Myeongdong jokbal restaurant with two free side refills: Miss Jokbal

Myeongdong jokbal restaurant, Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch 🚩Location: 21 Myeongdong 3-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea ⏳Hours: 11:00–03:00 (next day)

A late lunch at Miss Jokbal after browsing Namdaemun Market

I hadn't been to Namdaemun Market in a while, haha. I browsed the market, did some shopping, and wandered all the way over to Myeongdong street. By the time I realized how much time had passed, it was already way past lunchtime! I was trying to decide what to eat, and this time I was craving jokbal (Korean braised pig's feet), so I went to Miss Jokbal.

After walking around from Namdaemun Market all the way to Myeongdong, I was gradually getting hungry. Myeongdong has so many foreign tourists and so many good restaurants that it's hard to decide what to eat, but I was in the mood for Korean food that day, so jokbal it was! It's also a solid spot for a filling meal in the middle of shopping and sightseeing in Myeongdong.

As soon as I sat down, I ordered through the table order tablet and read through Miss Jokbal's guide on the tastiest order to eat everything, haha.

Kimchi kalguksu comes before the jokbal

Miss Jokbal's kimchi kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) is served freshly boiling, and the broth is spicy and tangy in a way that really woke up the appetite before the jokbal arrived. If you like a spicy, hot broth on a cool, chilly day like these, you'd probably really enjoy this.

Sipping the broth and slurping up the noodles while waiting for the jokbal, my appetite was fully fired up haha. And then, finally, the main dish arrived!

Emperor's jokbal with side dishes ringing the table

My jaw dropped at the visual...!! The emperor's jokbal really has a serious presentation, right?! The side dishes are arranged in a circle all around the jokbal — wait, a jokbal restaurant serves this much variety?

Even at a glance, the whole table felt packed full!!

• Gimbap (seaweed rice roll)
• Japchae (stir-fried glass noodles)
• Cheonsachae (glass noodle-style salad)
• Dubu kimchi (tofu with stir-fried kimchi)
• Mukmuchim (seasoned acorn jelly)
• Shrimp salad
• Kimchi
• Lettuce wraps, and more

There was genuinely a lot to try. With a spread like this, even foreign tourists trying Korean food for the first time could experience a variety of Korean dishes at once — so it could work well as a Myeongdong spot for foreign visitors too!? And of course, not just for foreigners — for someone like me who loves trying a bit of everything, this is completely my type of place, haha.

How big is the jokbal portion at Miss Jokbal?

It already looked like a lot when it first arrived, but as we kept eating, there turned out to be even more than expected..? The jokbal itself had that perfect tender-yet-chewy texture, haha. The lean meat was soft and the skin part was nice and springy, so if you're a jokbal lover, I think you'd really enjoy this.

The combo to try: jokbal wrapped in pickled radish kimchi

Putting a piece of radish kimchi on top of a piece of jokbal and eating them together adds a crunchy, tangy kick that kept me going back for more, hahaha. Refilled it twice, haha. It had been a while since I'd had cheonsachae mayo, and the crunchy texture was so good together with the chewy texture of the jokbal. These weren't just store-bought side dishes tossed out — they're made in-house, and I think that's why everything felt clean and tasted good overall.

We really ate a lot, so we ended up refilling the side dishes twice, but no matter how much we ate, they never seemed to run out haha. In the end, there was still jokbal left over, so we ended up taking it home at the end. The portion is seriously impressive...!!

Why Miss Jokbal is worth it near Myeongdong Station

And beyond the food itself, the staff at Miss Jokbal were so kind. When you think about it, Myeongdong is a place that draws huge numbers of foreign tourists, right? A place like Miss Jokbal, where you're not just eating jokbal alone but can try kimchi kalguksu, gimbap, japchae, dubu kimchi, mukmuchim, shrimp salad, cheonsachae, and more all at once, is great for anyone who wants to experience a variety of Korean food. Maybe that's why, when I visited, I saw plenty of foreign customers along with local diners.

If you're looking for a Myeongdong jokbal restaurant or a jokbal restaurant near Myeongdong Station, I recommend Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch — I properly enjoyed a hearty, packed table there :)