Gyeongju Korean restaurant: grilled fish, abalone rice—Handa Sot

Daereungwon Media Art was running from September 4 through 27, and I had seen it before with Gogi Jangin. Since my mom and dad had never seen it, we suddenly decided to head to Gyeongju for them.

Handa Sot Gyeongju location and hours

Location: 111 Cheomseong-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk Hours: Daily 10:30–21:00 Last order: 20:00

My mom has such particular tastes, so once we arrived at Hwangridan-gil, we wondered what to eat. Then we decided on Handa Sot, a Gyeongju Hwangridan-gil Korean set-meal place I had visited with a younger friend a few months earlier.

Handa Sot, a popular Hwangridan-gil restaurant, had a clean, upscale atmosphere where Gyeongju's distinctive hanok (traditional Korean house) feel blended with modern interiors. It seemed good for dates and popular with parents and family groups, too.

A meal at a second-floor tumulus-view seat

It was just before dinner, so the second floor was not open yet. But I thought my mom and dad would enjoy eating while looking at the burial mounds, so I asked, and they opened it for us. When you go up the outdoor stairs, there is a sign that says “Bapsim” (“the power of rice”).

I could not get the best seat last time, but this time we sat somewhere with a full view of the tumuli. If it had been a bright, sunny day, the green mound view would have been really lovely.

The place next door seemed to be under construction last time too, but it still was not operating. The second floor does not have a separate kitchen; they send the food up in a food elevator.

Ordering the wood-fired grilled fish set and abalone pot rice

We decided to order the two-person wood-fired grilled fish set. Since it was for two people, we decided to order pot rice separately. The grilled fish comes with pot rice too, but you can change the basic option to abalone or another type of pot rice. We ordered the basic pot rice for now, but for a few thousand won more, you can have abalone, pork belly, and other toppings cooked right into the pot rice, which seemed nice.

We also ordered one true abalone pot rice. My mom does not really like pot rice with meat in it, so we went with the abalone pot rice.

They give you a Cheonhyehyang juice with a Naver receipt review. It is freshly squeezed Cheonhyehyang citrus juice, and I had tried it before—it was tasty.

It would have been prettier if the sky had been clearer, but it was cloudy all day, which was a shame. They gave us two water jugs as well: one for drinking and one for pouring into the pot rice.

There were also high chairs set up off to one side, so it seemed fine to bring children.

Neat side dishes and pot rice

Before the pot rice arrived, they brought out the banchan (Korean side dishes). There were around eight of them. As you would expect from a good Korean set-meal restaurant, they were plated so neatly. The lotus root with black sesame sauce was so delicious.

Each person also got a bowl of miyeokguk (seaweed soup). Some places taste only of raw seaweed, but this one did not, which I liked.

They also served abalone innards sauce for dipping the abalone from the pot rice. It had a slight innards-and-cheese flavor.

The true abalone pot rice had so much abalone. It was spread all across the top of the rice, so you could not see a single grain. It was not fishy, and the texture was soft and lovely.

My dad and I had the plain pot rice, and even without any toppings, rice cooked in a pot really does seem to have a richer, nuttier flavor.

Crispy wood-fired grilled fish and scorched rice

The grilled fish included hairtail, Spanish mackerel, and mackerel. The mackerel especially was cooked to just the crispness I like. Since it was grilled in a wood-fired oven, it felt different from fish cooked in a frying pan or air fryer. It was thoroughly grilled in the wood-fired oven, crisp outside and moist inside.

The nurungji (scorched rice) made by pouring water into the pot rice was delicious too. We ate until we were full, then walked briskly over to see Daereungwon Media Art. The woodegalbi pot rice looked so good visually—I should try the premium beef rib option next time I am at Hwangridan-gil.