Suji-gu jokbal restaurant with flying fish roe rice balls: Cheongdam

I was craving jokbal (Korean braised pig's trotters) so badly today that I went looking for a good spot and ended up at Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch haha. Since it had been a while, I wanted to eat somewhere genuinely good. Here's my honest review after trying it myself!

Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch hours and parking

Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch is open daily from 11:30 to 23:30. There's basement parking in the building. It's located at 10 Gwanggyojungang-ro 296beon-gil, Suji-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, easy to find from Sanghyeon Station.

100% domestic raw trotters, boiled daily and sold the same day

The storefront was clean overall, so I already had a good feeling before going in. The pamphlet out front said they use 100% domestic raw trotters, boiled fresh every day and sold same-day. Ingredients and cooking process matter a lot for jokbal, so knowing it's boiled fresh daily gave me more confidence.

Inside Cheongdam Jokbal: also a group dinner spot near Sanghyeon Station

Inside, the restaurant wasn't huge, but it was clean and comfortable to eat in. The tables were easy to use and it felt like a good spot to eat with company. If a group books out the whole place, it also seems like a solid option for a group dinner. So if you're looking for a group dinner spot near Sanghyeon Station, this could be worth considering.

What was ordered: large freshly boiled warm jokbal

There was a menu board on the wall, easy to check. After some deliberation, we went with the freshly boiled warm jokbal, large size!

Side dishes, bean sprout soup and the free makguksu

After ordering, the side dishes were already set on the table while we waited.

There were side dishes that paired well with jokbal, and I also tried the bean sprout soup that came with it. The broth was refreshing, good for a sip between bites of jokbal. It also worked well as a clean palate cleanser haha.

Apparently ordering jokbal at Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch comes with free makguksu (buckwheat noodles)! The noodles were chewy and the sauce had a spicy-tangy flavor. It was tasty on its own, and it also paired well with the jokbal.

Putting a bit of makguksu on a piece of jokbal added that spicy-tangy flavor, and I kept reaching for more haha.

They also sell Neurin Maeul makgeolli, which looked like a good match for a drink alongside the jokbal.

There's also a Naver receipt review event going on, worth knowing if you visit.

How does the large warm jokbal taste? Chewy skin, moist meat

The jokbal we ordered finally arrived!

Ordering the large size meant it came piled generously on the plate, and the jokbal itself looked tender. Being warm jokbal, it looked soft just by looking at it haha.

I took a bite right away. The outside was chewy, the inside was moist — great texture. Best of all, there was none of that gamey jokbal smell, so it ate really clean. Being warm and freshly boiled, the soft texture really came through.

Wrapping jokbal with kimchi, dried radish and garlic

Jokbal always tastes better with various sides than eaten plain. I wrapped it with the kimchi and dried radish that came with it, and the combo was really good.

Especially the crunchy texture of the dried radish added to the chewy, moist jokbal made for a much richer bite. Adding garlic on top went really well with the jokbal too. This combo is really how jokbal is meant to be eaten haha.

The flying fish roe rice ball, added on

Eating the jokbal made me want to try more things, so I ended up ordering a rice ball too. It had a good amount of flying fish roe and pickled radish mixed in, giving a popping texture with a slight tang.

Eaten with the jokbal, the savory rice ball paired really well. It gave a different feel from the makguksu, so if you want a heartier meal with your jokbal, ordering this too seems like a good idea.

Is Cheongdam Jokbal near Sanghyeon Station worth it? Final take

I personally love a chewy skin on jokbal, and the skin here was really chewy, so I was personally very pleased haha. I came here craving jokbal after a while and left more satisfied than expected haha. Knowing they use 100% domestic raw trotters, boiled fresh and sold same-day, gave me confidence in the ingredients too. And in the end, the jokbal was chewy outside, moist inside, and clean with no gamey smell.

• A place that inspired confidence with 100% domestic raw trotters boiled fresh and sold same-day
• Jokbal that was chewy outside and moist inside, tasty with no gamey smell
• Dried radish, kimchi, and garlic wrapped together made a great combo
• The spicy-tangy makguksu that comes free with jokbal orders was satisfying too
• A clean, hearty jokbal restaurant near Sanghyeon Station, good for a filling meal