Paju ssambap restaurant seated right at break time's end: Simhaksan

Why we chose Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap near Paju Book City

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap is a ssambap restaurant on Mt. Simhaksan near the Paju publishing complex. I'd had melon bingsu (shaved ice) at Gwailui Sup, famous for bingsu near Simhaksan, then wandered over to a nearby park near the Paju publishing complex for photos, and while looking for dinner I heard there was a famous ssambap place around Simhaksan — so off I went for dinner 😊

Inside the restaurant: waiting area and group tables

The interior of Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap is clean and spacious, which I liked,

and there's group seating too, perfect for gatherings or group trips 😉 We arrived right as break time ended, so it was pleasantly quiet,

but they sometimes close early when ingredients run out, and since it's a famous wait-list spot in Paju, there's an outdoor waiting area set up on one side,

and it's a real deal restaurant, selected for the 2025 SBS Matchelin Guide and visited by celebrities too, which raised my expectations even more +_+

Just two sets: deuljeongsik and kkotjeongsik

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap only has two menu options — deuljeongsik, made up of stir-fried pork + stir-fried squid + doenjang stew + gangdoenjang (thick fermented soybean paste) + stone-pot rice, and kkotjeongsik, which adds grilled atka mackerel and mackerel to the deuljeongsik set — so you just pick one of the two. The composition is great for the price, and there's a kids menu too, making it perfect for bringing parents and family!

Just a heads up, ordering is done by scanning a QR code haha

Pumpkin porridge, 8 side dishes, and ssam greens from the self-serve bar

First, as an appetizer, sweet pumpkin porridge and an array of neat side dishes including gangdoenjang come out all at once,

and if any side dish runs low, you can refill it at the self-serve bar,

and the ssam greens aren't provided by default at first — you bring them yourself from the self-serve bar, so just grab a little of each kind you'll actually eat ♪

The doenjang stew that came alongside was savory and delicious too, so good that you could probably finish a whole bowl of rice with just the side dishes and stew before the main even arrives~

What the deuljeongsik set for two looks like on the table

Next, the stone-pot rice arrived along with the stir-fried pork and stir-fried squid, and the spread was so generous the table practically groaned under it — I was drooling 😍

With 7 kinds of ssam greens pairing perfectly with the smoky stir-fried pork and squid, plus doenjang stew, 8 side dishes, and gangdoenjang! Everything looked so good I genuinely couldn't decide what to eat first 🤔

Even the main dishes were plated for two people and it was generous, so generous +_+

First, the freshly cooked stone-pot rice — they scoop just the rice out into a bowl,

then pour hot water into the stone pot to make sungnyung, letting it sit while we eat haha

and back to the main dishes, time to properly dig in ✌️

Smoky stir-fried pork and spicy stir-fried squid

The smoky stir-fried pork and the spicy-sauced stir-fried squid 🦑 were both excellent

I first tried a bite with just the pork on top of plain rice, and wow, it was on a completely different level from the stir-fried pork I've had at cafeteria lunches @@ I usually love pork with a good smoky char, and this hit exactly that spot ♥ I used to dislike stir-fried pork but eating this made me a fan 🤭

Since I came to a ssambap restaurant, of course I had to wrap it in a ssam too 😚

Usually I only wrap with perilla leaves and lettuce, but rotating through different types of greens one by one kept things interesting and tasted even better ♥ The seasoning wasn't too salty, just right, so piling on gangdoenjang made it taste like honey 😘

Finishing with sungnyung from the stone-pot rice

I went through the ssam greens fast wrapping and eating, so I refilled little by little and kept devouring, then came my favorite finishing move — sungnyung time ♬

The good thing about stone-pot rice is you get to end with this savory sungnyung~ It's delicious on its own, but eating it with the stir-fried pork I'd kept aside was even better 😋 Nothing from the side dishes to the main dishes was anything but delicious, so I cleaned out my whole bowl of rice and nearly burst ㅠㅠ♥

For dessert you can have old-style rice crackers, coffee, and ice cream, but I was too full so I passed on it haha

They're also running an event where you get a Ppitto scratch lottery ticket for participating in a Naver receipt review, so everyone go join and maybe become the lucky winner 🍀

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap in Paju was great for enjoying a generously filled table with ssam greens at such a good price — a place I'd love to revisit with my parents :)

There's a dedicated parking lot right in front of the restaurant