Myeongdong Korean restaurant with cheese potato pancakes: Miss Jokbal

After ages, four teachers managed to make time for a cozy work dinner at Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch, a great jokbal spot in Myeongdong. We had such a lovely evening, enjoying a quality that felt quite different from an ordinary jokbal restaurant.

A little travel feeling in Myeongdong after work

After work, we walked straight from Myeongdong Station toward Euljiro and saw international visitors enjoying K-food here and there. It made us feel as though we were traveling too, and somehow it was exciting and fun.

Miss Jokbal was in an area full of Myeongdong restaurants popular with international visitors. The restaurant was large, and its neat interior was visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows, which gave me confidence.

I also liked that there were photos and prices of the food sold at Miss Jokbal in front of the restaurant.

It is a place frequented by office workers as well as travelers, so even though we went for an early weekday dinner, there were plenty of customers.

And then I spotted a very special visitor! Even a cat came by. A cheese-colored kitty was meowing outside the restaurant, and despite being busy, the owner quickly looked after it. Isn’t Miss Jokbal amazing for caring even for animals that can easily be overlooked? This place deserves to be showered with customers!

• Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch
• 21 Myeongdong 3-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
• Daily 11:00 am–3:00 am

A comfortable interior and seating for group meals

Miss Jokbal, a Myeongdong jokbal restaurant, had plenty of tables for groups of travelers or other large parties.

It looked quite busy, but the team worked quickly, efficiently making the ordered dishes in the open kitchen.

We had reserved ahead and sat at our assigned table. The chairs had storage space for bags, making the meal even more comfortable at Miss Jokbal, a handy Myeongdong restaurant for travelers.

Emperor Jokbal and cheese potato pancake for four

There were four of us, so we ordered Emperor Jokbal and cheese potato pancake. We said we would order more if it was not enough, but in the end, the Emperor Jokbal set was so generous that there was no need. We were really full!

Beyond jokbal (braised pork hock), there were plenty of good-value side dishes too, including a bossam-jokbal set meal suitable for one person, yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), and noodles.

Kimchi kalguksu and sauces included with Emperor Jokbal

As we were about to catch up on all the stories we had missed while waiting for the Emperor Jokbal, the kimchi kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) arrived right away. It was included in the Emperor Jokbal set.

Then three sauces appeared! Along with salted shrimp and ssamjang (savory soybean dipping paste), there was a spicy mala sauce, which made for a lovely extra treat.

A full Emperor Jokbal spread with 10 side dishes

Next, Emperor Jokbal arrived with 10 side dishes, and everyone exclaimed that they had never seen a spread like this before.

First of all, the jokbal and bossam (boiled pork wraps) looked thick and moist, so everyone cried, “That looks delicious!”

The dazzling arrangement of 10 side dishes included familiar K-food such as japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), gimbap (seaweed rice rolls), tofu, and a salad with shrimp. Miss Jokbal is a Myeongdong restaurant I would absolutely want to bring an international friend to when they visit.

With all those colorful sides, Miss Jokbal almost had the feel of a Korean buffet.

Tender jokbal and bossam, plus a potato pancake that called for beer

More than anything, the jokbal and bossam were so tender, soft, and moist that it was impossible not to fall for them. They provided disposable gloves for the bone-in pieces, which made them easy to pull apart, and the Emperor Jokbal came nicely sliced into bite-sized pieces. Everyone tried a piece, made a little “mm” sound, and nodded. There was no off smell at all; the meat was so good I wanted to ask their secret.

Rather than eating only the jokbal, it was even tastier wrapped up in a big ssam (leaf wrap) with all the different accompaniments.

The kimchi kalguksu had a good spicy kick and a clean, peppery heat, making it perfect alongside the meat as a drinking snack too. We ended up ordering beer as well, which made the meal even more generous and enjoyable.

The cheese potato pancake came out a little later. The crisp shredded potato was topped with melted, nutty cheese, and its savory, rich flavor was so good.

Everyone happily agreed that it was exactly the kind of flavor that naturally makes you think of a glass of beer.

If you come to Myeongdong, I hope you stop by Miss Jokbal for a fun food journey with generous jokbal and bossam, plus distinctive K-food. After the meal, everyone remembered it as such a great place, so I felt proud the whole time for having introduced this restaurant.