Sakaya, Jegi-dong: The Pollock Roe Steamed Egg Is No Joke

Two visits to the same izakaya in one month. Both times, well past midnight.

There's only one reason: myeongran gyeranjjim. I couldn't stop thinking about it after the first time, so I walked right back through the door. The place is Sakaya, an izakaya right by Jegi-dong Station with cherry blossoms covering the ceiling.

A 30-second glossary

• Gyeranjjim — Korean steamed egg: eggs whisked and steamed in a hot earthenware pot until they puff up soft and fluffy.
• Myeongran — pollock roe, cured with salt. Japan's version is mentaiko. Salty, briny, and it pops.
• Kkochi — skewers. Here that means yakitori-style grilled skewers.
• Karaage — Japanese-style fried chicken, crisp and made for beer.
• 2-cha — literally "round two": the second stop of a night out in Korea. Late-night izakayas live on it.

Open the door, and it's cherry blossom season

Walk in and the ceiling is smothered in cherry blossoms. Below that: red lanterns, Japanese-style paintings, paper lamps, rows and rows of bottles. Whatever the season outside, it's always a spring night in here.

Posters and props on every wall mean the wait for food never gets boring. No wonder Naver reviewers keep tagging it, roughly, "good for conversation" and "stylish interior."

The kicker: myeongran gyeranjjim

Inside the hot earthenware pot, the egg has puffed up into soft, cloud-like folds, and right in the center sits a whole chunk of red pollock roe. Break the roe apart a little with your spoon and scoop it up together with the egg.

The moment that salty, popping roe hits the soft, fluffy egg, you understand why it's the kicker. The roe lifts the mild egg, and the egg wraps the saltiness of the roe in something gentle. A spoonful, a sip, another spoonful. You can't stop.

The myeongran gyeranjjim really is the kicker. No joke. If you go to Sakaya, this is the one thing you have to order.

Skewers: the basics, done right

The skewers come out nicely browned on the outside: whole shrimp, meat threaded with green onion, and cherry tomatoes wrapped in bacon. The bacon-wrapped cherry tomato is the one to watch. Bite in and the tomato bursts, its juice running into the salty bacon. The bacon-wrapped skewers served on a bed of cabbage leave the cabbage soaked in sauce, and you'll eat that too.

The crisp-fried karaage is a perfect beer snack, too.

What other diners say

Naver Place, as of September 2026. The review count is still small, which also means this is a neighborhood izakaya that only people in the know know about. Naver's review keywords, roughly translated:

• ⭐ Visitor rating 4.23 · 100 reviews
• 🥇 "The food is delicious" — 56 people
• 🙂 "Friendly service" — 22
• 🍶 "Great drink selection" — 14, "Good for conversation" — 13, "Stylish interior" — 12

Naver Place sums the place up as, roughly, "Kansai oden-tang: the essence of upscale oden soup." Skewers and steamed egg were plenty for me, but on visit number three I'm ordering the oden soup too.

How to order (even with zero Korean)

• Say "Myeongran gyeranjjim hana juseyo" (명란계란찜 하나 주세요) — one pollock roe steamed egg, please. Non-negotiable.
• For skewers, point at what you want on the menu. Naver Place lists yakitori at ₩4,000 a skewer.
• Treat it as your 2-cha. It opens at 5:30 p.m. and stays open until 2 a.m., Monday to Saturday.

Visit info

📍 Sakaya (사까야) · 32 Muhak-ro 36-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul (1F)

• 🚇 Getting there: Jegi-dong Station (Line 1), Exit 6, about a 2-minute walk (around 150 m)
• 🕐 Hours: Mon–Sat 17:30–02:00, closed Sundays
• 💰 Price: Naver Place lists yakitori at ₩4,000 per skewer. Check the menu in the store for the myeongran gyeranjjim and everything else.
• ✅ Vibe: a late second round, or a quiet conversation for two
• 🗺️ Maps: Google Maps · Naver Map — Google Maps finds the spot and handles subway routes in Korea, but for walking directions Naver Map is more reliable.

Jayden's verdict

I went for the skewers. I went back for the steamed egg.

• Myeongran gyeranjjim: ★★★★★ (the kicker)
• Skewers: ★★★★★
• Atmosphere: ★★★★★
• Coming back? Already been twice. Next time, the oden soup too.