The price of eating out rose at the steepest pace in about 24 years in March amid soaring prices of food ingredients and delivery fees.

According to Korean Statistical Information Service on Sunday, the food-away-from-home, or restaurant purchases, increased six-point-six percent in March from a year earlier.

It marks the largest on-year gain in 23 years and eleven months since April 1998.

Prices of all of the 39 food items at restaurants posted growth last month, with galbitang or beef rib soup posting the largest increase of eleven-point-seven percent.

Porridge, hamburger and sliced raw fish also jumped over ten percent on-year.

The Korean-Chinese noodle jjajang-myeon and gimbap (rice roll), both popular and traditionally inexpensive foods, went up by nine-point-one percent and eight-point-seven percent, respectively.