Pohang seafood restaurant with unlimited self bar: Ppwang Mulhoe

I went for mulhoe (cold raw-fish soup), but Ppwang Mulhoe’s self bar was so extensive I wondered if it was a salad bar!

I went to Pohang, the city of the sea—and surely you have to eat raw fish there, right?! So, we decided on mulhoe, and this was the place!

Naver made me mad by auto-completing it as “Pohang mulhoe,” but this is the place whose self-bar selection totally won me over!

Ppwang Mulhoe A seafood restaurant everyone can enjoy!

Address. 1F, 203 Haean-ro, Buk-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea Hours. Mon–Sun 10:30–22:00 Last order. 21:00

Ppwang Mulhoe restaurant and parking lot

We drove over. The parking lot was pretty pleasant too!

Parking complete! Let’s head inside!

The “unlimited self bar” sign above the entrance really catches your eye! Honestly, at this point I wasn’t expecting much from it!

So what was the restaurant like?! There were plenty of seats, and it felt quite comfortable!

It is large enough that coming as a group should be no problem.

We picked seats where we could see the self bar well, haha.

Ordering Ppwang Mulhoe and Half-and-Half Mulhoe

At our table, we ordered the Ppwang Mulhoe and the Half-and-Half Mulhoe.

Basic table setting

Once you sit down, they give you a bottle of water, and there are paper cups, simple sauces, and tissues at the table. Most importantly, every seat has its own kiosk!

What is at the unlimited self bar?

We headed to the self bar I hadn’t expected much from.

There was a proper tray of tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). When a self bar has tteokbokki, it can be a real hit-or-miss situation, right?! Here, it had a safe, classic market-style tteokbokki flavor that nobody would dislike! There was also loads of eomuk (fish cake), so it didn’t feel lacking at all. With a budget setup, it could have been all rice cakes, but the fish cake made up a big share without us even having to hunt for it!

And fried snacks! I was so happy to see my beloved gim-mari (seaweed-wrapped glass-noodle fritters), and even happier that there were chili sauce and sweet-and-spicy fried-chicken sauce for dipping, depending on your taste!

And the stir-fried shredded potatoes that I loved so much!!! The one on the left is ham, and the one on the right is shredded potatoes. The side-dish lineup may change each time you visit, but...

...it was varied enough that I think it could satisfy most people. From the far left here: seasoned seaweed, stir-fried eggplant, and stir-fried fish cake.

There were lots of little side dishes, including kimchi! They also had somyeon (thin wheat noodles) that you could refill as much as you wanted, and I loved being able to eat noodles without holding back!!! (I had two portions of somyeon, hehe.)

There were plenty of sauces to suit your taste too, so you can totally DIY your mulhoe exactly how you like it!

What moved me most was the squid soup!

It wasn’t just that there was enough squid—they put in an incredible amount!

I poured myself a steaming bowl and dug in properly! I also loaded up nicely on side dishes, right?!

Mulhoe, from mixed style to noodles and rice

While we were enjoying the self bar, the mulhoe arrived. The Ppwang Mulhoe had three kinds of seafood! I loved the fresh flavor from the sea squirt and sea cucumber!

The Half-and-Half Mulhoe came with squid and flounder. If you are not keen on the oceanic aroma of sea squirt and sea cucumber, a mulhoe with this combination could be a good choice!

We only ordered mulhoe, but a generous full spread was complete!

Even the bunsik (casual Korean snack foods) made me happy, I’m telling you?!

A separate bowl of broth packed with finely shaved ice was provided, so you can enjoy the mulhoe in different ways according to your preference!

The kiosk explains how to enjoy it deliciously: mix it first! Make use of the self bar! Add noodles, then mix in rice for a filling finish. Let’s try it in that order?!

First, I mixed it up simply with nothing extra added. There were so many vegetables, so every bite had plenty of crunch!

Next, I brought over some Cheongyang chili peppers and wasabi.

It was so refreshing with the broth poured in too—I thought it would have felt like heaven if we had come on an even hotter day!

Adding the noodles and eating it—yes, this is the taste!!!

Mixing in rice is a special treat too! I recommend Ppwang Mulhoe, a great mulhoe spot near Yeongildae in Pohang, made even more satisfying by its well-stocked self bar 🤗