The Tastiest Jokbal - Korean Food Adventure!

So last Friday night, I went out with some friends to a restaurant right across from Renewme Skin Clinic Seocho branch. Our Seocho branch is conveniently located right in front of the subway gate, at Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line 3. Close by is the Seoul Arts Center, a major hub for the arts, with concerts and exhibitions ongoing throughout the whole year. The bus terminal, after which the station is named, was built in 1968 and stands old and strong, midst bustling Gangnam city life. The main street, and all the alleyways behind and in between, are lined with restaurants of all sorts, for a quick office lunch or for a relaxed dinner (+drinks) with coworkers after a long day of work.

The menu of choice this time was jokbal. This might be a daring dish to try for some foreigners - it's a dish consisting of pig's feet/legs, soaked in soy sauce and all sorts of other goodness. It's quite a greasy dish as well, so if you're a meat-lover up for trying something new, try it out! As for myself, I'd only had this dish once before in my life as a teenager, and as a Korean my friends considered this unacceptable :D  I was eager to try jokbal again and catch up on what I'd apparently missed out on big time.

The name of the restaurant is Gajang Mashitneun Jokbal (가장 맛있는 족발), which translates to "The Tastiest Jokbal." It's a chain restaurant so we trusted it would live up to its reputation and name. (Sorry for the bad photos, by the way - my phone is super old!)

The interior was clean and welcoming - many restaurants that sell traditional Korean "peasant" food could be a bit old and dilapidated, but this place was modern and new.

Wet tissues in packages are provided for customers to wash their hands!

Bean sprout soup

Kimchi + side dishes

Side dishes, known in Korean as banchan, are extremely important. You don't go into a restaurant, order a meal, and get only what you ordered. Not in Korea. Good banchan equals good first impression of a restaurant. Here, the table is first set with different dishes that accompany your main meal. In this case, some soup. kimchi, and vegetables.

Self-serviced banchan is also another big thing. Instead of calling on a waiter to fill up your dishes (yes, banchan are all refillable), you simply have to make your way to a stand and take as much as you want to eat. Super convenient, and saves a lot of time as well!

So at one side of the restaurant, the meat is prepared in an open environment. Judging from the white container box, I'm guessing someone ordered to go.

This was our main dish - half regular, half spicy. Not sure if I remember correctly, but this dish cost a little less than 40,000 KRW. I think it was the perfect amount for about 2-3 people. The spicy half did not suit me well, since I'm terrible with spicy foods, but the regular jokbal tasted awesome. The greasy part that covers each slice of meat felt like the perfect, chewy condiment. In Korea that part is known to be filled with collagen and good for the skin. I doubt it actually has such good effects, but it makes me feel less guilty about eating something I assume to be pretty high in calorie content. :)

We ordered some spicy cold noodles (jaengban guksu) as well - this stuff was awesome! Noodles with lots of fresh veggies sliced up into a tolerably spicy sauce, which balances out the greasiness from the meat. Have you ever tried something that was spicy, sweet, fresh, and tangy at the same time? The taste of this is a sensation that cannot be described, unless you are Korean or unless you try this for yourself!

And of course, the national alcoholic beverage, soju, to accompany. We actually had makgeolli (rice wine) as well, but I didn't get a shot of that.

All in all, I had a very positive experience. I don't think jokbal had made such a good impression on me when I first tried it as a teenager, which is probably why I never thought to eat it for all those years. However, I would definitely go again. I'm not a food blogger or anything so I don't have much of a refined taste, but I can say for sure that the meat was tasty and I enjoyed my dinner here. The atmosphere of this place was also a plus - the lights were warm and generally everyone was just enjoying themselves and having a good time. As is it with most good restaurants, of course.

So if you happen to stop by the area, to visit for dermatology consultation or otherwise, you might want to try "the tastiest jokbal" near Nambu Bus Terminal! You won't regret the experience. ;)

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