Post-Pilates solo yakisoba set at a Suwon Station mall: Jojo AK Plaza

Why the AK Plaza basement food hall is hard to walk past after Pilates

For me, the basement 1 floor of AK Plaza at Suwon Station is truly a place I can't just walk past, haha. It's right on the way home after Pilates, so every time I go, I end up doing a full lap of the food hall. Like a sparrow that can't pass by a mill, I always end up eating something there or taking food home.

Not long ago, I headed into the AK Plaza basement after Pilates on my way home, and suddenly I really wanted yakisoba! And there just so happened to be a great yakisoba place in the basement — Jojo!

Jojo

Where Jojo AK Plaza Suwon is, and its hours

Jojo is located at 924 Deogyeong-daero, B1F AK Department Store, Paldal-gu, Suwon, and it's open daily from 10:30 to 20:00 (closed on department store holidays). Coming in through the basement entrance from Suwon Station, the food hall stalls line up right in front of you, and Jojo is right there, so it's very easy to find. You don't even need to look for it — it naturally catches your eye as you walk by, which is extremely dangerous for someone who just finished working out! ^_^

Bar seating at Jojo makes eating alone easy

Jojo has bar-style seating, which made it easy to eat alone without feeling awkward. It's an open teppan kitchen, so you can watch the food being made as you pass by, and the smell of everything sizzling makes it hard to just walk past, haha.

Like me, everyone else eating there that day was also dining solo! Suwon Station can be a bit tricky when you're looking for somewhere to eat by yourself, but being inside AK Plaza and directly connected to the station makes it very accessible.

What comes in the 18,000-won yakisoba set

The yakisoba set I ordered at Jojo was basic yakisoba plus mentaiko gyoza (cod roe dumplings), priced at 18,000 won. Jojo also has okonomiyaki, fried rice, and other dishes, but yakisoba was what I was craving that day!

Yakisoba alone felt a little lacking, but ordering a bunch of extra dishes felt like too much for eating alone — so this set was just the right amount, which is why I chose it!

After ordering and getting the buzzer, they start cooking right away on the teppan. Since it's an open kitchen, you can watch the food being stir-fried on the flat grill, which is oddly fun to watch, haha. And the smell is absolutely insane! Waiting on an empty stomach while watching that is a little rough, haha.

How the basic yakisoba tastes, and what the shredded ginger does

The yakisoba set finally arrived! Just looking at it, you could tell it had been stir-fried fresh on the teppan.

The yakisoba had cabbage, pork, and squid in it, topped with chopped scallions and ginger shreds.

I tried the noodles first, and they were quite springy and chewy! The salty-sweet sauce that's so typical of yakisoba was well soaked into the noodles. There was a lot of cabbage too, so the texture was great, and there was plenty of meat, making it feel like a filling meal.

I thought the ginger shreds on top of the yakisoba played an oddly important role — since it's a dish with sauce, it can get a little heavy the more you eat, but the ginger popping up here and there kind of resets your palate, which I liked! That's why I was able to eat it all without getting tired of it, more than I expected.

Why the set is worth it: the mentaiko gyoza

Honestly, I wanted the yakisoba, but one of the reasons I chose the set was the mentaiko gyoza. I already love gyoza, and I really love mentaiko (seasoned cod roe), so the combination of mentaiko sauce and gyoza? Couldn't pass that up.

The gyoza was crispy outside, juicy inside — exactly what you'd want.

And dipping it generously into the mentaiko sauce — how good do you think that is? I ate every last bite of both the yakisoba and the mentaiko gyoza by myself... the yakisoba and mentaiko gyoza combo is really good.

Is Jojo a good solo meal near Suwon Station?

Jojo is also running a Naver receipt review event, so writing a review to get a free drink sounds like a great deal! The yakisoba set was more filling than I expected for one meal, and best of all, since it's stir-fried right there on the teppan, you get to eat it hot.

I honestly walked in that day with zero plans, but it seems like a good place to stop by if you want to grab something to eat before heading home after running errands near Suwon Station. If you suddenly find yourself craving yakisoba at Suwon Station, or you're looking for somewhere to eat alone in the AK Plaza basement, Jojo — a well-known Japanese restaurant in AK Suwon — might be worth a visit!