Weekday afternoon eel and pork BBQ with dad in Siheung: Songnim Bok

Straight to the eel restaurant the day we flew back from Fukuoka

The moment we landed back in Korea from Fukuoka — Dad: I want eel. Me: I want pork belly. So we went looking for an eel restaurant lol Wait, didn't I just feed you eel rice bowl?? Again?????

And then I found Songnim Bok Jangeo, which does unlimited freshwater eel PLUS pork belly AND dad's favorite chicken neck!! Everything we wanted, how could we resist. Ugh, my stomach stretched out in Japan so now I can even handle all-you-can-eat;;

The Siheung Baegot branch happened to be on the way home, so we drove straight there from Incheon Airport. Hadn't even had lunch and it was already 3pm so we were starving... but it was nice crossing the Incheondaegyo Bridge again after a while. Wait, why is Korea hotter than Japan?;;;;

Where to park? Free underground parking

You can park in the building's basement — huge and free!!! Park, take the elevator up to the first floor, and

Ta-da, here it is?!!! Unlimited domestic Japonica freshwater eel for just ₩29,900 .. You know how expensive regular eel restaurants are, right?ㅠㅠ The value here is insane

Steaming pot rice available too!

The 3pm vibe and menu

Went at 3pm, an awkward time for a meal, so it was empty lol. The interior is huge too. There's group seating so it'd be good for a work dinner. Lots of menu options — eel, pork belly, chicken neck and more — so you can grill whatever you want; totally doable. Can't eat eel? Just eat pork belly ~

Unlimited refills are ₩29,900 per adult, FYI there's a table setting fee. Turns out you can also order takeout??? Per my eel-sommelier dad, it's good enough to take home.

And of course, the health benefits of eel — wouldn't be complete without mentioning them. Time limit for the unlimited refill is 2 hours ~ Definitely read the sign on how to grill eel properly too. My dad, who's terrible at grilling meat, is somehow the only thing he's good at grilling = eel. He's so bad at grilling meat that mom used to nag him, and now she's just given up and grills it herself lol lolㅠㅠ

Eel, pork belly, and neck meat all together at the self-bar

For extra side dishes, use the self-bar?!!! This self-bar has eel, pork belly, and neck meat all together. I noticed some days the chicken neck is served as duck neck instead. Might be worth asking before you go ~

But honestly, the quality of the meat and eel was better than I expected. You don't usually expect much quality from an all-you-can-eat place, right?? But surprisingly, the quality was pretty solid;;

They have lots of alcohol options too, but since I was driving, I switched to water instead. Some kind of hutgae (raisin tree) or barley tea water — actually great

They give you a bottle of bokbunja for leaving a Naver receipt review, which — ughhhhh, such a shame. Should've paired it with the eel. Seems like they give it even if you just sign up for alerts ~ how could I resist

From the first plate to the side dishes

The first plate comes out like this, and after that you just go to the self-bar and grab as much as you want.

Ginger, perilla leaves, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), pickled onions — the side dishes are solid too. Think I ate like two plates of ginger alone lol. They've got eel sauce, salt, pepper, sesame oil, everything. Oh, there's even a commendation plaque, guessing they do charity work

The heat on the grill here is seriously good, so everything cooks perfectly. The eel is huge too, and the meat color looked great;;

Lolololol and my favorite part — the bottle opener, so my style;;; I want to open all my beer bottles with this

As expected of an eel-grilling master, dad led the way. But he was so focused on the eel he couldn't grill the meat, so we split it half and half lol ugh

Ahh that lazy 3pm sunlight ~ so happy grilling eel on a weekday afternoon. Good lighting too .. good mood too ..

Pork belly and chicken neck that don't taste like all-you-can-eat quality

Ahh, perfectly grilled. I honestly got dizzy from wanting to eat it so badly the whole time it was cooking.

Sniff, going in for the first bite. I'm a pork belly person so pork belly first ~

Wait, the quality really isn't all-you-can-eat quality!?!!! Genuinely chewy and delicious .. especially wrapped with this perilla leaf, absolute bliss.

Grilled the baek-kimchi too, topped it with a cheongyang chili, ate it with kimchi, wrapped it in lettuce .. and the chicken neck, why is it so tender?!! No way

For eel, this is still an eel restaurant

Everything tastes good no matter how you eat it .. but this really is an eel restaurant through and through. The eel is genuinely plump .. and once the fat renders out, dip it in ginger plus eel sauce?? Instantly calls for soju

Quickly refilled lolololol. Can't let the momentum die, you know. If this were a regular BBQ place, imagine how much this would all cost ~

Personally, my number one is wrapping it in perilla leaf ㅠㅠ Ahh no way, we went through four plates. Feels like my stomach expanded from the Japan trip lol. It's so good it just keeps going in ㅠ

Dad's verdict: This place's eel is excellent. Better than the eel we had in Japan. Bigger, no fishy smell, chewy and delicious

??? Wait, I booked that eel rice bowl spot in Japan FOR dad, kind of hurt now;

A mid-meal refresh: bibim makguksu

Partway through, we also ordered bibim makguksu (spicy cold buckwheat noodles) as a refresher?!!! Wow, ordered it spicy and got broth with ice cubes floating in it, nice touch

Mixed it up nicely, ahh looks so good

Tastes great with the meat too, and even better if you pour the broth in. This is exactly the flavor ..... tangy and savory, off the charts. Immediately got another plate to reset my palate

Ahh, and wrapping meat with this baek-kimchi on top is so good too. A restaurant that'll satisfy both eel lovers and pork belly lovers, yes

Dad said he was full and went to the restroom, but I stubbornly grilled one more piece of pork belly by myself. Delicious to the very last bite ....

A minor drawback and the final service

Worth noting the origin info, FYI ~ The restroom being outside was a bit of a downside, though I didn't need to go lol. Usually when I bring the princess along, she always photographs the restroom for me ㅠ Miss you, restroom guy!!

They gave us scorched rice as a service at checkout too lolol. Wow, I ate so much I nearly fell asleep driving. Ahhhhh, why isn't there a place like this near Gangdong. Dad would've gone every week honestly;; A satisfying find for dad after a long time. Heard there's one in Ansan too, gotta go again with the princess next time.