Gijang, Busan snow crab weekend lunch: 2.1kg ₩165,000, rice in shell

I planned a 3-night, 4-day summer trip to Busan, and snow crab was on my must-eat list since I was finally in Busan. While looking around, I found a crab restaurant in Gijang Market that subtracts the basket weight from the price, so there's no sneaky overcharging — just an honest, conscientious way of selling. We had a delicious weekend lunch there.

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae / 5 Chaseongdong-ro 73beon-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea / 426m from Gijang Station exit 1 / Every day 10am–9pm / Takeout discount, group dining, reservations, parking available, packaging, delivery, waiting area, corkage available, free corkage

Where is Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, and is parking free?

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, a Busan Gijang favorite, sits in Gijang Market near exit 1 of Gijang Station. Parking is in an outdoor lot. A staff member stationed by the door directs you to the lot, and when you leave, they give you a coin — pop that into the machine and parking is free.

Choosing your snow crab from the first-floor tank

Before eating, you pick your crab from the tank on the first floor. The tanks were kept clean.

There were two of us, and the staff picked out one large crab and one small crab for us. It looked like more than enough to fill us up.

2.1kg for ₩165,000, with the basket weight taken off

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae measures the weight after excluding the basket, and the difference between including and excluding the basket came to over ₩50,000. Apparently some other crab restaurants don't subtract the basket weight, which is how people end up overpaying.

Our crab came to 2.1kg for ₩165,000 for the two of us.

Payment is after the meal, and we were shown up to the second floor.

Inside the second floor: group tables and date seats

The dining room was clean and pleasant. It's spacious enough for a group dinner or a family gathering.

There are private group seating areas too, and it also worked well as a date spot.

What's on the ₩5,000 self-serve bar?

There's a self-serve bar off to one side of Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, running at ₩5,000 per person.

There's corn, boneless fried chicken, kimmari (seaweed roll tempura), sweet potato tempura, and palbochae (stir-fried mixed vegetables with seafood).

Macaroni salad and bibim-myeon (spicy cold noodles) are also there.

There's kimchi, pickled onions, cucumber, cabbage salad, and more.

Since it takes a while for the steamed crab to arrive, we filled up first with food from the self-serve bar. I happily ate bibim-myeon, cabbage salad, and mayonnaise salad.

Steamed snow crab, 2kg: how far it goes for two

Finally, the dish we ordered at this Busan Gijang favorite arrived. Quite the sight, right?

About 2kg of steamed snow crab in total. Plenty for two people, so we ate until we were full.

Plain rice, not fried rice, mixed into the crab shell

Here's the crab shell packed with roe and innards. If you order fried rice, it's ₩5,000 per person and comes with doenjang stew too.

As always, I skipped the fried rice and ordered plain rice instead, mixing it into the crab shell. The innards were salty, savory, and delicious.

They gave us two abalone on the house. Tender and good quality.

How meaty was the crab, and how well was it prepped?

The crab was substantial and fresh. Good yield meant the shells were packed full inside.

The meat was soft and chewy.

It was well-prepped for easy eating, with the meat already loosened, so it was easy to eat too. A delicious, satisfying lunch.

If you're looking for a spot with delicious snow crab in Gijang, Busan, give Gijang Myeongpum Daegae a try — I think you'll be happy.