Paju ssambap restaurant walk-in dinner, hot-plate set: Simhaksan

I went to Paju Outlet today haha, the weather's been so nice lately that it's perfect for a trip out of the city. So while looking for good places to eat, I did a walk-in visit to Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap, a ssambap restaurant near Paju Outlet — here's my review.

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap near Paju Outlet: parking and wait times

You can park right in front of Deulkkot Ssambap, so it was an easy drive over. Since I went during an in-between dinner hour, it was pretty relaxed, but there was a tabling system and a waiting area, so it seems like this place usually has a line.

That's not to say it was empty though — it was bustling haha. The tables were close together but the hall itself felt spacious, so it seems like a good spot to bring parents or kids.

It looks like a lot of celebrities come here too — there were signed autographs right at the entrance, so I thought, ah, this must be a real local favorite. Now that I'm a bit older, heavier food tends to sit uncomfortably in my stomach. So I find myself reaching for homestyle Korean set meals or ssambap restaurants more often 😀 Anyone else the same?

Deuljeongsik or Kkotjeongsik: which set to order

I took a photo of the menu too. Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap near Paju Outlet has both deuljeongsik and kkotjeongsik, but since we're not big fish eaters, we went with the deuljeongsik haha. There were also a lot of side menu options.

Banchan, doenjang stew and sweet pumpkin soup

Once you order, they set the side dishes first. Stir-fried eggplant, stir-fried zucchini, dried radish greens, anchovies, and more came out, and you can grab extra banchan from the self-serve bar too haha.

Doenjang stew comes included as standard, and the flavor was truly top-notch. It's packed with tofu, and you can keep it simmering on the induction burner beside you as you eat. You can also request extra doenjang stew or gangdoenjang (thick soybean paste dip), but honestly the doenjang stew alone was so good I could've eaten a whole bowl of rice with just that.

Sweet pumpkin soup also came out, which was nice for settling the stomach before the meal. It had that sweet, big-brand-style pumpkin soup flavor haha.

Self-serve bar: wrap vegetables, old-fashioned snacks and ice cream

The spot where you grab extra banchan was kept really clean and well managed. Right next to it, the wrap vegetables were kept nice and cool — you grab those from here too haha. The wraps don't come as a default part of the meal, so you have to go get them yourself at the self-serve bar. There are even wrap bowls set out there.

The vegetables were genuinely fresh and in great condition. There was plenty of green leaf lettuce, regular lettuce, perilla leaves, alba (baby napa) cabbage, and more, and since there were cucumbers, peppers, and eggplant too, I grabbed a generous amount.

There were also old-fashioned snacks at the self-serve bar. I grabbed one to munch on my way out haha. By the way, there's ice cream on your way out too!

Hot-plate pork bulgogi and squid stir-fry with stone-pot rice

The main dish came out. It really came fast — once we grabbed the wraps, the main dish arrived almost immediately, so the turnover seems quite good. It's pork bulgogi and squid stir-fry, but they're not served separately — they come together in one dish. The seasonings are different, so mixing them together was tasty too.

It comes out on a hot plate so be careful, it's hot. Because of that though, it stayed warm the whole time we were eating haha. Even the onions were sweet and delicious.

And then the stone-pot rice arrived. The rice was genuinely as good as Icheon rice. If I just had the rice and stew, I probably could've eaten more than two bowls. The portion also seemed about 1.5 times a regular bowl of rice. The shine on the rice grains was incredible. They make it into nurungji (scorched rice) afterward, so you eat wraps first and finish with nurungji, which leaves you really full and satisfied.

The pork bulgogi had that great charred-grill flavor, and the ratio of lean meat to fat was just right with no gamey smell, so it was really tasty. The squid stir-fry has a redder sauce but isn't spicy haha. The squid was plump and substantial too. This seems like a great restaurant to bring older family members to.

Is Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap worth it? Final verdict

If you're looking for a ssambap restaurant near Paju Outlet, I'd recommend Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap. The staff were kind, and above all, the value for money was great. A Korean set course like this for ₩20,000 — haha, really. I'm planning to come back again next time with my parents! I'd definitely revisit haha. Recommended 😄