Gijang seafood restaurant for king crab: Gijang Myeongpum Daegae

I passed the driving test! My hands were shaking like crazy ㅠㅠㅠ To celebrate, we’re going to Gijang for snow crab!!! Well, actually, we’re going for king crab haha. There are so many great snow crab places in Gijang, Busan, but I found one with a good meat yield where you don’t have to worry about getting ripped off!

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae inside Gijang Market

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is inside Gijang Market! There are tons of snow crab restaurants in the market, but this was the biggest and most popular one.

Seeing all the snow crabs and king crabs lined up beside it, I immediately felt that this place was on another scale haha.

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae has its own dedicated parking lot right to the left of the restaurant! Just park and come in.

Once you go inside Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, there are even more snow crabs and king crabs than outside!!! They steam them right here, and lots of people get them packed to go as well. The charm of this place is that, true to its promise of “honest prices,” you can enjoy fresh seafood neatly and comfortably! It has consistently built up visitor reviews, so first-timers can feel less intimidated too!! On the day I visited, there were more than five tables of international visitors alone. It seems like word has already spread overseas too!!

King crab chosen for three with my parents

I visited with my parents, so we chose king crab for the three of us, and they picked out a really, really huge one for us! They said this would be more than enough for three people. It was ₩250,000!!

Some other places use baskets to add weight or pull tricks like that, but Gijang Myeongpum Daegae put only the king crab on the scale, no extras at all. It came to exactly ₩253,200, but they gave it to us for ₩250,000 haha.

A spacious hall for group bookings and a self-bar

After ordering, we went into the dining hall. It was really spacious, so I think it would be convenient for group reservations too! I especially recommend it for family gatherings haha.

There’s a self-bar on one side like this! It costs ₩5,000 per person to use.

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae has a self-bar, so you can choose the side dishes you want yourself! The things I refilled the most were fried onions and fried chili peppers haha. And maybe because the corn was glutinous corn, it was seriously so chewy!!! It was so good that I kept eating it, but my mom said I wouldn’t be able to eat the king crab later, so I stopped for a bit... haha.

This is how the table is set—plastic gloves, sauce dishes, wet wipes, and so on! The salad bar is ₩5,000 per person.

Meaty king crab and complimentary seafood

Finally, the king crab came out!! It seems to take about 15–20 minutes to wait. And the owner gave us lobster and abalone as complimentary service, which was so nice haha.

They gave us one abalone per person, but one of the aunties told us that an abalone smelled off after it was boiled, so they were boiling a new one and asked us to wait just a little. That’s exactly the appeal of enjoying fresh seafood so cleanly!!! There was enough food left over after three people ate,,, And there’s an induction burner underneath, so it stays warm the whole time you eat!

The meat yield was really good!! Can you see how full of meat it is??? I was happy with every single leg haha. It’s even better dipped in soy sauce and mustard!!!

Even the hard-to-eat claw sections came pre-cut, so they were easy to crack open and eat. Even a crab newbie like me could eat it easily haha.

And the body section!! There was so much meat that even though I was full, I thought, I absolutely have to eat this haha. Just gently poke it with chopsticks and the meat tumbles right out, so it’s easy to eat! While we were eating, a huge group with a reservation suddenly came in, and they were Chinese. Gijang Myeongpum Daegae has really gone international... what are we going to do ㅠㅠㅠ The table right next to us was international visitors too.

Fried rice and doenjang-jjigae even when you’re full

Isn’t the final dessert fried rice plus doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew)? It’s a combination you absolutely have to have even when you’re full!!! The fried rice was seriously delicious ㅠㅠㅠ I want to eat it again!!!

Have some coffee on your way out after your meal~~~