Yeonsu-gu Restaurant Story
Shake off Spring Fever with the Hot Flavor
of the Webfoot Octopus Songjjujip
Webfoot octopus caught in the spring is perfect for waking up a sluggish body.
Webfoot octopus is rich in taurine, a type of essential amino acid, so it is great for recovering from fatigue.
Located in Songdo-dong, ‘Songjjujip’ is a restaurant that reinterprets webfoot octopus in a new way.
The popular dishes of ‘Songjjujip’ are its lunch menu, grilled dishes, and alssam (fish roe wraps) sets. The lunch menu allows visitors to enjoy a whole lot of webfoot octopuses for around 7,000 KRW. While other webfoot octopus restaurants pursue a tingling spiciness, ‘Songjjujip’ is loved for its secret sauce, which dissipates the hotness inside the mouth. Foreigners make up about 10% of the visitors, so the restaurant has developed a ‘white sauce’ which softens the heat. Made with tartar sauce and other secret ingredients, the ‘white sauce’ is popular with children and foreigners who are not used to such hot food.
‘Jukkumi sarimongttang’ is a dish with webfoot octopus, rice cake, and vegetables on top of un-marinated pork loin, and it is another favorite of the restaurant. At ‘Songjjujip,’ a caldron lid is used instead of a metal plate to evenly cook the food and prevent burning or scorching. Webfoot octopus marinated in a secret seasoning made with eight medicinal herbs stimulates the appetite with its moderate spiciness.
“Place the webfoot octopus, laver, and bean sprout on the back of the sesame leaf. Then, dip it in the ‘white sauce’ and enjoy.” Following the directions of president Lee Bet-san, the aroma of the sesame leaves became stronger as the coarse side of the leaf smoothens out. The ‘white sauce’ softens the heat giving the webfoot octopus a clean taste as it fills up the mouth. The bean sprouts that came out as a side dish were crispy, and the steamed egg heaping out of the earthenware pot was light and delicious.
Once upon a time, the young president Lee Bet-san fell in love with webfoot octopus. Even before they got married, Mr. and Mrs. Lee studied the webfoot octopus dishes together, and changed them to create the flavor it is today. The menu began with only grilled dishes but has expanded to include an alssam set, where webfoot octopus is wrapped together with fish roe, a lunch menu, where webfoot octopus is served with steamed rice, webfoot octopus & pork loin which supplements with protein, and grilled bibimbap.
“We are still developing new dishes. It is our job to find the very best tastes for webfoot octopus, ones that can duly impress the visitors.” President Lee said that his management philosophy is to make a ‘restaurant that impresses the visitors.’
He also said his dream is to impress visitors with excellent tastes and service. Although he successfully opened one branch, he has no plans for further expansion because he wishes to focus on providing quality service to the visitors. His early years were quite rough, which motivates him to generously share his knowhow with youths who want to learn the secret of making good webfoot octopus dishes. Currently, he is handing down his secret to Kim Seong-min (age: 31) who is working in the kitchen.
Mr. Lee Bet-san is a man who eats raw Cheongyang red peppers (notorious for their pungency) to distinguish their tastes and control their heat. He is also a man who eats webfoot octopus three times a day to find the best taste. In his webfoot octopus dish, he combines a ‘seasoning’ called ‘love for food’ and an ‘ingredient’ called ‘respect for visitors’ for a truly fantastic chemistry.
Songdo-dong Jukkumijip (Songjjujip)
2nd floor, Sejin Plaza 2-cha, Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon
Phone: 032)833-7892
Opening hours: 11 a.m.~11 p.m.
After enjoying the meal, show the receipt to Cafe Urban to receive a 20% discount on beverages (valid just for that day).
