Daejeon kalguksu restaurant you cook at the table: Choi Jiseong's

Hi, this is Mudeung 😊 As the weather gets a little cooler, I naturally start craving hot soup haha. This time I visited Choi Jiseong's Seafood Kalguksu, a seafood kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) place in Gungdong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, where you cook a pot packed with seafood right at your table.

You can probably tell just from the photo, but the pot was so full of squid, clams, abalone and shrimp that it made a great first impression lol.

Where is Choi Jiseong's Seafood Kalguksu? Munhwawon-ro in Gungdong, near Chungnam National University

Choi Jiseong's Seafood Kalguksu sits in Gungdong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, along Munhwawon-ro. It's not far from Chungnam National University, so it's worth checking out alongside other Gungdong restaurants in Daejeon or spots near the university haha.

The big blue 'Seafood Kalguksu' sign was visible right on the corner of the building, so it wasn't hard to find even on a first visit. The exterior had that friendly feel of a kalguksu place that's been running in the neighborhood for years lol.

Inside Choi Jiseong's: a roomy, clean dining room with a burner at every table

Stepping inside Choi Jiseong's Seafood Kalguksu, the space was bigger than I expected. There are several 4-person tables, each with a burner set in the middle so you cook your seafood kalguksu right there haha.

There are plenty of seats by the window too, and the tables weren't cramped, so it looked like a good spot for a family meal or a group visit.

There's a ventilation unit above every table on the ceiling, so overall it felt more like a spacious, comfortable BBQ restaurant than a typical kalguksu place lol.

Menu and prices at Choi Jiseong's Seafood Kalguksu

The signature dish is of course the seafood kalguksu. According to the menu board in the photo, it's ₩12,500 per person, and you need to order for at least two people.

You can also choose clam kalguksu at ₩10,000, spicy seafood kalguksu at ₩13,000, or spicy clam kalguksu at ₩10,500 depending on your taste haha. There are also add-ins like squid, shrimp, abalone and king mandu (dumplings) if you want more.

On the side, there was a surprisingly wide range of options — seafood pajeon (scallion pancake) at ₩15,000, a tasting-size pajeon at ₩9,000, handmade king pork cutlet, hard clam soup, country-style fried chicken and more lol. There's also a grilled prawns menu, which looked great for anyone who loves seafood and wants to order a bit of everything.

How much seafood is in the ₩12,500 seafood kalguksu?

We ordered the seafood kalguksu and a tasting pajeon. When the seafood kalguksu arrived, honestly my first thought was 'wait, where are the noodles?' because the seafood piled on top completely stole the show haha.

There was a whole squid laid on top, big and generous, plus shrimp, clams, abalone, wood ear mushrooms, bean sprouts and napa cabbage filling the pot. As it started bubbling, the flavors from the seafood mixed into the broth, and even the smell alone was refreshing lol.

How to eat it: seafood first, noodles last

There were instructions on the table for how to eat the kalguksu properly. Once the broth starts boiling, stir it from the bottom, and cut the squid and vegetables into bite-sized pieces haha. Once the clams open and the seafood is cooked, you eat that first, then add the noodles at the end — so it kind of felt like eating a seafood stew and kalguksu in one meal.

From squid to abalone and clams in the pot

I tried the cooked squid cut into pieces, and it had a nice chewy, springy texture without being tough. There were several kinds of clams too, so it was fun picking through them one by one haha. Once you've eaten through most of the seafood, the broth gets noticeably richer than at the start.

Mixed with the refreshing sweetness from the bean sprouts and napa cabbage, the broth leaned more clean and soothing than intensely spicy lol. Kimchi, soy sauce and chojang (vinegar-chili sauce) come out alongside, so you can dip the seafood however you like. Spoonful after spoonful of hot seafood broth, and I totally got why this kind of dish comes to mind the second the weather turns even slightly chilly haha.

The ₩9,000 tasting-size seafood pajeon on the side

It felt like a shame to just eat the kalguksu, so we also ordered the tasting pajeon, and it wasn't as small as I expected. It was packed with chives and seafood, with the edges fried nice and golden, giving off a great savory aroma haha.

Picking up a piece, the inside was moist while the outside kept a slight crispness. A spoonful of the seafood kalguksu broth, then a bite of the pajeon — this combo is basically impossible to mess up lol. If a full-size seafood pajeon feels like too much, ordering the tasting size alongside the noodles is a good call. Kalguksu for two plus a tasting pajeon made for a pretty filling meal for two people haha.

Worth returning to Choi Jiseong's when you want hot broth

What stuck with me most about Choi Jiseong's Seafood Kalguksu was the pot packed full of seafood. Getting to eat squid, shrimp, abalone and clams first, then finish with the kalguksu noodles, made for a really filling meal lol. Add in the savory seafood pajeon and the whole combination just worked well together. If you're in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon looking for a good kalguksu restaurant in Gungdong, a spot near Chungnam National University, or just a hearty seafood-packed menu, it's worth a visit haha.

It seems like it would suit a rainy day, or any day you're craving something hot and comforting, even more. Next time I'd love to try the spicy seafood kalguksu too lol.