Sindorim eel restaurant: grilled hagfish with free soup refill

Friday after work! I went out with my husband for a long-overdue Friday night out, and here's our review of Meongteongguri Kkomjangeo Makchang, a restaurant near Sindorim Station!

If you're looking for a good restaurant between Sindorim and Guro stations, and you want hagfish (kkomjangeo) with a chewy, bouncy texture like real meat, this is the place I'd recommend!

Location, parking, and the exterior near Sindorim Station

Meongteongguri Kkomjangeo Makchang is located right next to the Sindorim Ramada Hotel. There's no parking, but for us it turned out to be surprisingly convenient — there's a bus that goes straight from near our place to a stop right in front of the restaurant.

It's also only 1–2 bus stops from Sindorim or Guro Station, so it's an easy place to reach by public transit too.

Inside: a retro pojangmacha atmosphere

Walking in, the pojangmacha (street-tent bar) vibe combined with the retro decor brought back all kinds of old memories for me. There's an old-school feel everywhere that's hard to find these days, so I ended up having just as much fun looking around the place as eating.

The TV was playing a familiar old-music channel, and the walls were covered in retro old photos — I got so caught up looking at them all that I lost track of time.

Overall it's a comfortable, lively pojangmacha atmosphere, exactly the kind of place to chat over good meat and a drink after work! If you're into that old-school feel, you'll enjoy not just the food but the whole vibe of the place.

The menu and what we ordered

Hagfish and makchang are the main dishes at Meongteongguri Kkomjangeo Makchang, but as a restaurant near Sindorim Station it also holds its own with spicy grilled octopus and chicken feet, galbisal (rib meat), pork belly, and chicken thigh, among other meat dishes.

There are also combination menus and side dishes, plus full meal options, so it's not a bad spot even if you're trying hagfish for the first time!

As a couple, we ordered 1 serving of wild salt-grilled king hagfish and 2 servings of seasoned hagfish.

Side dishes and the free-refill bean sprout soup with soju

Once we were seated, the basic side dishes were set out. True to a good restaurant near Sindorim Station, the side dishes were clean and genuinely tasty.

But above all, the spicy bean sprout soup (kongnamul haejangguk) was outstanding — apparently it's an unlimited refill when you order soju. A really fitting drinking snack, that spicy bean sprout soup 👍

Wild salt-grilled king hagfish, 1 serving

Next came out the wild salt-grilled king hagfish, 1 serving! The salt-grilled hagfish comes pre-cooked in the kitchen first.

The pre-cooked hagfish is then finished off a bit more at the table on the charcoal grill!

Once it was fully cooked, we dipped it lightly in salt and tried it — and the texture was seriously... a work of art. Plump and springy yet tender at the same time! I haven't tried hagfish that many times, but this might be the best hagfish I've ever had.

With that smoky charcoal flavor and tender bite, this has to be the signature dish at Meongteongguri Kkomjangeo Makchang.

How was the seasoned hagfish, 2 servings?

Right around when we finished the salt-grilled hagfish, the seasoned hagfish we'd also ordered went on the grill! It was 2 servings' worth, so we had plenty to enjoy.

Because the seasoning burns easily, they grilled it carefully. The seasoned hagfish at this restaurant near Sindorim Station was mildly spicy, and the sauce had this quietly addictive quality I liked. The slightly chewy texture is probably why people keep coming back for hagfish.

If you're looking for a good restaurant near Sindorim Station, from meat to hagfish — you can try a bit of everything — I'd recommend Meongteongguri Kkomjangeo Makchang!