Ganghwa duck restaurant with charcoal-grilled duck: Deok Ori Jumulleok

I live in the Seoul metropolitan area, so I often head to Ganghwa for a weekend outing. Every time I go, I make sure to find one good restaurant and have at least one proper meal. Last weekend, I got there early and hiked Manisan. The weather has been cool lately, so it was such a nice workout! Then, right at noon, I headed to the restaurant I had reserved in advance. The place I found was Deok Ori Jumulleok (덕오리주물럭), a Manisan restaurant that people often visit for duck.

Even when I eat duck at home, it is usually an easy smoked-duck meal, but this place serves duck jumulleok (marinated stir-fried duck) that is par-grilled directly over charcoal. I was looking forward to it before I even arrived.

Why reservations are needed at Deok Ori Jumulleok's limited daily service

Location and reservations

It is located at 121 Manisan-ro, Gilsang-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, South Korea.

They age and sell only a set amount of meat each day here, and the restaurant can close early once the prepared quantity sells out. So reservations are essential! It would be so disappointing to make the trip for duck near Manisan and not get to eat it.

Menu

The menu had grilled duck and jumulleok as its basics, with several varieties including samchae, shrimp, and webfoot octopus. We ordered two portions of samchae duck jumulleok at ₩22,000 per person, plus a ₩12,000 potato pancake.

A convenient stop on a Manisan trip

When visiting Ganghwa, you often drive between attractions and see several places in one day, right?

This restaurant is about nine minutes by car from Manisan and Jeondeungsa, two of Ganghwa's main sights, so it was easy to stop for a meal after sightseeing. Ganghwa Luge and Dongmak Beach are also about 10 minutes away, so it would fit nicely into a day itinerary. There is parking too, which made visiting by car easy. Quite a few people had come for duck after hiking Manisan, just like us. The location works really well for combining it with nearby Ganghwa attractions.

Charcoal-par-grilled duck jumulleok: smoky aroma and chewy texture

The most memorable thing here was definitely the charcoal par-grilling.

They first grill the duck we ordered in a separate area, and the smoky charcoal aroma hit me as soon as it arrived at the table. After finishing the par-grilled meat on the grill, it had a subtle charcoal fragrance on the outside while the duck itself was wonderfully chewy.

It was not duck jumulleok you eat only for the seasoning—the duck's own texture came through, which I loved. I think that charcoal fragrance was a big reason it stayed in my mind as a Manisan restaurant. In particular, the pleasantly pungent aroma of samchae went surprisingly well with the rich flavor of the duck.

The white topping is samchae, by the way. It looks a little like very thin ginseng stems? It has its own pleasantly sharp aroma when you taste it. That is why it paired so well with the seasoned duck. Fresh samchae stems are known to contain nutrients including dietary fiber, calcium, and magnesium.

They say the dietary sulfur compounds in samchae are present at twice the level of onions, six times that of garlic, and 60 times that of ginseng, making it good for cancer prevention and anti-aging!! I asked the owner while ordering, and they said it was very good for you haha, then recommended that I try it. After reading that, how could I not order it? I need all the anti-aging help I can get haha. After taking in Manisan's mountain energy and all that samchae nutrition, I immediately felt stronger haha. If you want something a little different from ordinary food while out on a trip, I recommend the samchae duck jumulleok!

House-made side dishes and lettuce wraps

When I eat seasoned meat, I tend to tire of it quickly if the side dishes are salty too. Here, though, the house-made side dishes were seasoned just right alongside the duck.

Pile plenty of samchae duck jumulleok onto a lettuce leaf, then add a little spicy pickled chili or tangy pickled cucumber—seriously, I highly recommend this combination! So delicious.

The crunchy, tangy flavors between the spicy seasoning and charcoal aroma kept it from becoming tiresome until the end. If you are looking for duck near Manisan, do not just eat the meat on its own—make sure to wrap it with the different side dishes. “A tableful prepared with care” is exactly the right description for this place.

Why we ordered the potato pancake too

Duck jumulleok is the main event, but surprisingly, the potato pancake is what I keep thinking about. Its edges were crisp, while the inside still had that savory potato flavor.

It was among the crispiest potato pancakes I have ever had. Taking a bite of the mild potato pancake while eating the spicy duck jumulleok was such a great pairing too.

At home, I usually only eat smoked duck, but trying this charcoal-par-grilled samchae duck jumulleok gave me a distinctly different experience. At first, when I heard it was sold in limited daily quantities, I wondered why it had to be limited. But after eating it, I could feel the care that went into everything from fresh meat to the par-grilling process. If you are looking for a hearty Manisan restaurant after visiting Jeondeungsa or other Ganghwa sights, and want a special duck dish, I think you should order the samchae duck jumulleok with the potato pancake too. If, like me, you usually prefer healthy food, you will not regret it.