Corn-topped mentaiko monjayaki and celebration flags in Mullae: Jojo

Jojo is a must when it comes to Mullae-dong restaurants — also a great Mullae-dong restaurant/bar recommendation for an engagement gathering.

Jojo Mullae Branch hours and how to find it from Mullae Station

Jojo Mullae Branch is open daily from 11:30 to 22:00, with a break time from 15:30 to 17:00. You can find it after walking about 5 minutes from Exit 1 of Mullae Station.

Mullae is a neighborhood where great restaurants hide in tiny alleys, and we held our engagement gathering here — true to its hot-neighborhood status, it was packed even on a weekday afternoon. Jojo Mullae is found after about a 5-minute walk from Exit 1 of Mullae Station, and while it's tucked into a narrow alley as expected, it's clustered near other popular restaurants and cafés, so it wasn't hard to find.

Seating at Jojo Mullae Branch and how long the wait runs

The inside of Jojo Mullae Branch isn't huge, but the tables are compactly arranged so there's actually a decent number of seats! But from around 6 PM there's almost always a wait, so if you have the time, I'd recommend arriving a bit early!

What comes in the monjayaki sets at Jojo Mullae Branch

Jojo Mullae Branch, where you can try a variety of Japanese teppanyaki dishes, has a menu including mentaiko monjayaki (fermented pollack roe monjayaki) and yakisoba. The signature 2-person set includes Jojo okonomiyaki, Jojo yakisoba, and donpeyaki, while the monjayaki 2-person set includes mentaiko monjayaki, karai yakisoba, and waterfall potato.

This right here is the mentaiko monjayaki (fermented pollack roe monjayaki)!! The texture is unique so opinions are apparently a bit divided, but if you're patient and cook it slowly, it turns out to be a fun teppan dish in its own way!! Something I found out later — the original branch is actually in Yongsan, and it became an even more famous Mullae restaurant after the chef appeared on the show Culinary Class Wars.

Mentaiko monjayaki toppings: corn or mochi, which is better?

Anyway, for the mentaiko monjayaki at Jojo Mullae, you could add whatever toppings you wanted, like mochi or corn — if you like a crunchy texture, I'd recommend adding corn!! I was debating whether to add mochi too since I thought it wasn't included at all by default, so in the end I only added corn — but it turned out there was already a decent amount of mochi included as standard, so it was plenty for a taste. If you love that chewy texture, go ahead and add extra mochi :3

The cabbage, the slightly runny batter, and the savory saltiness of the mentaiko all come together nicely, and once it gets nice and crispy at the bottom, you just scrape and eat. Once it's cooked to a certain point, they turn the heat way down, so it doesn't cook or stick as fast as it did at first — but if you leave it slowly cooking for a while, you can enjoy Jojo Mullae's monjayaki with a properly nutty, crispy-bottom feel, like scorched rice.

The waterfall potato included in the 2-person set

And there's also the potato waterfall(?) included in the set — the soft-boiled egg on top and the onion chips add a crunchy texture to the mashed potato! They tell you it tastes best mixed all together, and it really is much tastier eating the chips and egg together rather than just the potato alone!

The celebration flag service for a wedding invitation gathering

Before I arrived, they asked my friend if there was anything worth celebrating, and she said she'd written this — and they went ahead and planted it right on top like a flag. So cute, haha.

Anyway, since monjayaki releases moisture from the cabbage, it really does need to cook for quite a long time, so I'd recommend ordering side dishes together or going for a set.

Once you've neatly spread it out like this, you have to wait until it's cooked all the way through, so it does take quite a while!

Karai yakisoba: how spicy is it?

The karai yakisoba (spicy stir-fried noodles), with shrimp, cabbage, and chewy yakisoba noodles, plus a sauce with just the right smoky char — it was a pretty delicious yakisoba!!

And here's the monjayaki slowly cooking away — actually still not done yet, since the mochi on top is still melting, and you have to wait until then. Monjayaki seems to really depend on the hands of whoever cooks it — the thinner and flatter it's spread out at the end, the faster you can eat it, and the crispier and nuttier it turns out!

The letdown: our kaisen okonomiyaki order was missed

The extra seafood okonomiyaki, kaisen okonomiyaki, that we'd ordered separately — this was an add-on order, but maybe because things were busy, it got missed. When I asked once, they said it was on its way, but when it still didn't come and I asked again, I saw them just then telling the kitchen and heading back in to cook it,,,, And my phone was at 3% so I'd asked them to charge it — they said they would, but forgot, and it just sat there uncharged until we got up to leave..... Aside from these service hiccups, the prices weren't expensive either, so it would be great for a casual lunch in Mullae-dong or a light date course!

Aside from a few disappointing service moments, the food, prices, and overall atmosphere were satisfying — the staff at Jojo Mullae were hip and kind, and the owner was really stylish too!!