Ansan raw fish restaurant, mulhoe with a neighbor: Eochongye 1beonji

Off to Eochongye 1beonji with the neighbor across the hall who loves mulhoe

On a weekday evening during the rainy season, when the muggy heat was draining all my energy, I went to Eochongye 1beonji (어촌계1번지), a raw fish restaurant on Bandalseom in Ansan, for mixed mulhoe with my neighbor from across the hall, who loves it. When you live in an apartment, you often don't even know who lives next door, above or below you, and the word "neighbor cousins" feels pretty empty. But the young couple with two small kids who recently moved in across from us are friendly and great at greetings, and before long we were visiting each other, and I became like a brother to the husband. We got to chatting lately while the rainy season was sapping everyone, and when I heard he absolutely loves mulhoe, I decided on the spot we were going to go grab a bowl.

Atmosphere and fish tanks at Eochongye 1beonji

Eochongye 1beonji is said to be famous as a go-to raw fish restaurant on Bandalseom in Ansan, and my jaw dropped at the sheer size of the place, as vast as the huge underground parking lot. Even late on a weekday, people were bustling around, so Bandalseom must be a hot spot these days.

Fresh shrimp and a variety of other seafood are kept in clean, well-maintained tanks.

What are the opening hours at Eochongye 1beonji?

Eochongye 1beonji is open every day from 11 AM to 1:30 AM, with last order at 12:40 AM. It's a good place to go for a late-night bowl of mulhoe.

· Open every day 11:00–01:30 · Last order 00:40

The menu: 100 or so dishes and mini versions

They say Eochongye 1beonji has a Japanese-style chef with 30 years of experience serving more than 100 different dishes. There are also mini versions you can comfortably enjoy on your own, and they even do takeout and delivery, so I'm honestly jealous of anyone who lives nearby.

Live sashimi is the main draw, but we had come fully determined to eat mulhoe, so I showed some patience and squeezed my eyes shut. There are notes all around the restaurant on how to enjoy sashimi properly, so I'll definitely have to try it next time.

Free seaweed soup and four sauces

At Eochongye 1beonji, once you sit down you get seaweed soup, water, basic side dishes and sauces. While I soothed my empty stomach with the simple but tasty seaweed soup and tried to pre-cure my hangover with a glass of water that tasted like it was steeped with hovenia, the side dishes and sauces were being prepared.

A tray arrives with a ceviche sauce made with olive oil and lemon juice, shiitake wasabi, special ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) and salted hairtail guts, and all of them were well seasoned and delicious. Since we weren't having sashimi, we'd hardly be dipping anything, which felt a little embarrassing.

Eochongye 1beonji mixed mulhoe: portion and what's in it

The mulhoe at Eochongye 1beonji comes in several kinds, such as flounder, rockfish, mullet and sole, but we ordered the mixed mulhoe. While we waited, my younger neighbor mixed a somaek (soju and beer) with dazzling skill, and I downed it in one shot.

When the mixed mulhoe arrived, I thought we'd chosen well. It's generously loaded with fresh sashimi, sea squirt, sea cucumber, abalone and more. They even sprinkle on nutty soybean powder, a nice touch.

The somyeon (thin wheat noodles) also came in a generous amount, plenty for two. I thought about adding another dish, but held off for the moment.

Taste of the mixed mulhoe: cold broth and plump sea cucumber

The mixed mulhoe passed with flying colors: the broth was cold and well seasoned, and the seafood was in big, fresh pieces. Mixing somaek is already impressive, but watching him stir the mulhoe with the same dazzling hand movements, I could tell my younger neighbor really is a mulhoe fanatic. Haha. What I liked best was the plump sea cucumber, my favorite.

Why the salted hairtail guts were especially good

It isn't sashimi, but feeling a little wistful, I topped the mulhoe pieces with ssamjang and added the salted hairtail guts too. We were both amazed by the hairtail guts. They were really delicious. Over a bowl of white rice, they'd be heaven.

After picking out a fair amount of the toppings, we mixed in the somyeon and finished off coolly. Mulhoe on a sweltering midsummer night is always special.

Is the mixed mulhoe enough for two?

The mixed mulhoe at Eochongye 1beonji was enough for two people to get properly full without any side dishes. I had gone intending to add sides in case the portion was small, but the mulhoe alone filled us up, so my plan failed. With 100 items on the menu, I want to try a bit of everything next time at this good-value Bandalseom raw fish restaurant, and it was a lovely time with a good neighbor.

Sincere thanks to my younger neighbor, who felt one round wasn't enough and insisted on treating us to a second. ♥