Sunday lunch snow crab in Gijang, Busan: 2.3kg bakdal, wasabi soy

Why return to Gijang Myeongpum Daegae among all the crab restaurants in Gijang?

Gijang crab restaurant recommendation, Busan Gijang Market crab spot 🤍 Hi, it's Jjua :) haha. I finally made it out to Gijang, the far edge of Busan, and honestly I can't remember the last time I had crab. Out of all the countless crab restaurants in Gijang, in Gijang Market, the one I came back to was Gijang Myeongpum Daegae (기장명품대게) — a few years ago I ate here with my family, paying out of my own pocket, and it was so good. I drove all this way again just for this place ✌️

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae basics and the 10% advance-order discount

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is at 5 Chaseongdong-ro 73beon-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea, inside Gijang Market. Hours are 10:00–21:00 with last order at 20:00, parking is available beside the building, and there's support if you use the public lot. Takeout is available too.

Definitely reserve ahead if you're visiting! You also get a 10% discount if you pre-order. I booked for Sunday lunch and went, and if I hadn't reserved I think I would have had to wait — Gijang Myeongpum Daegae was completely full.

Easy to find: right in front of Gijang Station Exit 1

It's located right in front of Gijang Station Exit 1, and even once you're inside Gijang Market it's the biggest building right in the main area, so it's really easy to find :)

Parking at Gijang Market: the ground-level lot beside the building

As I was driving up in front of Myeongpum Daegae, the owner recognized me and even guided me to the parking lot~~ It's not a tower parking structure but a spacious ground-level lot right beside the building, so I parked and got inside comfortably haha.

How to pick a meaty snow crab and what honest weighing looks like

Once inside, the tanks were packed with fresh snow crab and king crab. The owner said the snow crab had a better yield than the king crab today and recommended it, then kindly welcomed me and picked out the crabs one by one.

King crab and snow crab are from Russia, lobster is from Canada, and scallops are from Japan.

At a lot of seafood or crab places, there are so many spots that play games with the weight when pricing, but here they first showed me the weight with the basket and water excluded, then weighed only the crab itself.

2.2–3kg of snow crab for two, 160,000–170,000 won

At first they recommended 2.5kg, but I thought the two of us couldn't finish that much, so I picked 2.2–3kg and headed upstairs haha. The price came to around ₩160,000–170,000.

The 2nd-floor dining room: room for family gatherings and groups

After being told the crab would take about 25 minutes, I headed up to the 2nd floor dining room. There were so many customers inside — this photo of the interior was taken as I was leaving after eating, and everyone around us was already deep into their meal.

There are partitioned sections further inside that are great for group gatherings, and the interior itself is really spacious, so it seemed perfect for family gatherings too. Since I had reserved, the seat was already set up with gloves, utensils, and a small plate.

The 5,000-won salad bar, with free karaage refills

Instead of a basic side dish spread, there's a salad bar. There were more side dish options than I expected, and plenty of little things to snack on while waiting, so I went back for seconds twice lol.

Karaage and fried bites — they keep refilling if you run out, and this was genuinely delicious 🥺

The basic salad bar usage fee is ₩5,000.

Top-grade 2.3kg bakdal snow crab, served already cleaned

The crab finally arrived!!!! It had been cleaned and cut into easy-to-eat pieces one by one, so I didn't even need scissors — just gloves! Pulling the meat out easily, even I, who's usually bad at picking crab meat, could eat it with no trouble :)

Ahh, you can see how packed it is inside. I asked them to make fried rice with the crab shell right away, and with the doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) included, it's ₩5,000 per person — a really reasonable price.

Wasabi soy sauce beats chogochujang for dipping

Since it had genuinely been about a year since I'd had crab, I took the first bite pretty casually...!!! and it was so much more delicious than I expected ㅠㅠㅠㅜ. So I ended up eating most of it myself. The meat inside was so full and easy to pick out, and the portion was generous enough for two that we couldn't even finish the fried rice 🥺

For dipping, you can grab chogochujang (vinegared chili paste) or wasabi soy sauce from the salad bar. Personally, I recommend the wasabi soy sauce!!!!! ㅜㅜ And if you eat a bite of the fried chili peppers or pickled onions from the salad bar in between, you won't get tired of the flavor and can keep going. Between the crab body and legs, I ended up completely full.

A doenjang stew served in a basin-sized bowl

For a 2-person price, I wasn't expecting a big doenjang stew, but it came out in a huge basin-sized pot, and eating spoonfuls of it alongside the fried rice was pure bliss•••••. This too comes at a discounted price if you order it through a Naver reservation, so I'd recommend pre-ordering through Naver reservation!!

The crab-shell fried rice was nutty and clean-tasting, and it was the perfect way to finish the meal 🥺🤍🫰🏻 If you're looking for a Gijang restaurant in Busan, a crab spot in Gijang Market, I recommend Gijang Myeongpum Daegae 🩷