Fish and Chilli Pork @ Pishon, Seongsan-ri, Seogwipo, Jeju-do

Jeju is an island with many fascinating natural wonders. With caves, waterfalls and mountains galore, you tend to move out and about quite alot. And with the torrential rain hitting us from time to time, you bet that a big appetite is brewing. Straight out from spelunking Manjanggul Lava Tube, a good lunch is needed before we proceed to more caves and hiking.

Front of the house

 And midway through our drive to Seongsan Peak, we stumbled upon Pishon. It is a humble looking diner and it tucked away in Seongsan-ri. What piqued my interest was the various endorsements of the place from all over the world pasted on its walls. If so many people have tried it and say it is good, it has to be right?

Talk about free advertising

The first dish we ordered is a no brainer of spicy pork, as pork is a trademark live stock of Jeju. To complete the meal, we also ordered a grilled mackerel and kimchi jjigae soup. What then appeared on our table for 3 was a simple but very satisfying meal.

Lunch is served

The pork was executed well. Seasoned with alot of gochujang, it was cooked with alot of Welsh onions and peppers. It was sweet, savoury and spicy. The pork was robust and what came on the plate was mostly pork belly, although I did encounter some strips of shoulder meat. A liberal sprinkle of sesame gave the dish a deep and woody fragrance. Definitely a great antidote for the cold day. It goes well with rice too. That juggernaut was ₩15,000.

Such a delicious piece of meat.

Not to be outdone was the mackerel. And as of to date, the best grilled fish dish I have ever had in my life. The fish was just cooked perfectly. The meat flakes off easily but it is not too soft. It is lightly seasoned with some salt and a bit of oil. As such, you can really taste the sweetness of the fish.

This fish proves to show that perfection does not have to be pretty.

It was extremely fishy in terms of aroma in a good way. More of like having the ocean run in your mouth and not the foul smell when your cod liver oil capsule prematurely pops before you swallow. Again, great with rice. And that experience was ₩13,000 a plate.

Simple and warming.

The kimchi soup was a great finishing touch, although not as flavourful as the initial 2 dishes. Still, it was able to keep us warm for a few hours. But being priced at ₩7,000, it is not too bad really. Not to be outdone were the banchan dishes that followed, which was simple but good. The ones that stood out were the quail eggs and pickled chilies.

A photo with my parents. 

Simple but warming, Pishon is a place worth recommending. With great food such as what we had, it is no surprised that many would endorse it. And it has my endorsement too. So if you are somewhere in Seongsan-ri, do take note of this humble establishment. The address is as follows:

228-13 Seongsan-ri, Seongsan-eup, 
Seogwipo, Jeju-do, South Korea