Two snow crabs to crab-shell bibimbap for a couple in Gijang: Gijang

A review of Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, a snow crab restaurant in Gijang, Busan 🦀

On the weekend I went to Gijang with my fiancé for snow crab after a long while. There are so many good snow crab spots in Gijang, and after searching around, the one we picked was Gijang Myeongpum Daegae.

It's a place that comes up a lot when you search for good snow crab restaurants in Gijang, and it's also appeared on the TV show Stocking, so I was curious and decided to visit. It also showed up on Naver as a spot with a lot of repeat visitors, which made me even more excited.

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae hours, parking, seating

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae

• ⏰ Daily 10:00–21:00 (last order 20:00)
• 🚗 Private parking lot for Gijang Myeongpum Daegae
• ✔ Private rental available (up to 150 people), rooms (4–8 people), group seating (10–80 people)

When we arrived at Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, a staff member showed us where to park. Going in past Ssangdung Hoetjib (a sashimi restaurant) leads to the private parking lot. ✔ You need to bring back a parking coin after your meal to exit

After parking, we walked over to Gijang Myeongpum Daegae. A snow crab restaurant in Gijang that's appeared on Stocking three times, plus 1 Night 2 Days and Human Documentary Master's Path, among other shows!

The tank with the snow crabs and king crabs was clean too. A cute king crab throwing a V sign.

Picking snow crab at the ground-floor tank

Before heading up to the second floor to eat, we picked out our crabs on the first floor. There were so many crabs in the tank that it was hard to know what size to choose, so a staff member recommended two crabs for us.

What to watch for when weighing the crab

🔸 A lot of places weigh the basket and water along with the crab as if it's all crab weight = getting ripped off.

At Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, a Gijang snow crab restaurant, they weigh the basket first, then subtract that weight so only the crab itself is charged! Instead of weighing the crab while it's sitting in the basket all together, they deduct the basket weight in advance and measure the crab weight accurately — it felt like an honestly run place, which was reassuring.

Snow crab is expensive, so I was curious how much it would come to before we even ate, and I liked that the staff told us the exact crab price up front, so we could choose without worrying. ✔ Steaming time: 25 minutes

Second-floor atmosphere, rooms and group seating

After picking the crab downstairs, we went up to the second floor. The first thing we saw was a cute crab figurine and a claw machine that kids love.

The second-floor dining room was clean and, true to a restaurant that can handle groups, really spacious. We were shown to a table for four.

There were rooms for 4 to 8 people as well as separate group seating, so it looked like a good spot for gatherings too.

Go easy on the salad bar

After we sat down, the first thing we did was head to the salad bar. It had simple dishes ready to go, but since we knew the real main event was still to come, we only ate a little, saving room for the crab.

Filling up on the salad bar first = absolutely not allowed. We'd been looking forward to the crab since morning, so we made sure to leave plenty of room for it.

How did the crab taste after 25 minutes of steaming?

After waiting about 25 minutes, the snow crab finally arrived. My mouth started watering the second I saw it. They placed the crab on the induction burner at our table, so we could keep eating it piping hot the whole time.

We tore open the disposable gloves on the table right away, grabbed a crab claw each, and took photos first.

Cleaning the crab yourself can be a bit of a hassle, so it was great that it was already prepped for easy eating. My fiancé and I each grabbed a claw, snapped a photo, and popped it right in our mouths.

We started with the claws, then pulled the meat out of the legs — sweet and salty, and so good. The meat was packed in tight too, which made eating the crab all the more fun.

Pairing crab with wasabi

The crab itself was seasoned just right, so it was delicious even plain, but I tried pairing it with the wasabi on the side and the combo was great. It felt a little unfamiliar at first, but it worked surprisingly well. The sweet, salty flavor of the crab got a cleaner finish with the wasabi added in. Highly recommend the crab-and-wasabi combo 😍

The final course: crab-shell bibimbap and doenjang jjigae

Between the two of us we worked through two whole crabs and were already stuffed, but we couldn't stop there! We ordered crab-shell bibimbap (rice mixed in the crab shell) and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) right away.

The final course you look forward to most when eating snow crab = crab-shell bibimbap. Once we finished the crab, warm rice went into the leftover shell and got mixed with the crab innards. ✔ Doenjang jjigae comes included as standard

Mixing warm rice with the savory crab innards was genuinely delicious. Honestly, the crab-shell bibimbap was even better than the crab itself. Even though we were full, our spoons kept moving somehow, and we ended up cleaning out the crab-shell bibimbap completely.

Mission accomplished: finding a great snow crab spot in Gijang

There are so many crab restaurants in Gijang that it's hard to decide where to go, but this time at Gijang Myeongpum Daegae, we properly succeeded in finding a great one. Looking around the tables, there were a lot of foreign tourists too, so it seems the word has really gotten out that this place is good.

I liked that they weigh the basket separately to keep things honest, and on top of that the crab was delicious, so it was a really satisfying meal. If you're looking for a good snow crab restaurant in Gijang, I'd say put Gijang Myeongpum Daegae on your list.