Mokpo city is a gastronomic city that proclaimed itself as the 'Capital of Taste' for the first time in South Korea in 2019. As a crossroads where the South Sea and the Yeongsangang River meet, and a gateway where the sea and inland meet, Mokpo gathers all kinds of seafood freshly caught from the clean South Sea and tidal flats. It's said that the 'Mokpo 9 Flavors' cooked with local specialties including well-known octopus, skate, croaker, crab, cutlassfish, butter fish, grunt, blackmouth angler, and rockfish are exceptional. Among them, the butter fish, which even holds a festival in Mokpo during its peak season in early summer, is said to taste best when eaten directly at its place of origin. Let's go and experience the special taste of butter fish firsthand.

In Mokpo, you can find plenty of restaurants selling butter fish sashimi or steamed butter fish. The restaurant we visited this time is also recognized as a 'top-rated restaurant' in Mokpo city. As soon as you see the glass door saying 'We only handle fresh seafood', you instantly believe, 'This restaurant, too, is a proud top-rated restaurant'.

Occasionally, you'll see signboards and menus where butter fish is written as 'Deokja', which is actually the same kind of fish. butter fish is a popular fish not only in Korea but also worldwide, and most of the butter fish currently distributed in Korea is wild-caught. Of course, there are imported butter fish, but since they are frozen, they are not suitable for sashimi, and fresh refrigerated butter fish can only be obtained in our country. butter fish has two peak seasons in summer and winter, and summer butter fish preparing for spawning between May and August are consumed the most, so butter fish festivals are held in Mokpo during this time. The real delicacy of butter fish is thinly sliced raw fish that has not been frozen. If you want to taste the chewy raw fish, it's best to taste it in Mokpo, its place of origin!

Before the main butter fish sashimi comes out, you are comforted with hot seaweed soup. Various kimchis, salted seafood, seaweed, and other basic side dishes are served, but what catches the eye the most are the fresh lettuce wraps and soybean paste.

And finally, the appearance of butter fish sashimi! The sight of long slices of fish on smooth, shiny, silver-white scales and ivory-colored flesh is somewhat unfamiliar yet mouth-watering. Usually, butter fish sashimi is dipped in soybean paste and eaten on top of hot rice, or wrapped in lettuce with rice. Having never eaten butter fish sashimi in its place of origin before, I had high expectations, and the taste did not disappoint! It's not fishy at all, and the flesh is moderately firm yet chewy, and the more you chew, the richer it becomes. Especially, the 'belly fat', which is said to be the most precious part of the fish, was so tender that it melted in the mouth as soon as you put it in, making it regrettable that it disappeared so quickly.

In the past, butter fish was a precious fish that was served on the king's table. I read a column that said, 'Eating butter fish as sashimi tastes buttery and milky, braised butter fish is endlessly tender, and grilled butter fish melts in your mouth.' If such a delicious and precious fish is this good, it will undoubtedly be delicious no matter how you eat it! Having tasted the precious raw fish, I became curious about the taste of steamed butter fish. So, I set out once again to eat steamed butter fish!

As expected, passing through the entrance, which is certified as a 'top restaurant' with various stickers and signboards, I enter the inside. It seemed that the grunt marinated in spicy sauce, one of the 'Mokpo 9 Flavors', was also a representative menu of this restaurant, as I saw tables enjoying it along with the steamed dish. I ordered one of the steamed butter fish dishes and waited with anticipation while the side dishes were neatly set. Let me tell you in advance, this 'bracken' among the side dishes played a significant role!

Finally, the steamed butter fish, boiling in a pot, unfolds before my eyes, and the pleasant spicy scent stimulates my olfactory senses first. The visual of the steamed butter fish with thick fish meat in large pieces makes my mouth water. If the texture was chewy when eaten as sashimi, eating it steamed offers a unique texture that is firm yet soft. It's good to eat rice soaked in moderately spicy and tangy soup, and the taste of well-cooked radish, potatoes, and other vegetables is also excellent! Above all, as I mentioned earlier, adding bracken was like a 'stroke of genius', as the bracken cooked roundly tasted really special when chewed softly with butter fish meat, so much so that I added more of the bracken side dish and ate it! The taste of putting butter fish meat, potatoes, radish, and bracken on rice and dipping it in homemade soup...! The spooning doesn't stop, captivated by the taste of steamed butter fish that melts smoothly in the mouth.

Butter fish is rich in nutrition, low in fat, and easy to digest, making it very good for the recovery of children, the elderly, and patients. It also has low calories, making it effective for dieting. Whether eaten as sashimi or steamed, the special taste of butter fish tasted in its place of origin was not lacking at all! If a butter fish festival is held in Mokpo during the early summer season someday, I would like to come back and eat to my heart's content. The butter fish sashimi and steamed butter fish were so delicious that it was a pity to see the food disappearing even while I was enjoying it. I introduce the 'top-rated restaurants' and 'model restaurants' where you can feel the special taste that stimulates all of your senses with butter fish dishes.

[Restaurants where you can eat butter fish sashimi/steamed butter fish ]

✔ Top restaurants [As of 2024]

- Star Snack / 11 Okam-ro / 061-283-8114

- Seonchang Fish Restaurant / 6-1 Manho-ro / 061-244-3708

- Sodo / 1 Buheung-ro / 061-281-0086

- Hong Gil Dong Raw Fish / 42-1 Bipa-ro 43beon-gil / 061-283-8540

- Myeongin House / 14 Hadang-ro 30beon-gil / 061-245-8808

- Mirak Bibimbap / 12 Baeknyeon-daero 231beon-gil / 061-285-3828

✔ Model restaurants [As of 2024]

- Seonchang Fish Restaurant / 6-1 Manho-ro / 061-244-3708

- Myeongin House / 14 Hadang-ro 30beon-gil / 061-245-8808