Busan snow crab birthday meal, 3kg at Gijang Market: Gijang Myeongpum

I went to Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, a snow crab restaurant in Gijang, Busan, with my mom and husband to celebrate my birthday~~ It's a special day so you've got to go for the good stuff, haha. Turns out it's the best snow crab place in Busan..💕 If you want to eat proper snow crab at a fair price, I can only recommend Gijang Myeongpum Daegae in Gijang Market — here's the review from our whole family, totally satisfied ☀️

Where is Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, and what are its hours?

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is at 5 Chaseong-dong-ro 73beon-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, inside Gijang Market. It's open daily from 10:00 to 21:00 with last order at 20:00, there's a ground-level parking lot at the building, and both takeout and delivery are available.

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, a Gijang Market favorite, is right inside the market. The staff kindly showed us the way in so it was easy to find~ It's also close to Gijang Station on the Donghae Line, so it's great if you're using public transit!

The owner of Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is a father of five who runs the place on honesty — a true 'premium' snow crab shop~ Order through a Naver reservation ahead of time and you get a 10% discount plus you can use a ₩10,000 coupon, and if you reserve a seat you also get 50% off the seat fee and fried rice!! Since you're coming to eat anyway, might as well book and save.

Fresh snow crab and king crab greet you right from the entrance, haha. You can tell it's fresh just by looking!!! It's fun just browsing the tank at all the huge crabs, haha. Make sure to check the origin too~

How the crab is weighed: net weight, basket excluded

What makes Gijang Myeongpum Daegae genuinely premium is that even the empty basket alone would weigh close to ₩50,000 worth, but they sell honestly by the crab's actual net weight only. They showed us themselves how they subtract the basket weight, which made me trust the place even more, haha.

There were three of us, so we ordered about 3kg. They picked out the meatiest-looking crabs so carefully for us, I really appreciated it 😊 The staff were super friendly too! Come along with us^^

They also threw in abalone as a free service — one per person, three total 💛 Thank you so much!

They even showed us with our own eyes as our chosen crabs went into the steamer, haha. Totally honest, no swapping~ Watching the crab steam away nicely~~🦀

Cooking takes about 30 minutes!

Seating and large private rooms at Gijang Myeongpum Daegae

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is spread over 1st and 2nd floors and has a large private room too. It would be great for group gatherings or family meals!

There's a large private room too, so it'd be great for a work dinner!!! Nice and spacious~~

Coffee is also available after the meal.

There are even small games for kids, haha. A worthy spot for a family meal in Gijang.

What's on the salad bar for 5,000 won per person?

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae also has a salad bar, usable for ₩5,000 per person~

It looks simple but there are lots of tasty dishes, so we ate well while waiting for the crab, haha.

On the table they had disposable gloves, wet wipes and a bin for shells ready, so it was easy to use~~ And once the crab was steamed, they even prepped it for easy eating!

The 3kg snow crab birthday spread, packed with meat

Whew,,, here's the crab we ordered. Visuals are insane..🩷 Maybe because the owner picked them out so carefully, they were completely packed with meat ㅠㅠ

A big plus is that the crab sits in a steamer, so you can eat it warm the whole time⭐️ Looking at it again, the visuals are just unreal ㅠㅠ If this isn't a birthday spread, what is~

Seriously, look how plump the meat is. I wondered if we'd even manage to fill up on crab, but yeah… at Gijang Myeongpum Daegae you'll be stuffed…🐷

My husband couldn't resist and cracked open a bottle of bokbunja (Korean black raspberry wine), haha.

However you look at it, there's so much meat, and it's nutty, clean and savory-salty — good enough to just eat the crab meat on its own, no problem.

The meat my mom picked out for me is pure love~~~ haha. It was great dipped in soy sauce, but dipping it in mustard sauce was also a whole different treat, haha.

Even the abalone they gave us for free was this plump, can you believe it~

Snow crab ramen, 10,000 won with half a crab

The snow crab ramen at Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is ₩10,000, and it comes with half a crab in it!

I'm calling this the best snow crab ramen I've ever had;; Turns out this place is a ramen place too. The noodles had just the right chewiness, and somehow they soaked up all the broth's flavor so well that I almost finished the whole bowl myself, haha. Especially with the crab, the slightly salty and spicy broth paired perfectly.

Crab-shell fried rice, 5,000 won

We were already stuffed from the crab so we only ordered one fried rice, but they still gave us a whole bowl of stew alongside;; haha.

The crab-shell fried rice, packed with the crab's innards, is just amazing;; Top it with crab meat too and the flavor doubles, yep.

Take a sip of that big bowl of doenjang (soybean paste) stew and it puts other Korean home-style meals to shame.

We wiped out all that crab, every bit of it, haha. My husband and my mom were both very happy — a great snow crab spot in Gijang.

Highly recommend Gijang Myeongpum Daegae in Gijang Market, Busan, for the best snow crab and trustworthy net-weight pricing!!🩷 Come here for a family meal on a special day or a group gathering~~