Suwon Station teppanyaki restaurant, yakisoba set in 5 minutes: Jojo

I had plans in Seoul, and on the way back I passed through Suwon Station. It happened to be dinner time and I was craving teppanyaki, so I stopped by Jojo on basement floor 1 of AK Plaza Suwon and ate solo. It's easy to find — you can spot it right as you come out of Suwon Station subway — and the food comes out fairly fast, so it's a solid Japanese restaurant in Suwon for anyone catching a train or subway transfer.

How close is Jojo, an Osaka-style teppanyaki restaurant, to Suwon Station?

Osaka-style teppanyaki restaurant Jojo

Jojo specializes in Japanese teppanyaki (iron-griddle cooking), centered on yakisoba (stir-fried noodles) and okonomiyaki (savory pancake). The AK Plaza Suwon location is on basement floor 1, easy to reach from Suwon Station, and there's a bar table on one side of the store where quite a few people were eating solo.

I came by subway. Tap out at Suwon Station and AK FOODHALL is right there. Walk in and look to the right, and Jojo is immediately visible, so even first-timers shouldn't have trouble finding it. The walk from the platform to the store is short, so it also works well if you need a quick meal before a transfer, or have an odd bit of time before a train.

Jojo menu and prices: the yakisoba set at 18,000 won

The menu is built around yakisoba and okonomiyaki, with sides like fried rice and mentaiko gyoza (pollack roe dumplings). Basic yakisoba is ₩12,000, and 5 pieces of mentaiko gyoza is ₩7,000. Since the yakisoba set lets you try both for ₩18,000, that's what I ordered.

There are life-size food models displayed on one side of the store, so take a look if you're deciding what to order :)

Once the order goes in, the ingredients start sizzling on the griddle right away, steam and all — so the wait wasn't boring at all. The open kitchen, where you can watch the whole cooking process, is one of the things that stood out about this Japanese restaurant in Suwon.

The yakisoba set: basic yakisoba plus mentaiko gyoza

Yakisoba set Basic yakisoba + mentaiko gyoza

The food came out almost exactly 5 minutes after I ordered. I'd been watching it get cooked on the griddle right in front of me, and it was done faster than I expected. Perfect if you need to eat quickly and move on — a very handy Japanese menu item at this Suwon food hall spot.

I assumed yakisoba would just be a noodle-heavy carb dish, but once it arrived, it actually had cabbage, squid, and even pork mixed in!

Chewy noodles, crunchy cabbage, springy squid, and pork on top of it all — lots of different textures to enjoy, and a pretty generous portion too, filling.

Jojo makes Osaka-style teppanyaki, so the seasoning is fairly mild and focused on letting the ingredients' own flavor come through. If you prefer subtle, not-too-strong flavors over something intense, this should suit you well.

Mentaiko gyoza (cod roe dumplings) served with the set

The mentaiko gyoza that comes with the set was fried to a nice golden brown, crispy on the outside. Cutting one open, the filling was packed full, and the mentaiko (seasoned pollack roe) inside gave it a subtle salty flavor. Dipping it in the accompanying mentaiko mayo sauce added a nutty richness, a different feel from eating it plain.

Enough for one: how solo dining at Jojo near Suwon Station went

With yakisoba plus mentaiko gyoza, it's a pretty filling combo for one person. I usually eat small portions, and I was already full by about halfway through.

Personally, between the salty yakisoba and the crispy gyoza, I felt like a fizzy soda like cola or a cold beer would pair really well with it. It's an easy, low-pressure spot for solo dining at Suwon Station — if you want to enjoy teppanyaki quickly, give it a try.