honestly we were so hungry we debated ordering the large size, but since ox blood is unlimited refill, we went with regular — good thing, because if we'd gotten the large it would've been a disaster.... It was packed full of tripe and innards, and no matter how much we scooped out, the amount barely went down hahaha.

We dipped the tripe and innards in the sauce first — wow..... the innards were so tender? Chewy but tender? You know what I mean??? Zero off smell, just delicious.

After eating the ingredients and taking a sip of the broth, ah, I really should have ordered the haenaetang myself ㅠㅠㅠ Honestly, there's a haenaetang place in my neighborhood that's supposedly one of the best in the country, and this was better. Seriously, truly, the depth of the broth is insane. I don't even like drinking, but this makes you crave soju. Rich, savory broth with spicy chili oil mixed in — this is heaven ㅠㅠ

Round two: adding ox blood for a second bowl of haejangguk

After finishing all the solid ingredients, we dropped in the ox blood we'd gotten from the self bar for a second round of haejangguk haha. The ox blood was so moist and savory ㅠㅠ Even though it wasn't simmered together with the haenaetang broth, it didn't feel out of place at all — genuinely delicious ㅠㅠ We ordered one bowl but it felt like eating two hahaha. And since the rice is unlimited too, we walked out patting our very full bellies.

On the way out: coffee machine and free ice water at Sopuri

On our way out, we spotted a coffee machine and free bottled water!!!! Oh my goodness. Honestly, the weather has been so, so hot lately, and this kind of thoughtful little touch means a lot. I don't usually grab this stuff, but it was such a scorcher that we each walked out the entrance holding a bottle of water and a bottle of ice water haha.

Since Yeonan Pier is nearby and a lot of people come out for boat fishing in Incheon, having a good meal at Sopuri Yangpyeong Haejangguk and then cooling off with their refreshing ice water service would make for a fully satisfying meal time haha. Highly recommend this Incheon fish market area restaurant near Yeonan Pier — 24-Hour Sopuri Yangpyeong Haejangguk, Yeonan Pier General Fish Market Branch!!!!