Solo garlic jokbal at a Myeongdong jokbal restaurant: Miss Jokbal

Where is Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch? Closer to Euljiro 1-ga Station

Today I visited Miss Jokbal Myeongdong Branch. I'm not really a jokbal (Korean braised pork trotter) fan, but I decided to try eating it solo.

The location is actually closer to Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station than Myeongdong Station.

🕐Hours: daily 11:00 - 3:00 (next day) / 🚘No parking

Finding the entrance: up the stairs on the left of the building

Here's the exterior. There was a menu board out front, which was nice for checking ahead.

At first I was looking around for the entrance, haha. Usually it's in the middle, but at Miss Jokbal Myeongdong the entrance is up the staircase on the left.

Inside Miss Jokbal at 4pm: tables already filling up

Here's the interior. I went around 4pm and there were already quite a lot of people.

There are seats in the back too. Not long after I sat down, those filled up as well, haha.

There's a note on the order for the tastiest way to eat. I liked that kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) and salad come included by default.

Open the drawer next to the table and you'll find utensils, napkins and disposable gloves ready to go. There were also disposable aprons on hand, and they'll bring wet wipes if you ask.

This is the country-of-origin display board, for reference.

They also have wifi ready.

What's on the menu at Miss Jokbal Myeongdong?

There's a wide range of menu items — emperor jokbal, octopus emperor jokbal, plain jokbal, bossam (boiled pork wraps) and more.

Beyond garlic jokbal, half-and-half jokbal, minari black pork bossam and other options, they also have golbaengi (whelk salad) and yukhoe (raw beef).

There are also side dishes like savory pancakes, steamed egg, rice balls, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and jaengban guksu (platter noodles).

There's also sundae (blood sausage), mul-makguksu (buckwheat noodles in broth), and yeolmu naengmyeon (cold noodles with young radish kimchi), and you can add extra kalguksu or garlic sauce. The lunch menu has sundubu jjigae, mul-makguksu, galbitang, pork gukbap and yeolmu naengmyeon. I also noticed there's a separate set-lunch version of jokbal or bossam — I'd love to try that on my next visit!

There's a drinks menu too.

Garlic jokbal, large (serves 3-4, 50,000 won), eaten solo

I ordered the garlic jokbal, large (serves 3-4). I already love garlic bossam, so I was curious what garlic jokbal would taste like. The price was ₩50,000... it felt a bit pricey, though I guess that's because jokbal takes a lot of care and effort to make.

The free salad and angel hair noodles at Miss Jokbal

The salad was genuinely delicious. It had cherry tomatoes and a light scatter of almonds and walnuts, so you get a nutty flavor and a healthy touch at once. The mild oriental dressing paired really well with the jokbal. Whenever the jokbal started to feel rich, a bite of salad cut right through it.

There's also angel hair noodles (cheonsachae) and dried radish as included side dishes. I normally don't eat angel hair noodles, but here they were so good I kept going back for more. They must be tossed in mayonnaise — why is it so good?

How big is the free kalguksu? On the small side

They also give you kalguksu, with a fairly spicy broth. But since the large jokbal is normally meant for 3-4 people, the kalguksu portion felt a bit small. When I asked, they said it's a complimentary item, so if you want more you need to order it separately.

My garlic bossam large (serves 3-4) arrived.

There was a candle lit underneath to keep it warm.

The kalguksu had bean sprouts and kimchi in it, giving it a nice kick. Here's about how much kalguksu you get.

There are basic sauces to go with the jokbal.

This is the rice ball I got as part of a review event — no mayo-based sauce on the side. Rice with pickled radish, flying fish roe and seaweed flakes!

Garlic sauce and soft jokbal: how it tasted

Looking at these photos is making me hungry again, ugh. The garlic sauce was really good — sweet with a spicy-sharp garlic kick that paired beautifully with the jokbal.

Like a work of art, haha, so cool — I mean so delicious 🤤 You know how some jokbal is chewy and some is soft? Miss Jokbal's is the soft kind. It was softer and more moist than bossam, and just kept going down easily.

It was a generous spread — but eating solo, it became a one-person portion.

I picked up a piece of jokbal and enjoyed it with the garlic sauce.

Once I started to get a little tired of the jokbal, I brought the kalguksu broth to a boil, added the noodles, and finished it off.

Is Miss Jokbal Myeongdong good for solo dining?

I'd originally planned to pack leftovers to go, but I ended up finishing everything, so no takeout box needed — I ate very well. The owner and staff weren't fluent in Korean, but I could genuinely feel their kindness from everyone. If you want soft, moist jokbal in Myeongdong, I recommend the garlic jokbal at Miss Jokbal Myeongdong Branch!!🤤🙂