Nowon Korean restaurant for jokbal sets: Gwihan Jokbal

A jokbal mukbang suddenly popped up in my algorithm the other day, so I went out for some after work for the first time in ages. I found a spacious spot near Nowon Station that would be great for company dinners, so let me introduce it to you.

This is Gwihan Jokbal Nowon Branch (귀한족발 노원점). I knew it was a well-known place, but this was my first visit. It also had some of the best reviews in Nowon.

The complimentary dishes were good, and I enjoyed not only the main course but every side dish too, so I highly recommend it.

A spacious jokbal restaurant near Nowon Station

The restaurant is on a street packed with popular Nowon eateries. Its folding doors were thrown wide open, which made it lovely to enjoy that outdoor-drinking-tent kind of atmosphere on a beautiful day like these.

The restaurant was much bigger than I expected, and I loved how clean it was overall.

There is group seating too, so it looked good for visiting with a crowd. I recommend it as a great place for a company dinner in Nowon.

I sat at the table the staff showed me to. It was roomy and comfortable, making it easy to take my time over the meal.

A varied menu, from jokbal to charcoal-grilled dishes

Along with classic jokbal (braised pig’s trotters) and bossam (boiled pork wraps), the menu has signature charcoal-grilled dishes, oyster bossam, garlic jokbal, and braised pollock dishes. There are half-and-half and set options that make ordering several things easier, too. With so many sides, it is also just the place for drinks.

As soon as I ordered, they set the table very quickly.

The side dishes were neatly presented, and the sauces came on both sides, which made everything easy to eat.

Complimentary sides and dried pollock bean sprout soup

There was a variety of kimchi: napa cabbage, radish, and chive kimchi. Kimchi really matters at places like this, you know. All three were delicious, so it was fun to mix and match them.

They gave us plenty of wrap vegetables, along with gochu doenjang, a chili pepper soybean-paste dip. It was seriously delicious and went so well in wraps.

The sauces included ssamjang, garlic, and salted shrimp. The salted shrimp was seasoned separately as well, so I thought it would be easy for anyone to enjoy.

Another thing I loved was the complimentary dried pollock bean sprout soup. It was so refreshing and tasty—great with drinks, and it somehow felt like a hangover cure while I ate.

Classic jokbal and charcoal-grilled half-and-half set

I chose the classic jokbal and charcoal-grilled jokbal half-and-half set. Ordering the set brought fresh-fruit makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles), flying-fish-roe rice balls, and seafood sundubu (soft tofu stew), so it was wonderfully generous—and every side was delicious too. I highly recommend the set!

Fresh-fruit makguksu I kept reaching for

The sauce tasted house-made, and I loved that it was loaded with vegetables.

I am not usually someone who loves makguksu, but this one was honestly so good that I kept eating it. They provided scissors, so I cut it into easy bites and mixed it up.

I loved the springy noodles and the crisp bite of the fresh vegetables, while the sauce had a wonderfully tangy fruit flavor, just as its name promised.

The flying-fish-roe rice balls were topped generously with seaweed and roe. I wondered if the portion might be a little much for two, but I wanted the rice balls too, so I ordered them. Rice balls can often be underseasoned or a little disappointing on their own, but these were seasoned perfectly and delicious even picked up by themselves.

Tender classic jokbal with a subtle charcoal aroma

Of the Gwihan Jokbal and charcoal-grilled jokbal, the classic version is on the right and the charcoal-grilled one is on the left. The tender, soft classic version was absolutely delicious, true to the original, and this was my first time trying charcoal-grilled jokbal. Its gentle smoky aroma made it feel like something different.

The set was so well put together that I did not expect much quantity-wise, but it was actually quite generous.

The ratio of fat to lean meat was just right, so I never got tired of it. Even the leaner pieces were soft and juicy rather than dry, and stayed delicious until the end.

Even dipped simply in salted shrimp, it was clean-tasting and delicious with no unpleasant pork smell at all.

The combination with rice balls and kimchi was great too. The seasoned chives paired surprisingly well. Since the makguksu was so good, my top pick was the meat with makguksu and gochu doenjang.

Wrapping it in perilla leaf was good too. It was delicious however I ate it, with so many combinations that I never got bored.

Seafood sundubu included in the set

The sundubu included in the set! Honestly, it was even tastier than the kind I have had at a dedicated sundubu restaurant. It was generously filled with soft tofu, seafood, and egg. The plentiful seafood gave it that refreshing seafood-jjamppong flavor, while the savory richness of soft tofu stew made it perfect with drinks.

It was good enough to give the famous seafood sundubu in Gangneung a run for its money. It was tasty hot, but as it cooled, the seafood aroma came through even more strongly, so I kept eating it right to the end. The jokbal, complimentary dishes, and sides were all so delicious that I will definitely be back.

If you are looking for a great restaurant in Nowon, this is one I want to recommend. Everything from the jokbal to the sides was delicious, and its spacious, comfortable setting makes it easy to visit for a company dinner or gathering.