Suwon Japanese restaurant with frosted-glass bar seats: Jojo AK Plaza

Suwon Station, not far from home, has an AK Plaza attached, so I can shop and eat at the same time. Jojo, known as a food court favorite inside AK Plaza, has a bar table setup that's great for solo dining, plus a minimal Japanese-restaurant vibe, so I find myself going there often.

This time I went all out with the yakisoba set plus gyoza. As you get older, you're supposed to eat less, but... well, I'll keep enjoying what's delicious.

Where Jojo AK Plaza Suwon is and what the restaurant feels like

Jojo AK Plaza Suwon comes into view right after you pass through the door connected to Suwon Station. There are food court tables next to Jojo that are convenient too, but the restaurant has its own bar table, which made it a great system for solo dining. With an open kitchen where you can watch the food being made, you could feel the pride they take in the cooking.

There's a modern Japanese-restaurant atmosphere here. It was clean and well maintained.

Jojo's menu: the yakisoba set and the okonomiyaki set

Let's take a look at the menu. Here's the yakisoba set I ordered. It comes with 5 extra pieces of gyoza. Plenty to fill you up, right? It's also available à la carte.

There's also an okonomiyaki (savory pancake) set with a gorgeous visual. I should try that next time. My eyes kept drifting to it. There's also a set for two where you can try both okonomiyaki and yakisoba. I've come here alone often because it's such a good spot for solo dining, but next time I should bring my partner.

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The food display case at Jojo

Here are the food samples. This is the kind of setup you get. Looking forward to it.

A bar table built for solo dining

True to its reputation as a great spot for solo dining near Suwon Station, Jojo has a bar table wrapping around the store. I'm comfortable eating alone too, so I tend to seek out restaurants with a good solo-dining atmosphere when I'm out shopping or running errands. In that sense, Jojo got a thumbs up from me. The frosted glass minimized eye contact with staff as much as possible, which let me eat even more at ease.

How does Jojo's yakisoba set taste?

Here's the yakisoba set I ordered. Since it's Japanese food, it comes out as one full tray. I'm not really a fan of sharing side dishes or food, so having everything come out as an individual tray was just right for me.

Let's look at the yakisoba first. Looks generous at a glance, right? But it's lunchtime. I'm hungry.

Look at those noodles. Plump. Soft and springy.

The sauce is generous too. But that doesn't mean it's salty.

Soft yet chewy. Goes down smoothly. I think even a baby could eat this.

The vegetables were abundant too. When eating out, a lot of places focus on flavor with heavy sauces, but Jojo was different. It's loaded with vegetables I love. You almost wouldn't need to eat a separate salad.

There's meat in there too. Gotta get a balanced dose of protein, right?

Dipping the mild vegetables in mentaiko sauce

The seasoning was mild, which was nice for the noodles, but the vegetables felt a bit plain on their own, so I tried dipping them in the mentaiko (pollock roe) sauce from the gyoza. Thumbs up. Even I was surprised — at my own improvisation skills.

The pickled radish is refreshing too. It really cuts through the richness.

The 5 mentaiko gyoza that come with the set

Let's check out the mentaiko gyoza. It's not easy to fry these at home like this. So I decided to savor them fully.

Fried perfectly, front and back. The visual alone is good. And the taste is crispy... this is one of those things you just have to taste to understand. The sauce is rich too.

Crunch... a sound too good to enjoy alone. It puts me in a good mood. Eating the set definitely fills you up. I do tend to eat a lot, so this amount felt about right for me. For light eaters, this might be quite a lot of food. I'll walk, exercise, and spend an energetic afternoon.

Jojo at Suwon Station was a comfortable restaurant for solo dining, and the taste was impressive enough to make you wonder how a food court spot could be this good. The neat, tidy Japanese-restaurant atmosphere was pleasant too.

A personal note

I finished reading Gong Ji-young's I Will Cheer for You 2. There's a line I remember. During a very difficult time, an acquaintance told her to find five things to be grateful for. I'm going through a happy period, but I want to try it too.

• My family being well
• My partner's unchanging affection
• A library within walking distance
• Free time
• People who showed me kindness today

Not easy, as expected. But I'll keep looking every day.