Seogwipo breakfast Korean restaurant: Sikgwa Hamkke cutlassfish

A braised cutlassfish specialist near Sanbangsan and Shinhwa World

The restaurant I’m introducing today is Sikgwa Hamkke Jeju Sanbangsan Branch (식과함께 제주산방산점), a braised cutlassfish specialist in Andeok-myeon. It’s over by Sanbangsan, near Jeju Shinhwa World. Maybe they were impressed by the film Along with the Gods, because they named the place Sikgwa Hamkke—“Along with Meals,” haha.

You can just park right in front of the restaurant, no problem, so that was convenient. Alright then, let’s quickly head in for a meal.

This is the vibe inside. The tables are big and nicely spaced out, which I really liked.

The owner gave us a kind welcome. Maybe because they open early, but I saw quite a few people coming in for breakfast.

Post a receipt review and you get one seasonal juice for free.

Ordering two servings of boneless braised cutlassfish

They sell all sorts of seafood dishes, including boneless braised cutlassfish, grilled cutlassfish, seafood ramen, abalone-and-conch roe rice, and marinated sweet shrimp. Every menu item is described as special, and you can really feel the owner’s pride in the cooking. The signature is the boneless braised cutlassfish. We ordered the two-serving portion, which was ₩45,000. Pretty good price.

First, a whole spread of banchan (Korean side dishes) arrived. Honestly, I love it when the food fills plates that are just the right size like this. It puts my mind at ease.

Then the braised cutlassfish came out. It arrives fully cooked, so you can dig in right away. We had reserved our visit time, and they had the food ready exactly on time. Everything came out at super speed, which was great.

Braised cutlassfish to eat by the spoonful, with no bones

First of all, there are no bones, so there’s none of that hassle of picking them out for someone or picking them out yourself. It’s seriously so comfortable. Just scoop it up with a spoon and eat, haha.

First, I soothed my stomach with some rice porridge.

There was seasoned jellyfish, soy-marinated crab, lotus root dressed in yuzu sauce, stir-fried kimchi, soy-braised quail eggs that kids love, and tteokgalbi (grilled minced-meat patties), too. The variety of sides was great. It had a bit of that comforting home-cooked feel, you know?

A serving robot was making the rounds all over the restaurant. Whew, it works hard! Thanks, robot~.

Once the rice and miyeokguk (seaweed soup) arrived, that was the full spread.

The spicy, savory sauce is the kick

The braised cutlassfish didn’t have that usual sweet sauce flavor; it was spicy and savory, exactly right for my taste. It had that distinctive umami that just makes you crave rice, you know?

I mixed rice into that sauce and ate it, and wow, it was so good. The radish in the braise was cooked perfectly too—totally soft and fluffy, and delicious.

Fried cutlassfish and abalone-and-conch roe rice, too

And this is fried cutlassfish. There was a layer of tangy sauce underneath, and one bite gave me a wonderfully crisp texture. Braise, fried fish, seaweed soup... it was practically a birthday feast.

And this is abalone-and-conch roe rice. It seems that if you order according to the number of people, the fried cutlassfish and this roe rice come together. The rich roe rice had that distinctive nutty flavor really coming through, and it was a special treat too.

This was the seasonal juice we received for posting a receipt review. It felt like it had been 100% hand-squeezed—it was incredibly fresh. It was so tangy, and having it at the end of the meal was perfectly refreshing, haha.

We only ordered the boneless braised cutlassfish, but so many things came with it, and we got to enjoy several dishes with a real Jeju feel. For this price, it was excellent—and above all, that spicy, savory braised-cutlassfish sauce was absolutely the kick.