Pohang crab restaurant: first bakdal vs regular snow crab, Gallilli

I finally got out for a trip to Pohang, yahoo! 🌸

Where to eat crab and raw fish together at Jukdo Market in Pohang?

Gallilli Daegae Hoe Sikdang (갈릴리대게회식당), inside Pohang's Jukdo Market, is a restaurant where you can enjoy snow crab and raw fish at the same table. Pohang is famous for Jukdo Market, after all (※Jukdo Market is one of Korea's five great traditional markets).

I came to Pohang for some sea breeze, so I figured: fresh raw fish, and why not crab too, it's been a while. I searched hard for a good Pohang crab place and ended up here. This is my visit report on Gallilli, inside Jukdo Fish Market, and yes, I ate it all up.

• 💡Location: 35 Jukdosijang-gil, Buk-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk
• ⏰Hours: 07:00 - 22:00
• 📍Parking: Jukdo Fish Market public parking lot (paid, open daily 07:00 - 22:00)

A Pohang spot where you can have crab and raw fish at the same time ✨

How much is the bakdal crab course for two at Gallilli?

What I ordered at Gallilli was the bakdal crab course for two (₩130,000). Having come all the way to Pohang, ordering crab alone felt like a waste, and I was greedy for everything from sashimi to clams to mulhoe, so I chose the course where it all comes included.

Bakdal crab vs regular crab: what's the difference?

Bakdal crab isn't a different species from regular snow crab. It's the name given to snow crab whose meat is firm and packed full :-0 They say the meat is as dense and hard as bakdal wood (Korean birch), hence "bakdal crab".

Honestly, I first heard the word "bakdal crab" in Pohang, and there is a bit of a difference from regular crab (+ bakdal crab costs a little more). When I actually ate it, even the insides of the legs were quite full, and the meat was firm with a deep, rich flavor.

The bakdal crab course for two we ordered

What comes with the bakdal crab course for two?

The bakdal crab course at Gallilli isn't just a single crab. With bakdal crab as the main, you also get sashimi, mulhoe and all kinds of side dishes, a seriously generous course (※seasoned raw fish salad, mulhoe, sashimi, clam soup, abalone porridge and more).

When you go to a crab place and order only crab, you always end up wanting some raw fish and other seafood too, right? Ordering the course meant everything I wanted just came out on its own, all at once, which was great hahahahaha

If you're looking for a Jukdo Market restaurant and think "I want to try a bit of everything from the sea," then rather than ordering crab alone, choosing a course like this seems like a good idea. The side dishes even include soy-marinated crab and seasoned raw fish salad... WOW

While the crab steams, so many side dishes arrive that I got choice paralysis about which to pick up with my chopsticks first.. and before the bakdal crab main even showed up, I was already quietly getting full...

How full was the bakdal crab meat?

At last, today's main star, the bakdal crab! At Gallilli it comes already prepped and easy to eat, so we didn't need scissors. I wondered, why didn't they give us scissors? That's why.

With crab, size matters, but what really counts is how much meat is inside when you open it up, right? I lifted one leg and it was solidly packed with meat, so satisfied ✨ With meat this plump, picking the legs one by one was a total joy.

Finish with crab-shell rice and maeuntang

After you finish the bakdal crab, definitely order the crab-shell rice (gwedakji-bap, rice mixed in the crab shell) to finish. It's seriously crazy good.

Then if you add maeuntang (spicy fish stew) to finish, at some point the one bottle of soju has become four bottles.

Not too salty, with that subtle sweetness only crab has. A meal that made me think, you have to eat this much to say you've really been to Pohang. As expected of a famous Jukdo Market restaurant, ahhh~~~~

Crab and raw fish, a proper Pohang table

Who is Gallilli good for?

If you're a traveler hunting for good Pohang food, you'll end up at Jukdo Fish Market anyway. There's a huge variety of food, but I especially recommend trying Pohang's bakdal crab once.

The big plus of Gallilli is getting good-quality seafood in one sitting: sashimi, other seafood, mulhoe and bakdal crab. I'd especially recommend this tidy restaurant to anyone looking for a Pohang meal for a family trip or with their parents :-)

This was my first time trying bakdal crab, and I came away understanding why people pay more for it over regular crab. Jukdo Market is a must on any Pohang trip, and if you can't decide where to go, I strongly recommend Gallilli as a Jukdo Market restaurant.