Gijang snow crab restaurant with self-serve bar and crab shell fried rice: Gijang Myeongpum Daegae

If you've come to Gijang in Busan, snow crab is one of those dishes that's bound to cross your mind at least once. I was in the Gijang area this time and wanted to eat snow crab properly, so I went to Gijang Myeongpum Daegae (기장명품대게).

You can look at the crabs and pick one yourself, and you get to see the weight checked right in front of you, so I liked the place from the very first impression.

Location near Gijang Market and parking

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is close to Gijang Market, so it wasn't hard to find. The address is 5 Chaseongdong-ro 73beon-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea (부산 기장군 기장읍 차성동로73번길 5).

Parking is available for those coming by car, which makes it fairly convenient. If you're searching for a good snow crab restaurant in Gijang, Busan and parking matters to you, this is a real plus.

Picking a live snow crab and checking the weight

The first thing that caught my eye when I walked in was the huge tank. It was full of snow crab and king crab, and just looking at it got my expectations up.

It was nice being able to look at the live, moving crabs and choose one yourself. We couldn't decide which to pick, so we asked the owner for a recommendation.

Once you've picked your crab, they weigh it right away. What I especially liked is that they subtract the basket weight and weigh the crab itself.

If you don't want to get ripped off on snow crab, make sure you watch. Watch twice. I didn't know this and got ripped off three times.

Since the price depends on the weight, being able to check it yourself made ordering feel much more relaxed. It seems like a small thing, but once you're actually out for snow crab, it feels pretty important.

Spacious seating and the self-serve bar

The inside was bigger than I expected, and overall it had a clean feel. The seating is fairly spacious too, so it looked fine for a family visit.

The layout looks comfortable even for a bigger group, so it's good for family meals out or gatherings. While the crab was steaming, we could use the self-serve bar.

You can take as much as you want of side dishes that go well with crab, like salad and kimchi.

They were just right for nibbling on while waiting for the main course.

Meaty snow crab and the innards in the body

As soon as the crab we'd been waiting for came out, the visual alone was overwhelming. The legs and body came pre-cut for easy eating, which was great. What I was most curious about, of course, was how much meat there'd be.

When I opened up the shell, the legs were packed with a good amount of meat. A little push with a fork and the white meat slid out along the grain, which made it genuinely fun to eat. The first bite was salty with a subtle sweetness. The more I chewed, the more that distinctive snow crab savoriness came through, so it was plenty good even without sauce.

It wasn't just the leg meat that was good—the body was solidly filled with meat too, so picking it out piece by piece was fun. I could definitely see why people looking for snow crab in Gijang, Busan care so much about meat yield.

And personally, the thing I can't skip is the innards inside the top shell. I dipped a bit of crab meat in and tried it, and the rich creaminess of the innards was added to the soft sweetness of the meat.

It was nutty with a deep flavor, a different kind of appeal from eating the meat plain. If you're having snow crab, I'd recommend trying it together like this at least once.

Finishing with crab shell fried rice and doenjang stew

Once we'd nearly finished the crab, naturally we started thinking about fried rice. It's rice fried with the innards from the crab shell, so that nutty flavor hit clearly the moment it went in my mouth. It has that distinctive deep savoriness too, making it a combination that works well as the finishing dish after snow crab.

Having it with the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) that comes alongside was hearty yet refreshing, and it cleaned up my palate nicely. After going from crab all the way through the fried rice, it felt like a truly proper meal.

Overall verdict on the meal at Gijang Myeongpum Daegae

You can check the live crab yourself and see the weight, minus the basket, right in front of you. Add the packed crab meat, the rich innards, and the crab shell fried rice, and overall I was satisfied. The restaurant is fairly spacious too, so it works for a family meal with parents or a visit with a bigger group. If you're looking for a snow crab restaurant in Gijang, Busan and care about both meat yield and how comfortable the place is, Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is worth a visit. :)