Pregnancy-safe crab meal at Jukdo Market, Pohang: Gallilli Daegae

I went on a babymoon trip combining Pohang and Gyeongju. My husband and I had visited Pohang once before, back before we got married, and honestly I was disappointed with the snow crab that time. But since I'm pregnant, sashimi is off the table, and I wanted something nutritious, so I decided to give snow crab another shot!! This time I genuinely left satisfied — let me introduce Gallilli Daegae Hoe Sikdang, a Pohang restaurant inside Jukdo Market.

Finding it on the crab sashimi street in Jukdo Market

This is the entrance to Jukdo Market. Gallilli Daegae Hoe Sikdang sits along the stretch marked as the crab sashimi street.

It's about midway along the street once you enter from the entrance. The street is shorter than expected, so it's easy to find.

The sign reads "Gallilli Daegae Hoe Sikdang, Maenggu-ne." The tanks were full of fresh seafood and snow crabs.

Weekend evening reservations are a must — and come with perks

You can reserve through Naver Reservation. Reserving in advance gets you a ₩10,000 discount coupon and a seafood ramyeon coupon, so reservations are essential. I booked a Saturday evening slot, and even though the place had plenty of tables, it was nearly full of guests. If you're planning a family visit on a weekend or holiday, I'd recommend booking ahead.

09:00–22:30

The interior was spacious with lots of tables. The crowd was a mix of families, couples, and friends, and it looked like it could easily handle large groups too. A table setting fee of ₩5,000 per person was charged separately.

Pregnant, so I ordered the two bakdal snow crabs without sashimi

Once there, I saw the crab menu had several configurations. Our order, the two bakdal snow crabs, was a single menu item that came with Russian bakdal snow crab plus banchan (side dishes), seafood, and spicy stew. It was top-grade Magadan crab, packed with meat!

There was also a set for two called the Bakdal Course, which came with one regular-size bakdal snow crab, upgradable to large for an extra ₩20,000. On top of that, there was a course combining bakdal snow crab, live sashimi, seafood, banchan, spicy stew, and mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) — perfect for anyone who wants crab, sashimi, and mulhoe all in one sitting.

Since I'm pregnant and can't eat sashimi, I ordered the bakdal snow crab menu, which doesn't include it. I got to focus entirely on the crab, no regrets, and eat plenty.

Banchan that just kept coming, starting with abalone porridge

We started light with abalone porridge. It was warm and savory, and really woke up the appetite.

Even though this wasn't a course meal, the banchan kept coming without end.

There was corn cheese along with bread, which seemed like the kind of thing kids would love.

We also got seasoned raw fish, soy-marinated crab, sweet potato fritters, and carrot salad — they said even the salad dressing is made in-house.

Plenty of fresh seafood came out too, and my husband said he hadn't eaten this well in ages, digging in while saying it wasn't fishy at all and tasted great. Since I'm pregnant, I skipped the sea squirt and raw abalone slices, but I did eat the king oyster mushrooms and conch. It had been a while since I'd had seafood too, so I was really happy.

A refreshing clam soup with bean sprouts and firefly squid came as standard banchan too! Firefly squid is a bit softer and more savory than regular squid.

Bakdal snow crab yield — even the small legs were packed

Finally, the two bakdal snow crabs arrived. This might have been the best-filled crab I've ever eaten.

Even each of the small legs was packed with meat, which made picking through them genuinely fun.

Can you see how packed the legs are?!! Honestly, once I got pregnant I craved snow crab so badly that I went to a place near home, but it was so bad I didn't even post about it on my blog. At Gallilli Daegae, I kept saying "this is insane" over and over the whole time I ate, the meat was that full.

Here's a claw next to an adult man's finger for scale. Claws, body, everywhere — packed full of meat!

The crab was so fresh that even the innards weren't fishy at all. Of the two shells, we ate one as is and ordered fried rice with the other.

Finishing with spicy stew and crab roe fried rice

To finish, spicy stew came out — included with the meal!

The stew portion was generous, with plenty of meaty fish in it. It wasn't really spicy — more of a clean, tangy heat.

Honestly I was already stuffed, but you can't just leave fried rice unfinished, right?! Topping the fried rice with the leftover crab meat and kimchi, alongside the banchan, one bite hit with a killer combo of savoriness and kimchi's tang!

How was it as a closing meal for the babymoon?

Being pregnant, I wanted to eat more nutritious food than usual, and filling up on crab left me feeling reassured, mentally as much as physically. My husband was satisfied too, and said next time we're in Pohang we should try the course with live sashimi included.

If you're looking for a good restaurant in Jukdo Market, Pohang, I'd recommend Gallilli Daegae Hoe Sikdang. The variety of menu options, letting you pick based on taste or situation, was a big plus, and sitting comfortably after reserving ahead, eating our fill of well-filled bakdal snow crab, made this a visit that has me wanting to go back to Pohang!!