Myeongdong jokbal restaurant packed at 8:40pm Saturday: Miss Jokbal

These days, Myeongdong/Euljiro on a Saturday evening... is seriously hot!! Among all the spots, I visited an especially popular Myeongdong jokbal (pork trotter) place that was completely packed.

Where is Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch, and what are its hours?

This is Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch! Open daily from 11:00 to 3:00 the next morning, and it's just a 1-minute walk from Euljiro 1-ga Station.

Daily 11:00–3:00 the next morning

The hours are so good — open until 3am with no days off! Since it's jokbal, it'd be great as a late-night snack too. They said they're open with no closures even during this Chuseok holiday! And the location, just 1 minute from Euljiro 1-ga... such a great spot. Perfect if you're coming from sightseeing at Myeongdong Cathedral!

Inside, it was truly full — foreigners and Koreans alike... so this really is a foreigner-favorite spot in Myeongdong.

Why order the emperor's jokbal from the Miss Jokbal menu?

Check out the big menu board in front — the emperor's jokbal was right at the top, and the visual was so dominant I couldn't not order it. There are also plenty of lunch set menus, which would be great for office workers too!

What Miss Jokbal looks like at 8:40pm on a Saturday

The place was quite spacious, and by 8:40pm on Saturday it was completely full. Genuinely half Korean, half foreign. Many cases of Koreans bringing foreign friends! There were also foreign families and groups of friends. This jokbal place would be such a great one to bring foreign friends to as a Myeongdong spot. That reassuring feeling of a place packed with people.

Here are the additional side menu options

You've gotta eat in the tastiest order, right, so...

Kimchi kalguksu, the free noodle soup served before the jokbal

A jokbal place that gives you kimchi kalguksu (noodle soup)...? So good, seriously. It was spicier than expected, which totally kicked my appetite into gear. As the serving suggestion says, you're meant to take a bite of the noodles first, before the jokbal arrives.

How the emperor's jokbal tastes with all three sauces

It really lives up to its name, this emperor's jokbal... the jokbal looked absolutely imperial. I was so excited I nearly lost it. The portion was huge, and there was so much surrounding it on both sides!

Seriously generous...

Okay, let me describe the taste. First off, jokbal meat should never be dry — it needs to be tender and chewy, and this passed, just flat-out passed. Completely soft yet chewy. Even though it had just come out, some places serve it cold, but here it was warm, which made it even better!!

First, just enjoy the meat on its own. Oh, and the 3 sauces weren't just shrimp sauce and ssamjang — there was mala sauce too!! Honestly I can't handle mala so I was a bit disappointed, but my boyfriend was very-satisfied that the mala sauce was there.

Muk, gimbap and stir-fried kimchi: the sides at Miss Jokbal

Now time to enjoy the sides alongside it... with jokbal, if you're only eating it with kimchi and pickled radish, you can get tired of it, but here there's really no room to get tired. Why? Because the emperor's jokbal comes with an insane variety of sides. And the kicker is every single side is delicious ..!! Nothing here isn't tasty. How can every single banchan (side dish) be this good. It can't get greasy because the sides all balance it out...

You can really eat it in so many different combinations, like

• Meat + each type of side dish
• Meat + all 3 types of sauce
• Meat + kimchi kalguksu
• And if you add a wrap on top, the variations go wild..

Personally, among the sides on both sides, the muk (jelly) was really tasty.... it just kept going down smoothly. I wondered if gimbap would even go with this? but it does, because you need the carbs.... as a rice substitute!! There was both stir-fried kimchi and regular kimchi, which was great.

Is the emperor's jokbal enough for two, and how many should come?

The portion really was enough for two of us to eat until we were stuffed... totally generous. Personally I think it'd be best with 3-4 people, ordering the emperor's jokbal along with other sides!!

Most jokbal places usually serve makguksu (buckwheat noodles), but personally I thought the kimchi kalguksu was one of the highlights here too ...., spicier than expected and paired really well!! (If you eat it too fast, it might be spicier than you expect!!) And it's a good amount of carbs too...

I'm definitely bringing my foreign friends here next time for a meal.... I genuinely recommend the emperor's jokbal as a real Myeongdong jokbal favorite!!! Such a satisfying meal. This was a genuinely real review ,,,,