Red king crab restaurant in Gijang, Busan: 1.7kg for a weekend group

On a lovely weekend, we finally got everyone together and headed to Gijang Market, famous for its Busan eats. Snow crab and king crab are sold at market price, and I've long heard that plenty of places cheat on weight, so I always worry. But Gijang Myeongpum Daegae (기장명품대게), where we went this time, was clearly different. Let me walk you through what I experienced.

Where is Gijang Myeongpum Daegae and how to get there

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is at 5 Chaseongdong-ro 73beon-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, within walking distance of Gijang Station Exit 1. Access is really good, so it's easy by public transport, and if you drive, the building has its own parking lot, which is convenient.

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae opening hours and parking

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is open daily 10:00–21:00, with last order at 20:00. Groups, reservations, delivery, baby chairs and parking are all available.

The parking space is very large, so you really don't need to worry about it. After eating, they hand you a parking coin when you pay, and you just use it to settle up, so there's nothing extra to deal with.

Inside: the red king crab tank and kids' play room

Step inside Gijang Myeongpum Daegae and a tank packed with snow crabs, king crabs and all kinds of crab greets you right at the entrance.

It was crab heaven, honestly. There was a red king crab in the tank, and I thought the color was brown at first, so I asked, and they told me it was a red king crab. Just looking at the tank, you can feel why people call this the tastiest crab place in Gijang.

Eating crab while chasing after the kids can be chaotic! But Gijang Myeongpum Daegae has a play room, so you can eat your crab in peace, right!?

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae menu and complimentary sides

The menu at Gijang Myeongpum Daegae centers on snow crab and king crab, priced by weight at market price. You can also order a variety of sides such as fried rice, crab ramyeon (instant-style noodle soup) and butter-grilled lobster.

What I especially liked was the self-bar. It's like a salad bar with lots of dishes, and you can freely help yourself to salad, fried chicken, fritters, kimchi, corn and even fried peppers.

On top of that, they gave us 2 abalone as a free extra, so we started the meal in a great mood.

Does Gijang Myeongpum Daegae weigh crab without the basket?

At Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, they put the empty basket on the scale first, set the reading to 0, and then added the crab to weigh it. Reading reviews of crab restaurants, the basket weight was honestly my biggest worry. Once I heard that some places weigh the basket along with the crab and charge more than the real weight, it always nagged at me.

At first we weighed snow crab, thinking we might have that, and they put the empty basket on the scale first and zeroed it precisely until the reading hit 0, and only then put the crab in to weigh it.

The snow crab we weighed that way was 2 crabs, 2.6kg, for ₩184,240. After seeing with my own two eyes that the scale really started from 0, my worries about the price vanished.

Snow crab or king crab? Why we picked a 1.7kg red king crab

At Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, we chose a 1.7kg red king crab. Once the basket weight was settled, the real dilemma began. We're honestly king crab people, so we weighed it up for ages: one king crab plus one small snow crab, two snow crabs, or one big king crab.

In the end, since king crab meat tastes better the bigger it is, we settled on the 1.7kg king crab. But later I found out it wasn't king crab season that day. I'm left with a slight regret that snow crab would have been even better, but since the shop's name literally means "premium snow crab," I'd recommend snow crab more to others.

Cleaned red king crab and fried rice in the crab shell

What we ordered was the 1.7kg red king crab, said to have the best sweetness. Look at those pro hands!! They even prepared it for easy eating, so there was no wrestling with shells, and we could just slide the meat right out.

Slurp~~!! So convenient...!! I want to try again in season, I really do~

After eating, we added fried rice with crab innards in a big crab shell. A soup dish came out with it too~ It filled our empty stomachs to the brim and ended the meal on a fantastic note.

Why Gijang Myeongpum Daegae works for families and groups

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae has a self-bar with a salad bar and plenty of seating, so if you're looking for a family or group gathering spot near Gijang Market, it's well worth shortlisting.

With options from appetizers to mains and sides, the lineup works well even when a group has different tastes.

Verdict: in-season snow crab next time

If you want to enjoy snow crab and king crab without worrying about being ripped off, I confidently recommend Gijang Myeongpum Daegae in Gijang, Busan.

We went for king crab this time, but since snow crab is the star here, as the name says, we plan to come back for in-season snow crab.

• Location: 5 Chaseongdong-ro 73beon-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan
• Hours: 10:00–21:00 (last order 20:00)
• Facilities: groups, reservations, delivery, baby chairs, parking