Seafood shabu jangkalguksu in Sokcho: Sokcho Haemul Kkot Jangkalguksu

While traveling in Sokcho with my husband, we decided it was finally time for jangkalguksu again and searched for a great Sokcho jangkalguksu spot. Then we found this Special Seafood Flower-Platter Shabu Jangkalguksu—not the usual jangkalguksu, but one loaded with seafood! As a total seafood killer, I couldn't possibly pass by that visual, so my husband and I went straight there~

Sokcho Haemul Kkot Jangkalguksu location and parking

• Location: 4 Joyang-ro 118beon-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon State, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 09:00–20:00
• Parking: Free dedicated parking lot beside the restaurant

There is a dedicated parking lot right beside the restaurant, so it was wonderful to park conveniently without worrying about it~ They said that if the lot is full, you can park in the nearby alleys and there is no separate parking enforcement, so I don't think you need to worry about parking~

Our reserved Special Seafood Flower-Platter Shabu Jangkalguksu

We had already completed a reservation order for the 10:30 a.m. Energy-Boosting Special Seafood Flower-Platter Shabu Jangkalguksu for two (₩25,000 per person), so after confirming our reservation, the owner immediately started preparing our food~ They even prepared sprout ginseng, so this really felt like it would give us a proper boost!!!

There were already lots of people there right at opening~ And when we left after eating, there were many people waiting too, so I thought, yep, it really is a popular spot~

You order yourself at the table through the kiosk~ Then when you leave, you pay the owner at the counter~

The self-service corner has kimchi, chojang (tangy red chili dipping sauce), small plates, and more, so please help yourself as needed~

The seafood shabu order, from clams to abalone

At last, the complete Special Seafood Flower-Platter Shabu Jangkalguksu arrived~ They set the round iron platter, generously filled with clams, shrimp, abalone, blue crab, octopus, squid, bean sprouts, beef, and more, over the side of the pot~ It was fascinating that the heat from the pot did not affect the platter at all~

First, we put in all the clams, mussels, and abalone and let them boil~ It was so cute watching the scallops open their shells wide as they cooked~

I picked out all the scallop meat, piled it onto one scallop shell, and delivered it to my scallop-loving husband with all my love~

But my husband said delicious food should be shared and gave me half, so we happily nommed together~ The scallops were sweet and absolutely delicious~ I nearly missed out on scallops this good, so thank you to my sharing husband, haha.

The clams were wonderfully chewy and packed with savory flavor~ The mussels were chewy too, with a lovely nutty taste~ You can only experience their true flavor when you pick out several clams and mussels at once and fill your mouth, so definitely try a big bite!!!

The abalone was cooked so perfectly that it separated all at once when I lightly touched it with my spoon~ The shell was so pretty that I seriously considered taking it home, but I decided not to because it might become pretty trash, haha.

I dipped the whole abalone, including its innards, in chojang and ate it in one bite without cutting it~ The flesh was tender, and I could taste the rich innards too, all in one mouthful~ Eating a whole abalone really made me feel properly nourished~!!!

My husband can't eat abalone innards, so every bit of them was mine~ The elders used to say you haven't truly finished an abalone unless you eat the innards, so does that mean I ate two abalones? Thanks to my husband and his kid-like palate, having all the abalone innards to myself was totally possible, haha.

Shrimp, squid, octopus, and a deepening broth

The cute little curled shrimp~ It was so sweet and delicious that I decided we need to go eat grilled king prawns soon~ I want about 3 kg~

I liked the crisp texture of enoki mushrooms, but the white wood ear mushrooms were the real star~ Broth seeped into every fold of the white wood ear mushrooms, making them so soft and delicious~ White wood ear mushrooms really are the best in shabu-shabu, I think!!!

We also lightly poached the whole squid in the broth~ The squid was tender yet chewy, which was such a nice texture~ Paired with plump oyster mushrooms, it was moist, chewy, and a great match~

They told us to put the octopus in only very briefly before taking it out, so we blanched it just for a moment~ The octopus was tender and bursting with savory flavor~ My husband said it was so good that we should go to Tongyeong for octopus soon, so thanks to that, we decided to take a Tongyeong trip~ We'll eat lots of octopus there~!!!

I considered picking out the blue crab to eat, but it somehow seemed better suited to flavoring the broth, so I put it back in and kept it simmering~

Finishing with beef and knife-cut noodles

After finishing all the seafood, we finally dropped the beef and bean sprouts into the pot~ It was great to be able to eat seafood and beef in one meal~ I found it fascinating how the broth deepened in flavor each time another shabu-shabu ingredient was added~

My husband said he wanted to eat the bean sprouts and beef with the knife-cut noodles rather than separately, so we dropped in the kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) noodles right away~ The blue crab looked like it was taking a half-bath in a kalguksu hot spring, so cute~ But your face is so red! Don't overdo it—come out now, haha.

While waiting for the kalguksu noodles to cook, we tried some bean sprouts and beef~ The combination of crunchy bean sprouts with tender, savory beef was unbelievably good~

The blue crab had given the broth all it had~ When we cut it open, it wasn't packed with meat, so I thought we had done well letting it steep for broth~ Still, the little bits of meat felt too precious to waste, so I sucked them right out—and it still had that sweet crab flavor, haha.

The kalguksu noodles were firm, so they had a very springy chew~ Since we both like soft kalguksu, we cooked them for quite a long time~ After simmering, they turned soft yet bouncy and were deliciously chewy~ They were good with regular kimchi too, but the clean, tangy flavor of baek-kimchi (white kimchi) went surprisingly well with the noodles, so definitely try it!!!

The cute flower-shaped rice cakes had such a pretty shape, and I liked their chewy texture~ It's no secret that I gave my husband the torn flower and ate the intact one myself, haha.

My husband kept ladling up the broth saying it was delicious, then told me it tasted like the dried-shrimp, soft-tofu, zucchini doenjang-jjigae (soybean-paste stew) I had made at home~ I tried it too, and the savory yet refreshing flavor really was so similar~ I wanted to make juk (rice porridge) in the broth at the end, but it was a shame we were too full to do it~

They also give out Baskin-Robbins ice cream for the review event, so you may want to join in~ We got New York Cheesecake, and it was insanely good!!! If you're looking for a hearty meal, date spot, or gathering place during a Sokcho trip, I recommend Sokcho Haemul Kkot Jangkalguksu (속초해물꽃장칼국수)!!!