Gangneung restaurant with refillable herring roe bar: Jeonbok Haenyeo

On a happy trip to Gangneung with my husband, we picked Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village, an abalone porridge restaurant, for a solid lunch spot~ It's near the St. John's Hotel so I'd heard a lot of hotel guests come here too~

This place is famous for its rich abalone porridge, cooked in a pressure pot the moment you order, but it only serves until 3:30pm, so you won't catch it for a late afternoon or dinner meal — better to plan it as a breakfast or lunch stop~ Shall we go eat some rich abalone porridge together?

Where is Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village? Hours and parking

Location: 286-1 Haean-ro, Building A, 1st–2nd floor, Gangneung, Gangwon, South Korea / Hours: daily 08:00–15:30, closed every Tuesday / Parking: free (large lot right in front of the restaurant)

What comes with the 25,000 won abalone porridge: the full haenyeo table

Here's why Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village couldn't help but become a popular spot~ Order the ₩25,000 abalone porridge and you get a haenyeo (female diver) table loaded with seafood alongside it~ Seafood lovers simply can't pass this up, it's insanely good value~ Just note it's only available for 2 or more people~

High chairs downstairs, banquet-hall feel upstairs

The restaurant is split into two halls, first and second floor~ The first floor had a bright yet warm brown-and-white interior~

Below a cute painting of a grandmother haenyeo holding a giant abalone, they'd set out 6 baby chairs, which really showed how much they care about guests~ Looked totally fine to bring a baby along!!! Curious what the second floor looked like, I followed the clean staircase up~

Oh my!!! What is this, a wedding hall banquet room vibe? White curtains and chandeliers with lush green trees visible behind them~ I thought it was some kind of framed painting~ If they'd rent it out, I might even hold my silver wedding anniversary here haha~

Further inside the 2nd floor there were separate men's/women's restrooms and a group room too~ The group room even had a door, so it felt really cozy~ It seats up to 8 people, great for family gatherings or meeting the in-laws~

Menu lineup and how to order on the K-Order machine

The menu was built around the main dishes — special pressure-pot abalone porridge (double abalone + haenyeo table + butter-grilled abalone), pressure-pot abalone porridge (+ haenyeo table), and special abalone perilla seaweed soup (double abalone + haenyeo table + butter-grilled abalone) — with add-ons, drinks, and takeout porridge rounding things out~ You order and pay right at the table via the kiosk, which was convenient~

Note that Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village allows one order per person, and add-on menu items can only be ordered when each person orders a main menu item~ If you leave a Naver photo review you can get 4 pieces of steamed whelk or a drink, so it might be worth doing~

First look at the haenyeo table: three kinds of abalone

The haenyeo table came out first~ The variety was amazing and everything on it looked delicious, so I was really satisfied~ They even served three kinds of abalone — abalone raw fish soup, steamed abalone, and abalone sashimi — I was genuinely touched by the spread~

The presentation was so satisfying I immediately posted a Naver photo review and got a zero-sugar cola in return~ The haenyeo table alone seemed worth ₩50,000, but the whole thing including abalone porridge for two was ₩50,000 — what great value!!!

How the porridge tastes, served in the pressure pot itself

Finally, the abalone porridge we ordered came out still in the pressure pot~ The moment they set it on the table, the nutty sesame oil aroma hit us so strongly we thought we'd walked into a sesame oil mill~ My husband and I both sniffed the air going 'that smells so nutty~'

Look at how much abalone is in this porridge~ If the regular pressure-pot abalone porridge has this much, I can't even imagine how much abalone the special version — with double the abalone — must have!!! I need to try the special one next time!!!

They told us to stir the porridge with the ladle before eating, so I gave it a good stir and scooped it into bowls~ It filled two big soup bowls, super hearty~ The first bite had a rich abalone-liver taste and the nutty sesame oil aroma spread through my mouth, filling it with nuttiness~ The rice grains were sticky and chewy, great texture too~

Seasoned crab, abalone raw fish soup, boiled pork and green onion kimchi

The cute seasoned crab looked like it had been fried then tossed in sauce~ Spicy-sweet, crispy, and nutty — delicious~

The abalone raw fish soup had broth that was pleasantly sweet-and-sour and refreshing, great for whetting the appetite~ The abalone was springy and the julienned radish was crunchy, nice texture~

The thinly sliced boiled pork was excellent, all the fat trimmed off for a clean taste~ Being thin, it was great wrapped with chive salad, and being served cold, the fatty bits stayed pleasantly chewy~

The green onion kimchi wasn't too salty, wasn't tough, was tender, and perfectly fermented~ It paired really well with the nutty abalone porridge!!!

Sea squirt, abalone and sea cucumber wrapped in kelp

First I tried the sea squirt from the generous haenyeo table~ The ocean scent burst in my mouth and the crunchy texture was fantastic~

Eating it together with kelp and gorae (a type of seaweed) added a crunchy sea-vegetable texture that made chewing even more satisfying~ The kelp's slightly gooey, nutty flavor went surprisingly well with the seafood — definitely eat them together!!!

The abalone was crunchy at first bite, then a pleasant sweetness came up at the end~

The sea cucumber had a firm, chewy bite that felt fresh~ The more I chewed, the more gelatinous it got — like ocean jelly~

I wrapped kelp with abalone, sea cucumber, gorae, and ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) and ate it all in one bite~ Each ingredient had a different texture, yet they came together in a nutty harmony~

Topping kelp with abalone and herring roe was next~ The kelp's umami and the abalone's sweetness got backed up by the salty punch of the roe — the umami was no joke~

Unlimited herring roe refills at the self-serve bar

The self-serve bar had herring roe, seasoned crab, green onion kimchi, white kimchi, and gungchae pickle, so I grabbed more of whatever side dish was running low~ Herring roe is honestly a somewhat premium type of salted seafood, so unlimited refills of it were the best!!!

The gungchae pickle had a crunchy texture and a mild, refreshing flavor that didn't clash with the porridge's nuttiness~ It was mildly seasoned, so it was also nice to eat on its own like a salad~

Flounder, steamed abalone, scallops, white kimchi and whelk

The flounder was fried until crispy — crunchy, nutty skin and a clean-tasting flesh, excellent~ My husband deboned it for me, which made it taste even better~ Eating it with the abalone porridge doubles the nuttiness, so I'd recommend having them together~

The steamed abalone was small but chewy and nicely seasoned — probably in my top 5 abalones I've ever eaten~ It's strange, they didn't season it separately, yet it came out salty-sweet!!!

The scallops were fresh and quite sweet~ Nice chewy bite too~

The white kimchi wasn't heavily seasoned, so it felt fine even piled whole on top of the abalone porridge~ It was pleasantly sour and refreshing, like a salad-style kimchi~

The herring roe had an appealing popping texture and salty flavor that kept my chopsticks coming back — it paired beautifully with the nutty, clean abalone porridge~ Anyone who loves salty jeotgal (salted seafood) will absolutely love this combo!!!

The whelk was chewy, and the more I chewed the more umami and sweetness came through — delicious~ My husband doesn't eat whelk unless it's canned, so I ate it all myself~ Whelk, yay~~~

My husband shelled a mussel for me and put it on the abalone porridge, and it tasted like mussel rice!!! Getting a generous haenyeo table to go along with the abalone porridge made for a hearty, satisfying meal~ If you're looking for a good restaurant while traveling in Gangneung, or a spot for a family meal or a date, I recommend Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village!!!