Yeonnam-dong monjayaki spot: sibling first try, kirimochi tip, Jojo

I recently had dinner in Yeonnam-dong with my younger sibling, and we finally made it to Jojo Yeonnam Branch (죠죠 연남점), already famous as a Culinary Class Wars restaurant and as a go-to Japanese spot in Yeonnam-dong!

It's so hot for its okonomiyaki and monjayaki (a runny Tokyo-style pan-fried batter dish) that I'd always been curious, and this time I finally tried the monjayaki! We ordered a set that also comes with yakisoba and potato salad. I'll walk you through everything from how crowded it gets on a weekday to how it tasted!

Getting to Jojo Yeonnam Branch, parking, and weekday evening crowds

Jojo Yeonnam Branch is an 8-minute walk from Exit 3 of Hongik Univ. Station, and it has no parking lot of its own. You can use the Yeonnam 3 public parking lot, a 1-minute walk away (₩250 per 5 minutes), but it has very few spaces, so I recommend public transport.

Outside there's a stand with menu photos, plus the honorable Culinary Class Wars 2 image!

We visited around 5:40 pm on a weekday and it was already really packed.

The mood at the window teppan table

We sat at a teppan (iron griddle) table by the window, and the atmosphere was really lovely.

Look at the cute little monjayaki spatulas, haha! It felt like a Japanese izakaya (pub) over there (I've only been to Japan once, lol). Eating right in front of the griddle was fun too.

Jojo Yeonnam Branch monjayaki set for two: what's in it and the price

The menu at Jojo Yeonnam Branch looks like this.

We ordered the monjayaki set for two! (₩39,500 in total) Here's what's in it.

• 🩷 Mentaiko (spicy pollock roe) monjayaki
• 🩷 Karai yakisoba (spicy stir-fried noodles)
• 🩷 Waterfall potato

The amount was just right for two!

What does the waterfall potato taste like?

The waterfall potato was the first dish out from the set for two: potato salad topped with a soft-boiled egg, mustard sauce, and tempura crumbs.

Isn't it gorgeous? A soft-boiled egg sits on nutty, slightly sweet potato salad, generously sprinkled with mustard sauce and crunchy tempura crumbs.

Scoop up a big spoonful of salad, dab it in the egg, mustard and crumbs, and you get lots of textures at once. So good!

Is the karai yakisoba very spicy?

The karai yakisoba at Jojo Yeonnam Branch was barely spicy, more like a savory teriyaki soba.

The noodles are stir-fried with spicy peperoncino flakes and sweet soy sauce! I didn't taste much heat, it felt like a rich, savory teriyaki soba!

The noodles were springy, and it had vegetables, pork and shrimp, so I was happy! Since it came with the set I hadn't expected much, but the yakisoba was pretty tasty too.

Mentaiko monjayaki: what was the texture like for a first-timer?

The mentaiko monjayaki at Jojo Yeonnam Branch arrives with mentaiko, bonito flakes, kirimochi (rice cake), puffed rice and cabbage, and a staff member cooks it for you on the griddle. Today's star: the mentaiko monjayaki!

Gulp, am I shaking? It comes with mentaiko, bonito flakes, kirimochi, puffed rice and cabbage!

A scoop of nutty mozzarella cheese comes standard too! I've eaten plenty of okonomiyaki, but this was my first monjayaki, so I was super excited.

Staff cook it for you and tell you when with a timer

A staff member cooks it right on the griddle, and watching the process is a lot of fun. Definitely film it, haha.

Watching it bubble and come together! No need to wonder when to eat. The staff set a timer, tell you that you can eat when the alarm goes off, and even adjust the heat for you, lol.

As it cooks, you scrape off a portion with the spatula, press the side facing the ceiling back onto the griddle to sear it, then eat! Mmm, so good.

I enjoyed it quite a lot! I'd imagined a sticky, gooey rice-cake texture, but it was moist and crunchy with plenty of cabbage, and the savory, salty mentaiko in between was the kicker!

If you want a thick, gooey monjayaki texture

One tip from me: if you want a thick, gooey texture, mix in the kirimochi that comes on top or add extra cheese, and you'll get the texture you want!

Overall verdict on Jojo Yeonnam Branch

If you want a different kind of Japanese food in Yeonnam-dong, I recommend Jojo Yeonnam Branch! I'd been curious about monjayaki for ages, and it was far tastier than I expected.

The waterfall potato was a treat, and with the karai yakisoba the set was generous, great for two people to eat their fill! Best of all, you can enjoy a Culinary Class Wars restaurant for under ₩40,000, haha. If you're looking for a Japanese restaurant in Yeonnam-dong or Hongdae, it's worth a visit!