Holy Crab (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

No, this is not the same authentic Cajun seafood restaurant we have in Hong Kong that features fresh seafood flown in from the United States daily. Instead it's a small kitchen in Seoul that specializes in gejang (게장), a traditional Korean dish made by marinating raw crabs in soy sauce.

I was introduced to Holy Crab by a friend during my last trip to Seoul and immediately fell in love with it. I do enjoy having gejang crabs from time to time but I couldn't stand some of these traditional places with the waitress and chef all glaring down grudgingly at me while I took my crab apart. But we won't see that here. In addition to the largely modern décor, the waitress speaks decent English and perfect Cantonese (as she's from Hong Kong too) so that was working just fine for us.



Gejang is their specialty but on top of that, they do have a small selection of seafood dishes including fried rice, porridge etc. all with different types of seafood.



This place can comfortably sit around 30-40 people and there's an open kitchen in the middle allowing curious diners like us to see what's going on.

 

Gejang is the name of the game so of course, it's in the agenda. There were two types of gejangs served here, one with a special soy which was what we ordered and a second one with a spicy oil which I heard was rather spicy and we gladly declined.

It was pretty good and the portion was fairly generous (₩36,000).



This came as a set along with some fried egg and miso seaweed soup.



  
I ordered an abalone fried rice (₩22,000) separately. Thought it was stir-fried perfectly with a rich onion and garlic flavor but I wished there's a little more abalone in it!




Holy Crab does not serve alcohol but diners are most welcome to bring their own bottle of wine to the meal at zero corkage fee - "Bring Your Own Bottle" (BYOB).



Like most good restaurants in Seoul, Holy Crab is not real easy to find but here's a small trick to help you accomplish this feat. First, locate the Chaum (차움) building (as shown below). Go to the back end of this building from the front door. Turn left when you exit the back door and look for a 7-11 convenience store on Seolleung-ro 148-gil. Once you find the 7-11, turn right on Dosan-daero 68-gil and you should see the big red sign on ground level.




Food Rating: 5/10 

Price: ₩₩₩

Address: 17-31 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Gangnam
Tel: +82 2517-0771
Website: www.facebook.com/holycrabseoul