Myeongdong jokbal restaurant with king shrimp salad: Miss Jokbal

A dinner get-together after nearly a month! I was trying to decide what to eat, and of course I wanted meat — but samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) or gopchang (grilled intestines) would leave a smell on my clothes, so I went with tender boiled jokbal (braised pig's trotters) instead~

We picked Myeongdong as the midpoint, and it's close to Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station on line 2. It'd been a while since I'd wandered around Myeongdong's streets, so I was excited.

A perfect wrap of tender jokbal topped with kimchi ~~

You can also pair it with a salad, and it comes with king shrimp on top — so good. And it's even a bit closer to Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station!

Where is Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch, and what are the first-floor window seats like?

Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch is on Myeongdong 3-gil 21, on the first floor, so it's easy to find. The restroom is right up on the second floor, so it's convenient to use.

This is the first-floor hall, and it was almost all Korean customers. I noticed foreign customers being seated upstairs on the second floor!!

There's a full window view outside, and I sat right at the window seat haha.

The pork, rice, and cabbage used for the main jokbal dish were all domestically sourced!

They're open until 3am, so it's a good spot when you can't decide what to eat for a late-night bite in Myeongdong.

What comes with the emperor's jokbal at 58,000 won?

Emperor's Jokbal ₩58,000

I ordered the emperor's jokbal and it came out on a huge plate. There were also all kinds of Korean side dishes so I could enjoy a hearty meal. Tofu kimchi, gimbap (seaweed rice roll), japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), and even cheonsachae (spicy jelly noodle salad) and cheongpomuk (mung bean jelly salad) — I loved it. And the wrap greens came in three types too: lettuce, perilla leaves, and alba cabbage!!

Another great thing about this Myeongdong jokbal spot, Miss Jokbal, is that even if you only order jokbal, you get kimchi kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) broth. The spicy, tangy kimchi kalguksu is boiled right at your table so you can eat it piping hot.

They give you the kalguksu noodles separately like this!

The jokbal came half-and-half — the chewy collagen skin part and the lean meat part — and underneath they also gave us bone pieces you can gnaw on. The spread was so lavish and abundant that I was actually stumped on where to start eating.

I always order the extra-large size for jokbal (or large if there's no extra-large), but the size at this Myeongdong jokbal spot, Miss Jokbal, was much bigger than medium — somewhere between medium and large in portion. It seemed like it could feed 3–4 women.

Every side dish, from king shrimp salad to gimbap and cheonsachae

I didn't really know better so I just went straight for the salad, but apparently it's even tastier eaten together with the jokbal 😊

The shrimp were huge and so plump and springy, loved it.

Next up, gimbap ~ a really no-frills version with just the essentials. The carrots were sweet enough that it was tasty even without pickled radish.

The gimbap seemed freshly rolled — it was piping hot, which I loved. Gimbap has all sorts of fillings rolled together so it spoils quickly; it must take a lot of time and effort to serve it as a side dish like this~

The cheonsachae (spicy jelly noodle salad) that I've often had with spicy food! It has a nice crunchy texture and the mayonnaise smoothly tones down the heat. Honestly, since I like spicy food, the only really spicy thing here was the kimchi kalguksu — this one's tasty just eaten on its own.

Radish kimchi and cabbage kimchi! The cabbage kimchi was cut so neatly. I was extra happy that pickled garlic scapes and pickled gungchae came out alongside it lol. This one's delicious.

The wrap greens come as a combo of perilla leaves, lettuce, and alba cabbage, so you can wrap it up however you like. Even with such a huge variety of side dishes, everything was warm and freshly made, and it was so delicious. This really felt like a jokbal spot that's survived in the Euljiro and Myeongdong area for a reason.

How the jokbal tastes with the three sauces: saeujeot, mala ssamjang and ssamjang

The jokbal is the warm, soft style~ Even the lean meat part was so tender and delicious.

We both diligently wrapped and ate our fill.

This Myeongdong jokbal spot is delicious even eaten plain, but they also give you sauces to go with it.

Jokbal's classic partner, salted shrimp (saeujeot), and in the middle was mala dipping sauce!? A mala sauce at a jokbal place — surprising, but it worked really well. At the very bottom was the regular ssamjang, so three sauces total: saeujeot, mala sauce, and ssamjang.

It's not overwhelmingly numbing, just subtly blended in well — recommended. Dipping in it here and there was a nice extra kick.

Another thing I liked was that the meat still on the bone had score marks cut into it to make it easy to eat! I picked it up with chopsticks and bit in, and the meat came right off — so convenient. Anyone else who loves the meat stuck to the bone? It's a bit of a hassle, but that's the truly delicious part, right?

Finishing the meal with kimchi kalguksu cooked at the table

Once it's bubbling hot, they drop the noodles right in and cook them~ Being able to eat it freshly boiled and piping hot was so, so nice.

Eating meat can leave you feeling a bit greasy, but the spicy, tangy kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) cut right through it — loved it. It also had kimchi and plump bean sprouts in it. It's a bit on the spicy side, so heads up for those who can't handle spice 🔥

Chewy and really delicious.

Clearing it all out with the spicy broth.

A day spent enjoying delicious jokbal wrapped up generously in greens. I had a bit of a prejudice against Myeongdong restaurants, but every single Korean side dish here was delicious, and I'd want to come back with family too. While we were eating happily, group inquiries kept coming in nonstop, which made me think — this really is a top jokbal spot in Myeongdong. I'd love to come back again if I get the chance. Thanks for the meal today.