Mokpo Jip

The name may throw some people off—though Mokpo is a port city famous for its seafood, Mokpo-jip specializes in dak bokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken). While they do have seafood dishes on the menu, including codfish stew, fried octopus, shrimp soup and braised cutlassfish, their strength lies in the chicken. They select meaty birds with plenty of flesh, braising them in a sweet and spicy sauce with generous chunks of potato and large pieces of savory rice cake. The resulting dish is perfect as a meal or a side to be eaten with drinks, and is also popular with nearby office workers during lunch time. In fact, Mokpo-jip has become so popular they had to open a second location nearby to seat everyone. It’s not uncommon to see patrons enjoying a drink in the middle of the day here, so don’t feel shy and kick one back in good company. Interestingly enough, they don’t serve one of Korea’s biggest soju brands here, selling instead soju from smaller distilleries like Joeun-day from Busan and Ipsaeju from Jeolla Province.