Oido noodle restaurant with extra octopus and Songdo views: 52 Degree

I went to 52 Degree Kalguksu in Oido. With the weather these days making me feel like I need to eat something hearty before the heat wears me down, I decided to try seafood for a change instead of the usual stuff, so I headed to 52 Degree Kalguksu Oido Main Branch!

Location and second-floor seating at 52 Degree Kalguksu Oido Main Branch

52 Degree Kalguksu Oido Main Branch is located near Oido Harbor where you can see the sea. It's before the Sihwa Tidal Flat Bank, so it's also a convenient spot if you're heading to and from Daebu Island.

Even though we went on a weekday evening, being by the sea gave off a kind of vacation vibe haha. I imagine this road gets even more crowded on weekends during vacation season like now.

52 Degree Kalguksu has two floors. The first floor we saw when we walked in was very spacious, with booth-style tables that have backrests, which looked like it would make for an even more comfortable meal.

It seemed like the first floor wasn't open on weekdays, and we were led up to the second floor. Like the first floor, it was spacious too, and since there's no kitchen up there, it had even more seats. Even on a weekday, the second floor was packed, especially with families. Each table has a burner that's built wide to fit the kalguksu pot, which was a bit unusual!

52 Degree Kalguksu menu, mix-and-match two kinds

The menu at 52 Degree Kalguksu Oido Main Branch had seafood hot pot kalguksu, seafood hot pot ramyeon, whole chicken kalguksu, large clam hot pot kalguksu, fresh clam hot pot kalguksu, white clam hot pot kalguksu, and moon snail hot pot kalguksu, and you could mix two of them together to your taste!

For sides there was black octopus pajeon (scallion pancake), chive pancake, sweet shrimp sashimi, seasoned crab jang, seasoned shrimp jang, and more — menus that go really well with the sea.

The sea and Songdo from our window seat, plus the included barley rice

After ordering, we looked out the window and could see the sea and Songdo! We got lucky with a window seat, and I imagine the view would be even prettier at sunset on a clear day.

The included side dishes were napa cabbage kimchi and young radish kimchi, plus a small taste of barley rice per person. I mixed the young radish kimchi and gochujang (spicy pepper paste) into the rice — barley rice from a kalguksu place is always good haha. It feels like part of a set, the kind of thing you'd miss if it weren't there haha.

How to eat the seafood hot pot kalguksu

Small plate, vinegar-chili sauce, soy sauce, wasabi — ready to go! Before the food came out, I read the instructions for eating it right that were on the table haha.

• Eat the octopus and brisket first
• Flip the crab once the broth starts boiling
• Add the noodles last, after everything else is eaten

What's in the seafood hot pot kalguksu for 3

Our seafood hot pot kalguksu for 3! I was surprised by the pot packed full of seafood and just how it looked. Thinking about it, this was actually my first time eating a whole-seafood dish served in a pot like this, so I was even more excited.

In order: baby napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, crab, dumplings, brisket, abalone, shrimp, octopus, scallops, clams, surf clams, and baby clams. Everything was arranged so neatly that it made the meal even more satisfying!!

The seafood hot pot kalguksu was exciting just to look at haha. How is it arranged this neatly? It took a little longer than expected to come out, but I guess plating it like this takes time. Still, since it's fun just to watch, waiting was no problem haha.

Once the pot arrives, staff pour in the broth themselves and turn on the burner. There are three burners set up to match the pot, and they warned us to be careful with the ladle nearby since it can get hot. They said they'd refill the broth if it ran low, and we asked for a refill before adding the noodles.

Brisket and octopus first, plus an octopus leg add-on

The seafood hot pot kalguksu slowly started to boil! Once the broth starts boiling, you should eat the brisket and octopus first. Leave them too long and they can get tough, so eat right away! Both the octopus and brisket were tender and so delicious. It had been a while since I'd had octopus, and it was chewy, tender, and tasted of the sea. We also ordered an octopus leg add-on.

Seafood, vegetables, and crab prepped for us

By the time we finished the brisket and octopus, the seafood and vegetables were fully cooked, so we just ate them one by one! The seafood was so fresh it couldn't help but taste good, and with the broth added on top, the flavor got even richer.

The whole abalone was in there too, and it was genuinely tender!! I was wondering how to eat the crab, but staff came over and prepped it for us themselves, so we could enjoy it without any hassle.

The final noodle timing

Once all the seafood is eaten, it's time to add the noodles! They took a bit longer to cook than I expected, so timing mattered to keep the flow of eating from breaking haha.

Eating the kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) in the broth steeped with seafood really gave off that authentic Oido restaurant vibe. The pot had so many vegetables in it too, so pairing them with the noodles made it even better! 52 Degree Kalguksu Oido Main Branch let us eat seafood in a hearty, generous way — I'll definitely come back when I'm craving seafood again!