Pohang mulhoe restaurant with squid soup: Ppwang Mulhoe

Ppwang Mulhoe, in Pohang's mulhoe district packed with mulhoe restaurants, sits right in front of the Yeongildae Beach promenade, so it is very easy to reach. With seafood-loaded mulhoe and a neat self-service bar, I left very satisfied.

Ppwang Mulhoe location, hours, and parking

Ppwang Mulhoe is at 203-1 Haean-ro in Buk-gu, Pohang. Inrebeu and BHC are nearby.

Its fresh-looking exterior makes it easy to spot.

• Hours: 10:30–22:00
• Last order: 21:00
• There is no particular closing day, so it is a good place to visit over long weekends and public holidays, too.
• Parking in front of the restaurant is very congested and practically difficult, so I recommend parking at nearby Dumuchi Public Parking Lot and walking over.
• The restaurant is spacious with quick table turnover, so waits are not long. We went at 2 p.m. and got straight in without waiting.

Inside, with a view of Yeongildae Sea

The moment I opened the door, the interior immediately caught my eye—it was clearly different from a typical raw-fish restaurant. The bright lighting, table and chair layout, and even the cleanliness from floor to ceiling put me in a good mood as soon as I walked in.

Best of all, one entire wall is made of floor-to-ceiling windows, framing the blue Yeongildae roadside trees and the sea. Total healing~ Being able to take in the refreshing ocean while eating was healing itself. No wonder the window seats were popular.

Each table has a smart tablet ordering system, so it was really convenient to check the menu photos and take my time ordering what I wanted. It is a lovely restaurant for dates or family meals, and there are high chairs, so you can bring a baby too~ There are private rooms as well. Even better when you are visiting on a trip~

A self-service bar you can use freely

The self-service bar is neatly arranged in refrigerated display cases to keep everything fresh, with tidy basic side dishes ready for you to take and enjoy freely, without feeling self-conscious~

And the distinctive hidden treat here was the piping-hot ojingeo-guk (squid soup) kept in a warmer! Before, or in between bites of, the refreshing sweet-and-spicy mulhoe, a spoonful of warm, savory squid soup made my stomach feel settled and wonderfully full. It was a thoughtful touch for diners~

The signature Ppwang Mulhoe

Ppwang Mulhoe specializes in squid mulhoe, so there are lots of menu items with squid in them, including many mulhoe options. There is also a spotted flounder mulhoe without squid. Since this is a squid mulhoe specialist, we ordered the signature Ppwang Mulhoe, which includes squid!

At last, Ppwang Mulhoe, the day's main dish and signature menu item, arrived. The lavish seafood presentation in a weighty, upscale brass bowl made quite an entrance! Chewy abalone with an incredible bite, crunchy sea cucumber, sea squirt with its pleasantly bitter ocean aroma, and bouncy slices of raw squid were piled in generously, with no empty space in sight.

How to enjoy Ppwang Mulhoe

Mix it first with the gochujang sauce

Do not add lots of broth from the start. First, thoroughly mix the special gochujang (red chili paste) sauce already on top with the seafood and crisp vegetables, then enjoy it like hoe-muchim (seasoned raw fish salad)! You can really taste the ingredients' freshness and deep savoriness. If you like hoe-deopbap (raw fish rice bowl), you can mix rice into it and eat it just like that, too.

Add semi-frozen broth and somyeon

Once you have enjoyed the ingredients' natural flavor for a while, pour in the cool semi-frozen broth that comes with it, adding as much as you like. Its sweet-and-tangy, chest-clearing chill maximizes the flavor. I added somyeon (thin wheat noodles) first; you can take as much somyeon as you want from the self-service bar~

Finish heartily with a bowl of rice

After picking out and eating the seafood and raw fish, add the included bowl of rice and give it a good mix for the classic way to finish mulhoe. The mix of so many seafood textures popping in the mouth with the spicy, tangy, sweet sauce was so wonderful that I was impressed right through the last bite. For anyone visiting in search of good mulhoe in Duho-dong, I think this would be a thoroughly satisfying meal worth every bit of it.

My honest review

• Mulhoe enjoyed while looking out through floor-to-ceiling windows
• A substantial signature Ppwang Mulhoe bowl bringing together abalone, squid, sea cucumber, and sea squirt
• Very fresh seafood in the mulhoe
• A tidy self-service bar and unlimited warm squid soup with a deep, flavorful broth