Songdo, Incheon monjayaki restaurant: mentaiko monja and beer at Jojo

After a friend's wedding we hung out in Songdo, and it had been so long since I'd been here that I loved every minute 🥹 This is the autumn Songdo date course from someone who has been to Songdo more times than she can count 🍂🍁 From a walk in Songdo Central Park to restaurant picks at Triple Street! Hope you enjoy 🙌🏻

An autumn date course in Songdo, Incheon

This Songdo date course went: walk in Songdo Central Park → cafés and shopping at Triple Street → Jojo, the monjayaki place → second round → Old Ferry Donuts. I'll recommend the monjayaki place at the end, so pay attention 🩷 I stopped by Old Ferry Donuts last and took some donuts home too 🍩 It had been a while, and Triple Street now has so many restaurants. And tons of pretty cafés ☕️

So pretty, the bride and groom 👰🏻‍♀️🤍🤵🏻 My friend's wedding hall was right in front of Triple Street, which was great 👍🏻 After the wedding we walked around Songdo Central Park to help digest 🚶🏻‍♀️

What can you see at Songdo Central Park?

Songdo Central Park is a park where you walk along a wide seawater canal, with moon boats and a deer park to see too 🛶 You'll find out when you visit, but it's really, really big. Around it there are lots of hotels, from the hanok hotel Gyeongwonjae to Oakwood, Sheraton and Orakai! Songdo's night view is so pretty that I've done 3 hotel staycations here, lol 🏨 In my early twenties I came to Central Park a lot to ride bikes and scooters 🚲

Just walking, the wide canal opens up your mind, and the moon boats are fun to watch 🚣🏻‍♀️ Central Park is all autumn now 🍂🍁 The sparkle on the canal is pretty too ✨

Songdo Central Park is full of my college memories 🥹 When I lived on my own in Inhu, this was the first place I'd come when I needed to recharge. Thinking back made my heart go all fluttery 🩵 My husband and I have decided that when we quit our jobs and get old, we'll definitely live in Songdo 👵🏻👴🏻

Where is the deer park in Songdo Central Park?

Cross the bridge in Songdo Central Park and the deer park is on the right, while on the left there's a lawn that's great for picnics 💚 There are so many dogs on the lawn too 🐕

If you have kids, definitely go see the deer 🫎 The deer park is quite big, and if you look in the corners, the deer are nodding off. ‼️Don't hang on the fence or feed them. I saw a Bambi with the prettiest eyes 🎀 Live a long, happy life 🌿

I walked to my heart's content 🌳 Then we took a taxi back to Songdo Triple Street 🚕

What to do at Songdo Triple Street

As soon as we got to Songdo Triple Street, we went to Cafe Grato to charge up on caffeine ☕️

The nice thing about Cafe Grato is that it has outdoor seating ⛱️ And all the cafés around are outdoor-style, so the atmosphere was lovely ✨ If you can't decide which café to go to in Songdo, just come here and then decide. The coffee is good and there's a variety of desserts (brownie baci, apple crumble and more), so I recommend it 👍🏻

After a coffee, my friends and I shopped at Zara, H&M, 8seconds and Musinsa Standard 🛍️ (and apparently bought nothing..) Zara especially didn't suit me, ^^

As the sun sets, the lighting makes it even prettier 🌅 I was so surprised coming back after so long! There used to be no restaurants on Triple Street 🏬 and hardly any people, but it has changed so much, haha

This is Triple Street from a whole 8 years ago, lol 🥲💦 Looking at it, I've really gotten old. Anyway, we went to Jojo, the monjayaki place, for beer 🤤

Where is Jojo Triple Street Branch and how long is the wait?

