Solnaum – pumpkin duck.

 

On the side of the road heading towards the black pebble beach is Solnaum, 솔내읍, a unprepossessing restaurant that is very easy to miss entirely.

 

 

 

 

 

We had pre-ordered and our table was already waiting for us with a selection of Korean side dishes when the main event arrived, two burnt lumps of pumpkin, looking decidedly unappetising.

Until they were cut open, petal like to reveal perfectly cooked, moist pumpkin containing the smoked duck. The smell emanating when they were first opened was divine.

The taste and texture of the duck and pumpkin complemented each other perfectly and we were recommended to eat it wrapped inside a sesame leaf.

 One pumpkin will serve four, it looked a lot at the start, but there was very little left by the end. The service was friendly and warm but also discrete, once our pumpkin was placed on our table we were left to our own devices, unless we needed anything, and there was no rush to finish.

The price, I thought was reasonable, it worked out at 13,000won per person (though if less people shared it would work out more expensive.) You have to pre-order, as the pumpkin takes a long time to cook, Mr Shin speaks very good English and can be contacted on 010-4751-2907, and the main restaurant number is (052) 294-8355. I didn’t see a menu, that was possibly because our party had already ordered, but I do know that they also do a pumpkin stuffed with rice as well.

 

Finding it: it is on Donghaean-ro, heading out of Dong-gu up towards the black peddle beach and it about 1km before you get to Jujeon, on the left-hand side (the other side than the ocean).