Rice bowl mix-in with mild-spice octopus stir-fry at Obongjip, Gangnam

Right across from COEX: Obongjip Samseong Branch

Went out to Samseong for some fresh air after a while~ Wandered around and got hungry, so I looked up good restaurants near Samseong Station and ended up at Obongjip (오봉집)!

I remember eating well at another branch of Obongjip before, and it turned out there's a location right in front of COEX~~ Perfect spot to grab a meal after hanging around COEX, so I went straight in.

Atmosphere and seating

The interior is clean overall with quite a lot of tables! Further inside there are more tables toward the back, and that area is set off like a slightly separate space, which looked good for groups. Makes sense that it'd be popular for office dinners or group gatherings too!

What we ordered: fire-grilled octopus stir-fry (2 servings) + small pork jowl bossam

When people think of Obongjip they usually go for the Obongjip Special — bossam with squid stir-fry or octopus stir-fry plus makguksu (buckwheat noodles) — but that day I was really craving rice over noodles lol. So we ordered fire-grilled octopus stir-fry for two plus a small pork jowl bossam! The octopus stir-fry lets you adjust the spice level, and we went with the basic (mild) option first!

Side dishes: refill at the self-serve bar

As expected, Obongjip's side dishes come out generously right away~~ I'm a sausage fanatic so spotting the stir-fried Vienna sausages made me so happy... If you run low, you can refill as much as you want at the self-serve bar on one side of the restaurant, which is basically a jackpot for a big eater like me.

How's the pork jowl bossam?

First up... the pork jowl (gabrisal) bossam! It looked tender just from the look of it, and taking a bite confirmed it — genuinely soft. The fat-to-lean ratio on gabrisal is just right, so it's not too greasy but not dry either, exactly the perfect balance! It's chewy in a good way with savory juices that come through, tasty enough to eat plain.

Still, bossam has to be eaten with bossam kimchi to be truly complete... Putting a slice of kimchi on a piece of pork, the spicy kimchi flavor goes so well with the meat. No tough or dry bits at all, just soft enough that you want to keep eating endlessly.

Fire-grilled octopus stir-fry, real char flavor

And now today's main event, the fire-grilled octopus stir-fry! Loaded with plump octopus and various vegetables, and the moment it arrived, that smoky char aroma hit properly. The octopus comes cut into easy bite-sized pieces~~

Taking a bite, the octopus isn't chewy in a tough way — it's springy, and the seasoning is spot on. Not just spicy for the sake of it, but a good balance of sweet and spicy with that smoky char aroma drifting up, perfect to eat with rice!

The highlight: mixing it in a big bowl

And the real highlight of this octopus stir-fry is mixing it into rice. Pile the octopus stir-fry, bean sprouts, and seaweed flakes generously on top of the rice served in a big bowl, drizzle sesame oil over it~ mix it all together and take a big bite... straight to heaven. The chewy octopus texture, the crunch of the bean sprouts, the nuttiness of the seaweed flakes, plus the aroma of sesame oil — a whole bowl of rice disappears in no time.

How mild is the mild spice level, for a spice-wimp?

As someone who can't handle spicy food, the mild (basic) level seemed fine at first, but the heat built up gradually as I kept eating. So taking a spoonful of seaweed soup in between calms the spice right down, letting you go back in for more octopus stir-fry lol.

Wrap-up

If you're craving rice, I recommend the bossam plus octopus stir-fry combo — the portions are pretty generous, and the two of us left completely full! The octopus stir-fry is delicious even on its own, but mixing it into rice with bean sprouts, seaweed flakes, and a drizzle of sesame oil is seriously good, so anyone who loves rice will definitely be into it lol.

Being right in front of COEX makes it a great spot to grab a meal when you're hungry after hanging out in Samseong, and the portions overall are generous enough for a filling meal on their own. Obongjip, with its bossam and octopus stir-fry combo, would also make a great pairing with drinks — if you're looking for somewhere near Samseong Station to eat and have a drink, this is a solid recommendation... definitely go check it out.