Changwon jokbal restaurant with octopus spicy trotters: Songgane

Hi, this is Heeya. This weekend, instead of my usual trip to Daegu, I had dinner with my mom at a 33-year-old jokbal (pork trotter) restaurant in Palyong-dong, Songgane Wang Jokbal Bossam Changwon Station Branch. Here's my honest review of their spicy jokbal and bossam.

Where is Songgane Wang Jokbal Bossam Changwon Station Branch, and its hours and parking

Songgane Wang Jokbal Bossam Changwon Station Branch is on the 1st floor of 13-12 Uichang-daero 54beon-gil, Uichang-gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam. It's open Monday to Saturday from 14:00 to 24:00 (last order 23:00), and closed every Sunday.

• Address: 13-12 Uichang-daero 54beon-gil, Uichang-gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam, South Korea, 1st floor, Songgane Wang Jokbal Bossam
• Hours: Mon–Sat 14:00–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Closed: Every Sunday
• Reservations available / group dining available / takeout available / delivery available
• Zero Pay accepted, parking available

There's a parking space right in front of the restaurant, just so you know.

Oh, they call it "handmade jokbal" — boiled by the owner in the shop every single day. No wonder this place has 33 years of history behind it.

I went in the early evening when there weren't many customers, but soon takeout orders started coming in and the tables filled up. Guess a famous spot really is famous for a reason.

Inside the restaurant and the side dishes that come first

The restaurant at Songgane Wang Jokbal Bossam Changwon Station Branch is spacious, so it'd be great for groups too. Whenever I'm with my mom we tend to eat all day, so I wasn't even that hungry going in — but somehow we still cleaned the whole table. Is that even real?

Even the water was yagwanmun tea (a nutty herbal tea), and it was so nutty and delicious. Drinks and alcohol are all kept in the fridge.

There's an origin label board on the wall too. Every table has its own menu, and I ordered off the one posted in the shop. So what did I order?

What three people ordered at Songgane, and what it cost

At Songgane Wang Jokbal Bossam Changwon Station Branch, the three of us ordered the large Maejok Set for 45,000 won (choice of spicy jokbal plus jokbal & bossam). On top of that we added a small buckwheat noodle platter for 8,000 won, doenjang stew for 5,000 won, soju for 5,000 won, and rice for 1,000 won.

• Maejok Set (large) ₩45,000 (spicy jokbal + choice of jokbal & bossam)
• Buckwheat noodle platter (small) ₩8,000
• Doenjang stew ₩5,000
• Soju ₩5,000
• Rice ₩1,000

That's what we ordered. Once you order, the table setting begins, and delicious side dishes come out first.

The lettuce wraps were so fresh — you know jokbal and bossam wrapped in fresh greens has to be good.

The pickled onions were also amazing, and since it's been hot lately, the bean sprout soup came out nice and cold. Kimchi and dried radish strips came alongside the bossam too — the kimchi had that distinct fermented-seafood tang, exactly my style.

There's octopus in the spicy jokbal?

The food arrived. Surprisingly, the spicy jokbal at Songgane Wang Jokbal Bossam Changwon Station Branch had octopus mixed in — haha! First time I've had jokbal with octopus in it. The octopus itself was tender and delicious too.

We ordered the large size and it was just right for three people. Since it was the three of us, and my mom initially thought the large might be too much, but since there were only small and large options, we went with large.

The bossam came with 21 pieces! I love bossam too, but today I was really craving the spicy jokbal.

Sliced into perfectly bite-sized pieces, the meat wasn't too thick, which I liked. Plenty of fat, plenty of lean meat — you need some fatty bits for it to really taste good, and this 33-year jokbal restaurant in Palyong-dong nailed both the spicy jokbal and bossam.

The pickled onions were so good that eating them with the bossam kept it from feeling greasy at all — really delicious.

Wrapping it in perilla leaves, which I love, was also great.

You might wonder about octopus in spicy jokbal, but it actually pairs really well together. The jokbal was spicy and delicious.

So tender it melts in your mouth, haha — and I'm a total sucker for the collagen-rich parts of jokbal.

Is bossam with spicy jokbal delicious or not delicious together? Obviously completely delicious!

The bossam kimchi was also tasty, and even better paired with the dried radish strips.

Buckwheat noodle platter and doenjang stew: the best things to order alongside

The small buckwheat noodle platter (8,000 won) had mustard mixed in, giving it a tangy, sharp kick, and it was topped with peanuts and raisins. The chewy noodles paired perfectly with the bossam.

My personal favorite was the doenjang stew. Seriously, you have to try this doenjang stew — such a delicious country-style soybean paste! It was loaded with tofu, so there's no fighting over who gets the tofu. Have you ever seen a doenjang stew with this much tofu in it?

The broth was refreshing and so tasty. My mom said she was too full to eat any, but ended up eating it anyway because it was that good — not a secret anymore. Mixing a big scoop of tofu with rice was also delicious.

Mixing the tofu with the doenjang stew broth and eating it alongside the Maejok Set was so good too.

I scraped up every last bit of tofu left in the stew, haha. My mom even scooped the leftover jokbal into my rice bowl.

We completely cleaned every plate at this 33-year jokbal restaurant in Palyong-dong, Songgane Wang Jokbal Bossam Changwon Station Branch — spicy jokbal and bossam highly recommended.