Siheung Korean restaurant with whole mudfish fritters: Namwon Cham

My husband's been wiped out by this heat lately, so I've been doing my best to nourish him haha~ Today's pick for body-boosting food was chueotang (mudfish soup), and we headed to Namwon Cham Chueotang Seohaeseon Sincheon Station branch, a long-running favorite near Sammi Market~ We sweated it out and ate a hearty, satisfying meal, so let me introduce this spot!

Where Namwon Cham Chueotang is and where to park

Namwon Cham Chueotang Sincheon Station branch is at 9 Sincheon 3-gil, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, open Mon–Fri 10:00–21:00 and Sat–Sun 09:00–21:00. You can park on both sides of the restaurant, and there are several public lots nearby too, which made things easy.

• Location: 9 Sincheon 3-gil, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (Namwon Cham Chueotang Sincheon Station branch)
• Hours: Mon–Fri 10:00–21:00 / Sat–Sun 09:00–21:00
• Parking 1. Both sides of the restaurant
• Parking 2. Sincheon Station public lot: 2 Sincheoncheon-dong-ro, Sincheon-dong, Siheung-si
• Parking 3. Sincheoncheon roadside public lot: 16 Sincheoncheon-seo-ro
• Parking 4. Sammi Market public lot: 40 Sammisijang 2-gil
• All lots give 40 minutes free with a parking ticket

Inside the restaurant and what's on the menu

The interior felt bright and clean~ and all the staff were friendly, which was nice~

The menu is organized into mudfish soup set meals, mudfish soup varieties, fried dishes, hot stone pot bulgogi, drinks, and beverages~ We ordered the Namwon mudfish soup set for two, which comes with mudfish fritters~

Namwon Cham Chueotang says they use 100% domestic ingredients and purified water, which is reassuring~ And you can even refill the soup — what a deal!!!

As soon as we sat down they gave us a bottle of water first~ I actually prefer a disposable bottle over a water pitcher that may not be well maintained~ There's also a review event where you get 4 crispy mudfish fried dumplings, plus a Kakao Channel game going on, so it might be worth joining in~

Side dishes and the complimentary mudfish fritters

The basic side dishes were pickled onion, braised potato, seasoned bean sprouts, geotjeori (fresh cut kimchi), and kkakdugi (radish kimchi)~ and they also prepared 3 kinds of dipping sauce for the mudfish fritters~

They brought out a cute big bowl and small bowl of whole mudfish fritters, explaining that the big bowl was what we ordered and the small bowl was a free complimentary side~ I was so touched by that thoughtful little detail of not skipping the freebie, haha~

Stone pot rice with thick mudfish soup: how we ate it

The stone pot rice and mudfish soup arrived together~ They set an hourglass on top of the stone pot and told us to let it steam until all the sand ran through before eating~

The soup looked thick just from looking at it, and when I lifted it with a spoon it was packed with siraegi (dried radish greens) — very satisfying~

We stirred in a generous spoonful of perilla seed powder to our taste~ then with my husband's help, added pepper, pepper~

Doesn't it look so much more appetizing with the perilla powder piled in? We skip the sancho (Sichuan pepper) powder and prefer loading up on perilla powder instead~

The glossy, shiny stone pot rice~ the grains were plump and round, just perfect for mixing into soup~ so we spooned it right into the mudfish soup~

We poured water over the leftover scorched rice to make sungnyung (scorched rice tea) for later~ see you soon~

The thick soup broth with plenty of ugeoji (napa cabbage greens) and chives had such a savory, hearty flavor~ and there was no fishy smell or stray bone at all, so it was a chueotang anyone could enjoy comfortably~

How the whole mudfish fritters and the mudfish dumplings tasted

The cute whole mudfish fritters — maybe because the mudfish were small — had no bothersome tiny bones and tasted nutty and delicious~ the batter was crispy and nutty, pairing well with the mudfish~

The mudfish fried dumplings had chili peppers inside, giving them a slight kick, which I liked~ nutty and full of umami, with an occasional spicy hit — really charming~

Refilling the kimchi and a second bowl of mudfish soup

The kkakdugi was fermented just right, with a nice crunch that went so well with the chueotang~

The geotjeori tasted freshly made, like it was just tossed together~ We refilled both the kkakdugi and geotjeori a couple times!!!

Of all the mudfish fritters I've had, this was the first time I'd seen ones this small~ I'd love to keep eating them this small size going forward~ The batter was nutty and crispy while the mudfish inside was chewy — I really hope you get to try it~

We meant to finish up with the scorched rice tea, but the kkakdugi brought our appetite right back~

So we asked for a refill of the mudfish soup~ and the refilled bowl was still just as thick and packed with hearty ingredients as before, still delicious~

The message at the bottom of the stone bowl

A message only visible if you scrape your bowl clean~ 'Stay healthy!!!' Seeing that message about eating well and staying healthy made me weirdly happy~ Made me feel genuinely healthier haha~ Thanks to that clever hot stone bowl, we finished the meal in good spirits, and I'd definitely recommend Namwon Chueotang Seohaeseon Sincheon Station branch whenever you need a nourishing meal, a hearty and satisfying dish, or a place to eat with your parents!!!