Jin Ok-Hwa Original Chicken Restaurant — Restaurant in Seoul

TLDR; It's a basic meal and I don't really understand the hype, but I liked the atmosphere!

LOTS OF PHOTOS ATTACHED!

I went here on a cold Saturday morning, and at 11:30am it was already busy outside. It's confusing as a foreigner coming here for the first time, but you need to briefly go in and tell them how many people are in your group. Put up your fingers if your don't know Korean. They then give you a plastic number card, and you wait to be called. They call out all of the numbers in Korean, but there's also a sign board with the numbers. It's a little difficult to see in bright sunlight, but it's possible. The line goes quick, and there were 25 numbers in front of us when we came, and we were inside in 25 minutes.

This place is massive. Three big floors with tons of tables. I was really surprised with the size of the place and I liked how busy it was. Lots of chatter and character. It's certainly not changed much in 20 years or so. We were sat on the third floor. It's very humid with all of the boiling water around you. It's clearly VERY popular with Koreans, and a comfort food of sorts.

You get sat down and get asked if you want the only item on the menu, the 닭한마리 (Dak han mari, literally translates to one chicken lol). You're also asked if you want extras (사리, or sari) and you can add 떡, tteok, 감자, potatoes, 국수, noodle soup, etc. The menu isn't complicated and they give you a receipt in front of you which they update with whatever you order.

Kimchi and water are self serve, with kimchi in a massive pot which you ladle out into a bowl, and water jugs which you fill from the machine. The kimchi is homemade, and it's.... OK. I've had better kimchi many times, and it lacks spice. They also don't cut it up a lot, so ifs in big chunks.

They arrive shortly after you order with the chicken. Don't worry about cooking it, they'll do that part for you. They turn on the gas, cut up the whole chicken for you and you essentially just wait 10-15 mins for it to cook. Remember to put in your tteok as soon as they start boiling the chicken so it's ready at the same time! We forgot, lol.

A big part of this restaurant is their homemade sauce. It's a red chilli paste which is very spicy and very bitter. You need to put a dollop in the small plate you get, then mix with a good squirt of vinegar (white bottle) and soy sauce (black bottle). Also mix in the onion paste they give you, and the sauce is much better. You'll need this sauce, too!

Onto the food itself. It's.... Boiled chicken. No spices added, no special flavour. The British are meant to be known for no spices in the their food, so this is just like home! It's very very basic, and for the price (28,000 for a chicken) it's overpriced to me. It's very average. It's literally exactly what you'd expect from boiling a chicken. You're meant to dip the chicken, potatoes and tteok in the sauce, and you really need to for any flavour.

If you want, they also sell drinks like Coke or Fanta, or alcohol like beer, soju or Makgeolli. I love Makgeolli so I'd recommend it. It's a rice wine of sorts, but as someone who doesn't like wine, it's not similar personally. Much milkier and milder.

Overall, I feel this place has been hyped (as is usual) by Korean TV and YouTube. It's traditional and it's basic but there's a lot better food for the price you pay here, especially as it's located directly next to...

We bumped into this place while visiting Dongdaemun. It’s across the road from Doota, in a traditional market, follow Naver or Google Map, you shouldn’t get lost. Walking in, you’ll see a row of grill fish stores on your left, and similar chicken place on your right.

We went at about 5ish, and it was already packed. There is no need to order, grab a seat, and they will come with a chicken with soup ready to be cooked in front of you. They will cut it into pieces. And you wait for it to boil. There’s also free flow kimchi and water at the stations. Help yourself!

The dish is suitable for kids. Place is friendly too. We added udon and rice at the end, but kept our soup clear.

If you’re wondering how the locals eat. They add in kimchi into their soup, a lot of it, and soup becomes kimchi soup. ☺️ Our neighbor, 2 wonderful ahjussi shared their soup with the hubs after seeing us drink clear soup. 😂 They also mix the chili paste, soy sauce, abit dash of vinegar in a small plate to dip the chicken. It was really yummy that way. We spent about 25k won for 1chicken, 1 rice and 1 noodle, just nice for family of 4.

We left at about 6ish, and the line was horrible. So try to be early! Nice taste, and if you can speak mandarin, just-go ahead. I think there’s too many Chinese tourist, they’re quite well versed already. The waitresses there are...abit fierce looking, just...

Had an unpleasant experience here. Not sure why the YouTubers are recommending this place because It is really overrated. The broth and chicken were just so so, nothing to shout about. The kimchi was even worse. And it has the worst service ever. As a first timer visiting this shop, we were clueless and not sure how to make order. My wife tried to order some noodle but got shouted at by an old lady. She raised her voice and made sure everyone in the restaurant could hear her voice. She even told her colleagues in sarcastic tone while she was in the opened kitchen. “The lady wanted to order noodle while the chicken is not even served, what a joke hahaha” something like that, not worrying her customers would hear that. The people surrounding, especially the Koreans next to my table were obviously shocked and embarrassed by her behavior.

Should have read Google reviews before visiting this restaurant. Tons of reviews were complaining their services. If you are not welcoming foreigners, do let us know up front. We will avoid it at all cost. And of cause, I will not recommend any of my family and friends to visit this restaurant....