Gijang Chilam, located in the upper part of Busan, is originally famous for its conger eel called Anago. There's a separate alley for conger eel sashimi. However, as Chilam has recently emerged as a hot attraction around a cafe called Chilamsagye, various restaurant as well as conger eel sashimi are emerging. Among them, I went to Manjang, which is famous for pot rice.
It shared a parking lot with Chilam Sagye, so it was good to be able to park spacious and leisurely. It was also impressive that the staff came out and guided me as soom as I parked. I was guided to the sear on the second floor of the building.
They serve teas and bellflower roots before the food is served. It's a dish that's boiled down balloon flower in honey and dipped in soybean powder, and this makes you feel like you're being treated. The chewy taste was also good, so my son asked me to refill it twice. (Actually, it's not refillable, but my child ate it so well.) I asked if they sell bellflower roots, but they told me where to buy it. I was surprised because there was little bit expensive after searching it.
I thought they are preparing an appetizer that much.
There are three types of rice cooked in a pot, and there is a slight difference in price.
Charcoal-grilled freshwater eel(Soy sauce, Red pepper paste) 300g: 37,000 won / 500g: 55,000 won
Hot Pot Rice with freshwater eel Hot Pot Rice 24,000 won
Abalone Hot Pot Rice 19,000 won
Black Ungus Fanmeat Hot Pot Rice 17,000 won
But now that I've come all the way here, I thought I had to try the famous eel in Chilam. However, they use freshwater eel instead of conger eel caught off the coast of Chilam. It's a similar 'eel', so it could be confusing enough. Please note that it's not the conger from Chilam.
Pot rice is served seperately in different types, and individual side dishes are served one by one on a tray. In fact, it's a side dish that you can share as much as you want in Korea, but it looks cleaner and tidy when it's served separately.
Pot rice comes with a name plate on top one by one, but it's not fixed, so it slides off when you open the lid. You should be careful that much, but wooden plaques are also very pretty.
This is Black Ungus Fanmeat Hot Pot Rice. Finishing with black angus fanmeat, chives, garlic flakes and egg yolks! The colors are so pretty, too.
This is Charcoal-grilled freshwater eel Hot Pot Rice. It has two colored eggs. I'm not sure if it's a different kind of egg or the same egg colored in a different color, but when you rub it with rice, it's slightly cooked and the popping texture is fun. I didn't feel that the eel was very thick and strong, but it didn't feel poor.
This is Abalone Hot Pot Rice. Abalone Hot Pot rice comes with abalone entrails sauce. It has sliced abalone, so there's a lot of abalone in it. But I really like abalone, so I ate it deliciously. The amount of rice in the pot is not a lot, but I feel full after finishing the rice and eating Nurungji.(It's Korean treditional food that you pour water on burnt rice inside of Hot Pot.)
I personally thought that the taste was not stimulating as a whole and that it was a little bland. However, I could adjust the sauce and mix it, and it dind't feel insufficient because there were side dishes. Especially, I felt like I was treated to a healthy Korean table setting because I was tamed by spicy and salty food.
The children ate well, but there were a lot of tables with their parents. The sea was not fully visible from the second floor seat, but it is a perfect course to take a walk after eating with adults.
