Gabrisal pork with cold noodles at a Dong-gu, Gwangju bar: Ju

It had been a while since I visited Dongmyeong-dong, and so many new places had popped up — shops and restaurants I'd never seen before. Among them, I stopped by Ju Myeongdang, a bar in Dongmyeong-dong, and found it had a unique set menu where you could try a bunch of different dishes at once. Each dish was perfect as a drinking snack.

Ju Myeongdang's location, hours, and parking

• 📍Location: 15-2 Jangdong-ro, 2nd floor, Dong-gu, Gwangju (Jangdong 85-2)
• ⏰Hours: Mon–Fri 15:00–01:00 / Sat, Sun 11:30–01:00 (last order 00:00, no break time ❌)
• 🚗Parking: ACC's affiliated parking lot (1 hour free)
• 🐶Pets: Allowed if using a private room

It's on the 2nd floor of the same building as Saigonjang, a Vietnamese restaurant I visited before. If you head down the alley to the left from the entrance of the ACC parking lot, you'll spot the sign right away. You could also just think of it as being right behind the ACC parking lot.

Main hall vs. private rooms, and bringing your dog

Inside, there's a main hall and private rooms. For groups, I'd recommend the main hall; for parties of 4 or fewer, the rooms. And if you're bringing your dog, you must use a private room.

Of course there are a few 4-person tables in the main hall too, but if you prefer a more private meal, the rooms are definitely better.

Ju Myeongdang, this Dongmyeong-dong bar, even has rooms for 6 and 10 people. They said it's great for gatherings and company dinners too.

I was seated in a room since my friend and I wanted to actually talk. But once inside, it wasn't just a bare table and chairs — it was decorated with a mix of lighting, posters and framed art, giving it a cozy, atmospheric feel. You could really sense the owner's love and eye for detail in how the space was put together.

How to order, and the makgeolli

You order via tablet and pay at the counter on your way out after eating. Since this is a Dongmyeong-dong bar, of course we had to order a drink — we went with Kooksoondang rice makgeolli. It went perfectly with the Auntie's Table set we ordered~

What's in the Auntie's Table set?

The Auntie's Table is recommended for 2–3 people, and it's a really lavish set — three types of meat (straw-fire galbi, aged pork belly, and gabrisal), plus doenjang stew (soybean paste stew), seasonal bibimbap, and even cold noodles. ^^ For the noodles you can pick water-style or spicy-style, and we went with water-style.

The gabrisal was especially tender

It came plated with all the fixings for wrapping the meat — ssamjang (dipping sauce), garlic-chili, sesame oil salt, lettuce, cabbage, mustard leaf kimchi, pickled onion, pickled radish, and fresh cabbage salad. The gabrisal, sliced into neat round hexagons, was outstanding — it just melted in my mouth~ Can pork really be this tender? Haha. Turns out gabrisal is a special cut, only about 200–450g per pig, so I was surprised at how generous the portion was~

Bottom line — if you visit here, you can eat your fill of this rare, precious cut of gabrisal. Try it every which way, and honestly every single meat here was delicious. 👍

Seasonal bibimbap and doenjang stew

The seasonal bibimbap was piled high with vegetables — bracken fern, carrot, lettuce, bean sprouts, seaweed flakes, radish salad, all packed generously into the bowl. Isn't the color gorgeous?! I popped the runny egg yolk and mixed it all together, and each spoonful was spicy yet let you taste each individual vegetable clearly.

Eating a spoonful of doenjang stew alongside the bibimbap now and then makes the bibimbap taste even better. A little tip that's not really a tip haha~! Bibimbap and doenjang stew are basically an unwritten rule anyway~

Finishing with cold noodles topped with shaved ice

And lastly, this Dongmyeong-dong bar's mul-naengmyeon (water-style cold noodles) came topped with a layer of fine shaved ice, which kept the noodles perfectly chewy until the very last bite. That subtly sweet-and-tart broth is still floating in front of my eyes. T_T

How was the value for money?

Putting together a set menu that lets you try so many dishes at once was bound to be a hit, and the idea clearly worked. All of this for under ₩50,000 — I couldn't help but talk about the value.

Craving a drink and some good food to go with it? Then I recommend Ju Myeongdang in Dongmyeong-dong — great drinks, great food. They have private rooms and allow pets too, so come by anytime and unwind comfortably~ haha