Mokpo city was the first city in Korea to declare itself the 'capital of taste' in 2019. Located at the crossroads of the West Sea and the Yeongsan River, and playing the role of a gateway where the ocean and inland meet, Mokpo is a culinary city where all sorts of seafood freshly caught from the clean West Sea and mudflats, including well-known octopus, skate, croaker, crab, hairtail, beltfish, slender shad, blackmouth angler, and rockfish, are gathered. It is said that the 'Mokpo 9 Flavors', which are prepared with these local specialties, are exquisite.

There is an old saying, ' An old eagle is better than a young crow.' which signifies the superior taste of slender shad salad. Let's go and taste it.

Arriving at a restaurant that seems to be a surefire hit with its status as the best restaurant in Mokpo, a model restaurant, and a blue ribbon sticker! Seeing that they sell not only slender shad salad but also beltfish and hairtail dishes, I thought, 'This is a restaurant where you can really taste Mokpo.'

Slender shad is said to be the most delicious fish, hence it is also referred to as Jin-eo (真魚), meaning 'true fish.' Although slender shad is a very tasty fish, it has more bones than other fish, so you have to be careful when eating it. Because of these bones, slender shad was often used as a symbolic gift in the past, with the warning that if you eat too hastily because it's delicious, you'll get a bone stuck in your throat. This was a reminder that if you focus too much on power, honor, or wealth, you will inevitably face the backlash of misfortune. It was often given as a gift to friends or relatives who had made advancements in their careers. 

How delicious must it be that the phrase 'Even when it rots, it's still slender shad' was coined? As I was imagining the taste, a spicy yellow croaker soup came out with a neat set of side dishes. The owner kindly explained that it was yellow croaker, and even before tasting the slender shad salad, my mouth was already watering because of the spicy and ing taste of the soup. 

And finally, the elegant figure of the slender shad salad appears! I cautiously took a bite because it's a fish with many bones, but it was easier to eat than I thought because the bones didn't chew. The rice mixed with sesame oil and seasoning sauce was delicious on its own, but when I topped it with the crunchy and sour sweet slender shad salad, the taste was multiplied. There were plenty of fresh vegetables like water parsley, cucumber, carrot, and perilla leaves, and the taste of the slender shad salad that kept chewing every time I chewed...! I didn't have to eat sparingly, worrying that there might be more vegetables left than slender shad, because there was plenty of slender shad in it.

Mix the sour sweet slender shad with the savory rice and chew it in a mouthful, then take a sip of the spicy yellow croaker soup with a deep soup flavor, and it's so ing that I feel like I could start over with a few bowls of rice.

Slender shad is mostly eaten grilled or as a salad, but it can also be prepared in a variety of ways such as soup, dumplings, fried, salted fish stew, steamed, and braised. It is a 'versatile fish'. In particular, our ancestors used to enjoy eating slender shad on Dano day. Round balls made by removing the bones and scraping only the flesh of the slender shad and boiling them in clear soy sauce soup, and dumplings made with slender shad flesh were typical Dano foods. In particular, slender shad soup, which even children who don't like fish can eat without feeling burdened, was always boiled and eaten around Dano.

This versatile fish that can be used in various dishes and has been cherished since ancient times, slender shad salad! When I was in Mokpo, I wanted to eat it again, so I decided to go to one more slender shad specialty restaurant. As you can see from the name, it was a restaurant specializing in slender shad, and as I walked through the exterior that seemed to show the traces of a long time and entered the entrance, the sign of 'Mokpo's Top Restaurant', which you can trust and eat, caught my eye first.

One of the features of this restaurant is that it is especially good for people like me who want to taste various foods while traveling, as they can order one serving each. So, I ordered a serving of slender shad salad and a serving of plump grilled hairtail~!

The taste of the seasoning was of course sour sweet, but if I had to pick one of the two flavors as more intense, it would be sourness. It stimulates the saliva and whets the appetite. And, like a 'fish with many bones,' the texture of the bone chewing together was impressive compared to the previous restaurant, adding to the fun of the chewy taste of slender shad itself.

Slender shad is a fish rich in protein. It is one of the fish with the most protein among fish, and it is said to have a higher protein content than beef or chicken. Therefore, it is not only a good food ingredient for recovering patients, frail elderly people, and children to replenish their energy, but it also protects the stomach and soothes the stomach, so what could be a better ingredient than this!

Grateful to be able to taste such excellent and precious food in Mokpo, I introduce a few restaurants in Mokpo where you can taste slender shad salad, hoping that more people can feel and enjoy this taste.

[ Restaurants where you can eat slender shad salad ]

✔ Top restaurants [As of 2024]

- Seonkyeong Slender Shad Restaurant / 2, Haean-ro 57beon-gil / 061-242-5653

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

✔ Model restaurant [As of 2024]

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