Located in a humble neighbourhood of Gongdeok, a huge transportation hub connecting 4 metro lines of Seoul, Jinmi Sikdang has been specializing in one dish and one dish only for 10 years, and that is their soy sauce marinated crab or ganjang-gejang.

When talking to locals about food in Seoul, Jinmi Sikdang will pop up a couple of times. For us to grab a table at this Michelin Guide restaurant, we had to call and reserve 3 weeks in advance.

But is it really worth the price and the hype? We headed over to decide for ourselves.

Information

Address: 서울 마포구 마포대로 186-6
Hours: 12:00-20:00, Break 15:30-17:00, Closed on Sundays

Our Visit

The rustic exterior of the restaurant is nothing different from the ordinary restaurants you can find on the streets of Seoul. A couple of steps closer, you'll spot the stickers from many different food-related associations around the world.

It's even been on the Michelin Guide every year from 2017 to 2021!

Many restaurants in Korea require you to take your shoes off upon entry and offer low tables where you'll have to sit on the floor cross-legged. Jinmi Sikdang was no exception to this culture.

On the walls, you'll find haphazardly displayed photos of celebrities and politicians who visited for the savoury crab dish.

Gejang Jeongsik (45,000 KRW per person)

There is only one menu available to be devoured at the restaurant and that is the gejang jeongsik, which roughly translates to soy sauce marinated crab set meal.

The lady will simply count how many people are at each table and serve portions according to it. We visited in a group of three, so a total of three delicious crabs were served on our table. Look at the colours!

They come cut into smaller pieces so they are quite simple to eat. Grab a piece and suck all the meat and flavours up.

I've tried a fair share of ganjang gejangs in my life and I can say that this was the best I've had after the homemade batch my friend's mom made for me.

You can also pick the meat out using your chopstick, place a piece of the crab meat on top of your rice, pour a spoonful of the sauce over them, wrap everything up inside a slice of seaweed and shove the seaweed wrap inside your mouth for extra savouriness.

The set meal comes with lots of different side dishes, so feel free to mix and match for different combinations of flavours.

To wrap up your meal, grab a comfortable bowl of nurungji (scorched rice) served in a hot broth. Having nurungji in soup is something many Korean restaurants offer as a way to finish off a hearty meal and wash everything down.

To conclude, the savouriness of the crab with sweet, spicy banchans (side dishes) and a fluffy bowl of rice tasted heavenly together.

If you're especially keen on trying out this traditional Korean crab dish, this place is definitely worth putting on your list. However, do keep in mind that the price per portion is set steep at ₩45,000 and there are way cheaper options for ganjang gejang in Seoul.

As for me, I'm glad I got to try out this talk-of-the-town restaurant, but I'm happy to explore other ganjang gejang options in the city.

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