Myeongdong jokbal restaurant with 11 banchan dishes: Miss Jokbal

I was wandering around Myeongdong after a while when I spotted a jokbal (Korean braised pig's trotters) place absolutely packed with customers in the middle of the day — I suddenly craved jokbal and went in.

It was already surprising that a jokbal place was full this early, but even more surprising was that most of the customers were foreign tourists.

But once I saw how generous the jokbal spread was, with a genuinely record-breaking variety of side dishes, I understood why so many people were there.

Myeongdong has so many good restaurants, and it gets absolutely packed with everyone from office workers to tourists at lunchtime, so picking a place to eat is always a bit of a dilemma. Looking around the neighborhood, this place seemed to be the most popular by far.

What time does Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch open, and how busy is lunch?

Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch opens at 11am, but since they need prep time, you can only actually enter from 11:30am. I went during lunch and there were a huge number of customers. Given the Myeongdong location, most looked like foreign tourists, though I did spot some Korean customers here and there.

It's a great spot to eat after shopping in Myeongdong or looking around Myeongdong Cathedral. I also noticed customers who looked like they were in nurse uniforms, so it seems staff from nearby hospitals come here too.

If every minute counts during your lunch break and you want to avoid the wait, it's best to get there as early as possible.

Emperor's jokbal and the kimchi kalguksu cooked at the table

I ordered the emperor's jokbal.

At first, when they set up a burner and something that looked like kimchi soup, I thought they'd brought the wrong order. But it turned out to be a kimchi kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) served as a side.

Once the kimchi soup comes to a full boil, you add the noodles and eat. You can have it as an appetizer before the jokbal arrives, or as a kind of dessert after finishing the jokbal. The noodles were chewy, and the spicy, tangy broth was packed with kimchi flavor — a refreshing, hangover-soup-style kalguksu.

What comes in the 11-dish banchan spread?

The jokbal comes out on a tray as a full spread, and I was floored by how varied the banchan (side dishes) were. Usually you'd just get some lettuce wraps and kimchi, but here it was practically an 11-dish spread.

Cheonsachae (seasoned kelp-like glass strands), japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), umutgasari (agar jelly strands) — it was a genuinely proper spread. It made total sense why the dish is called "emperor's jokbal."

There were plenty of side dishes I'd never thought to pair with jokbal before, but surprisingly they went really well together and were delicious, so I kept reaching for them. Eat a piece of jokbal, cycle through the different banchan, throw in some kimchi kalguksu here and there — by the end I was completely stuffed. Alternating between the chewy, mild jokbal and the spicy, tangy kimchi kalguksu balanced out really well. If I'd gone in the evening, I definitely would have had a drink with it.

Is Miss Jokbal worth it for lunch or dinner in Myeongdong?

A lot of people visit Myeongdong for shopping or sightseeing, so location matters quite a bit when choosing where to eat. Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch sits right in central Myeongdong, making it easy to stop by mid-outing. It's a good fit after wandering around Myeongdong Cathedral or the Myeongdong shopping streets, and it's also a convenient stop on the way toward Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station.

You don't usually see this many people this early for lunch, but places with crowds like this tend to have a reason. The staff were friendly, and the restaurant was tidy and clean.

The food was clean-tasting and the menu was well put together, so it's somewhere I'd like to go back to. If you're planning to visit right at mealtime, it's worth giving yourself some buffer since it can get crowded.

If you need a filling lunch or dinner in Myeongdong, I fully recommend Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch. If you're going with a group, I'd suggest the emperor's jokbal — the portions are generous and the banchan and side dishes come out in full force, so you'll leave really full.