There are a few famous restaurants on the market side of Yangjae Station, and Yeongdong Jokbal is probably the most famous of them all. It has practically grown into a little town of its own. A friend visiting from Japan specifically said he wanted jokbal, so we went to Yeongdong Jokbal, and the place was insanely popular. There was a long line; if you arrive before 7 you get a table pretty quickly, but after that you have to wait a while. Of course, with five or six branches, the wait wasn’t as long as I expected. Manjok Jokbal near City Hall, which draws similar lines, has only two branches, so the wait there is brutal.
Main entrance
There is a waiting area in front of branch no. 3. You give your party size, wait, and they tell you which branch to go to.
Basic side dishes
With turnover this fast, the side dishes are bound to be fresh. Jokbal calls for makgeolli, so we ordered a bottle, but I can’t find the photo.
Jokbal
Naturally we ordered the front trotters (large). As everyone probably knows, the large/medium on a jokbal menu isn’t really about size; it means front trotters versus hind trotters, and the front ones, which get more exercise, taste better. As you can see, the jokbal was in great shape. It was chewier than Manjok Jokbal, with less of a medicinal-herb aroma than I expected. Personally Manjok Jokbal is a bit closer to my taste, but there’s no point ranking jokbal against each other.
Jaengban makguksu
We ordered it as a side dish. It tasted fine, but after the jokbal it was a bit much and we left some. With four guys, a large jokbal plus makguksu would have been just right, but with a woman in the group some food was left over.
While eating, I was reminded of a place called Collagen Factory near Yangjaecheon, and honestly it didn’t taste much different from Yeongdong Jokbal. Whether Gangnam or Gangbuk, every neighborhood seems to have one famous jokbal place, and I’d like to pick a day and do a tour. There seems to be one near Gangnam Station, and others around Seolleung and Apgujeong, and I’m sure more would turn up if I looked. The trouble is I don’t know many people in Gangnam, and my friends are all busy with their families, so there aren’t many people to go jokbal-hopping with. Oh, and I also want to try the popular roast chicken place at Yangjae Station. No need to rush, though; I’ll just clear them one by one whenever I have time.
Join the Discussion