Gangneung soft tofu restaurant with corn makgeolli: Saimdang Bueok

This weekend my friends and I stayed at a pension in Gangneung, and on the way there I had lunch with Sarati at Saimdang Bueok, a Korean set meal restaurant near Ojukheon in Gangneung. Let me tell you about it.

🍽️ A great restaurant near Ojukheon in Gangneung, a choedang sundubu Korean set meal spot with a full table: 'Saimdang Bueok'

Saimdang Bueok hours, parking, and how far it is from Ojukheon

Saimdang Bueok is located at 6 Jukheon-gil 85beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea, 1st floor, and it opens daily at 10:30am and closes at 8pm (last order 7:15pm). It's open year-round except on major holidays, and it will be closed on the upcoming Chuseok holiday, September 25.

• 📍Group-friendly
• 📍Reservations available
• 📍Separate men's/women's restrooms
• 📍Wheelchair-accessible entrance and restroom
• 📍Free parking

Saimdang Bueok is about 15 minutes by car from Gangneung Station and about 10 minutes from the Gangneung intercity bus terminal. There's a dedicated lot right in front of the building, and it's spacious enough to park without any worry.

Saimdang Bueok is easy to reach from Gangneung's major tourist spots — Ojukheon, the Hanok Village stay, Gyeongpo Lake, Arte Museum Gangneung, Yeongjin Beach, and Choedang Sundubu Village are all only 10-15 minutes away, so it's a convenient stop on your Gangneung sightseeing route haha

Saimdang Bueok is a white building that shares the same building as Gangneung Maetdeurin Haejangguk. We parked and headed inside.

You can park right in front of the building, and the lot is spacious enough for comfortable parking. There's also a separate space for large buses, apparently :)

Inside Saimdang Bueok: seating and set meal prices

Outside there are 4-top and 8-top tables — I couldn't get photos since there were group customers around, but there's also a room inside for families and groups.

I visited during lunch hour and the place was fairly full, so I couldn't take as many photos as I wanted, but I got a few shots of the interior. Each table orders via a tablet.

Saimdang Bueok's signature menu items are ☝🏻 the Ojukheon table (₩14,000 per person) ✌🏻 the Saimdang table (₩19,000 per person) 🤟🏻 and the Yulgok table (₩35,000 per person).

What three friends ordered: three Saimdang tables and corn makgeolli

There were three of us today, and we ordered the Saimdang table + choedang sundubu (₩19,000 per person) x3 and a bottle of Saimdang corn makgeolli (₩4,000) :) The Saimdang table's basic side dishes were set out first.

Got a shot of the Saimdang corn makgeolli too :)

The three of us happily filled our glasses — except the sad part is that Sarati drove, so she couldn't drink here. (Honestly, I drank it all.)

What comes with the Saimdang table, and choosing sundubu or miyeok-guk

The Saimdang table comes with 12 basic side dishes plus japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), steamed scallops, spicy stir-fried pork, and grilled fish, and you can choose either choedang sundubu (soft tofu) or miyeok-guk (seaweed soup).

All three of us chose choedang sundubu, and the table came out absolutely full.

I took a shot from above and yes, the table really was full, just like in the photo.

Handmade tofu and the kimchi we refilled three times

They said the tofu was handmade, and it had that homemade taste — really delicious. We each took a bite and gave it a thumbs up 👍🏼

They also said they make kimchi fresh every day, and it was so good we ended up refilling it three times. The kimchi really is excellent.

Grilled hairtail and flounder at Saimdang Bueok

We got two kinds of fish — hairtail and flounder — and they were both so good that the three of us dug in without much talking. The flounder was especially great, in my opinion!

The fish looked fresh, and the flesh and flavor were both great.

One more shot of the hairtail ~

Was the spicy stir-fried pork too salty?

The spicy stir-fried pork was a bit more seasoned than the other dishes, but it went great with rice haha

Wrapping the pork in boiled cabbage was exactly right.

After lunch: 15 minutes to Yeongjin Beach

After eating at Saimdang Bueok, we headed to Yeongjin Beach, about 15 minutes away, to walk off our full stomachs. We spent a nice time there watching the sea and walking a bit.

Saimdang Bueok is a Korean set meal restaurant near Ojukheon in Gangneung where you can enjoy a comfortable meal of carefully prepared, home-cooking style food. It seems like a great spot to visit with family, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good Korean restaurant in Gangneung.