Keunkiwajip

If you have been reading my blog for some time, you will know that I love raw marinated soy crabs and whenever I am in Korea, I will not give up the chance to try new restaurants offering this dish

The first time I heard about this restaurant was from a Youtuber and my subsequent research shows that this is a Michelin-starred restaurant specialising in the Ganjang Gejang. Located in the Anguk area, it is highly popular with tourists and locals. It was on my 6th trip that I finally made it to the restaurant

To ensure we got to eat here, we came at least 30 minutes before dining time as the restaurant takes a rest time between lunch and dinner. Just when I thought we were early, there were already at least 8 groups of diners before us in the queue. The queue starts from the front walkway towards the tiny alley where the restaurant’s main entrance is located

The indoor restaurant area is not very big, and the restaurant has tried its best to convert any useable private rooms into general tables to accommodate more diners. Due to the proximity of the tables, plastic screens are included for hygiene purposes and also for some level of privacy

I have been to many Korean restaurants for meals and this has got to be the prettiest table setup for side dishes. The servers patiently ensure that all the side dishes form a beautiful round shape that looks vaguely like a blooming flower. There are also 11 dishes which is more than the usual restaurants. A few of the dishes left such a great impression on me; the snow fungus salad which has a tangy sweet dressing which was extremely refreshing, the lotus root which was crunchy with a creamy salad sauce and the acorn jelly which was an interesting texture

The highlight of the meal is definitely the crabs which were packed with roe on each crab. Compared to all the other marinated crabs I have tasted so far, I would say they have the best flavour for me so far; as the savoury flavour of the marinate is well balanced with the natural sweetness of the crab roe and meat. The crabs were not overpowered by the sauce, instead, the sauce complements the umami flavour of the crab itself

As we had a friend who was trying the crab for the first time, we ordered an additional order of eel in case she did not like the crabs. This eel dish was such a surprise and delight as it was grilled to perfection with a smokey crunchy skin but soft and tender meat inside. The texture was not like the ones we usually get from Japanese restaurants as they were more chewy and crunchy which was perfect with rice. The eel was lightly basted with sauce so the sweet sauce did not overpower the natural flavours of the eel. I will definitely order this again when I visit again

We ordered 2 soups; the bean paste soup and the perilla leaf powder mushroom soup. The bean-paste soup was great with rice but a tad too salty on its own. As the crabs were also stealing all the rice, we ended up drinking the soup on its own which is really quite salty. The other soup we ordered was the perilla leaf soup as I am a fan of perilla leaf. The soup included various types of mushrooms and vegetables with a thick white creamy soup which is a result of the perilla leaf powder. The soup itself was earthy and creamy with a slight taste of mint which is not everybody’s cup of tea. My friend described it as eating toothpaste but I personally liked the soup very much as it is different from the usual spicy or bean paste soup bases

Overall, I loved the meal at Keunkiwajip and I have tried at least 6 restaurants in Seoul and 2 in Singapore, I do say they have the best Ganjang Gejang for my tastebuds. They have taken over Pro Soy Crab which has a much saltier profile than Keunkiwajip which can be overwhelming. While I vow to continue trying more Ganjang Gejang restaurants, Keunkiwajip remains the best for me at this junction

Address: 20-7 Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Operating hours: 11.30 am to 3 pm and 5.30 pm to 9 pm