Jojo Triple Street Branch is right inside the entrance of Building C at Songdo Triple Street, on the right. Monjayaki has only recently come to Korea and is a really hot menu item, so the waits are brutal and table turnover is slow 🚨

• Hall 2-person seats >>>>>>>>> hall 4-person seats (the wait for 2-person seats is much worse)
• The counter seats have an even worse wait
• You can wait remotely with the Catch Table app; put your name down 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to eat
• We walked in and waited 25 minutes 💦

Every seat has a griddle, haha. There were 3 of us, so we took a 4-person hall seat 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 There are baskets under the table, so you can easily put your bag away.

Jojo menu and prices: how much should 3 people order?

At Jojo, the 3 of us ordered 1 mentaiko monjayaki, 1 tonpeiyaki and 3 beers, but it wasn't enough, so we added one more karashi tonpeiyaki. The staff said even 1 monjayaki is a big portion, but it still wasn't enough. If I ordered again, I'd just order 2 monjayaki. (Tonpeiyaki = Japanese pork belly omelet)

• Mentaiko monjayaki ₩19,500
• Tonpeiyaki ₩9,000
• Karashi tonpeiyaki ₩10,000
• Suntory Malts 380ml ₩7,500 × 1 glass
• Hanmac 420ml ₩5,000 × 2 glasses

Suntory Malts vs Hanmac: which beer to drink with monjayaki?

At Jojo, pay a few thousand won more and get the Suntory Malts, and then get it twice 🍺 We ordered one Suntory Malts and two Hanmac, and the Suntory Malts really is worth the higher price 👏🏻 The soft foam on top and the gentle tartness made it sooooo good.

What does Jojo's tonpeiyaki taste like?

Jojo's tonpeiyaki (Japanese pork belly omelet) 🍳 tastes like a plain rolled omelet with teriyaki sauce on top? haha It tastes more familiar than I expected.

Here's a tip from a chomping expert 🧂 Use the three sauces on the table (Buldak sauce / teriyaki sauce / mayonnaise) a lot! Tonpeiyaki with the Buldak sauce is twice as good 🌶️ It's not the Buldak sauce you buy in stores, just a spicy-sweet sauce.

Jojo's mentaiko monjayaki vs monjayaki in Tokyo

Jojo's mentaiko monjayaki was nuttier and milder than Tokyo monjayaki. The mentaiko monjayaki we'd been waiting for arrived 🩷 Would it beat the monjayaki I had at Mohejji in Tokyo..?

Monjayaki is fun to watch too, right? The staff's hand movements are a joy 🤩 To finish, they add mozzarella cheese 🧀 The staff leave a timer, and you call them after 5 minutes ⏰ The magic where 5 minutes feels like 50... 🪄 Now that the staff said we could eat, ta-daaa~~~ 🍻

You eat monjayaki when it turns into a cheesy crispy-rice crust like this 🤤🧀 Honestly the taste.... Japan wins 🇯🇵 The monjayaki I had in Tokyo was so salty and intense it set off all the dopamine 🔥 Compared to that, Jojo's was nutty and mild! It wasn't the kind of intense flavor that makes you gulp down beer, but honestly, how could this not be tasty..? 🤍✨

We were still hungry, so we ordered an extra karashi tonpeiyaki, and the only difference is red sauce on the tonpeiyaki with bonito flakes on top ❗️ We put every last bit in our stomachs 😋

Where to go for a second round after Jojo in Songdo

For the second round we went to Dantori, right across from Jojo 🍻 It's a good place for chicken skin skewers and a light beer 🍢

I was so full I wondered how I'd finish these skewers, but before I knew it they were all gone 😜

After eating through the second round too, I bought Old Ferry Donuts before heading home and went home well fed 🍩 It was such a happy course, hahaha

Can you get to Songdo Triple Street without a car?

Songdo Triple Street is totally recommended for people without a car too 👍🏻 In front of Tekeunopakeu Station there's even an express bus that goes straight to Yangjae and Gangnam, so getting there was easy 🚌 I'm planning to come play once more before it gets colder, haha. Just follow this Songdo date course exactly 🙋🏻‍♀️