Jin Ok-Hwa Original Chicken Restaurant, Korean restaurant in Jongno-dong, South Korea.
Jin Ok-Hwa Original Chicken Restaurant is a Korean restaurant in Jongno-dong, Seoul, known for its traditional chicken soup served in metal pots brought directly to the table. The soup contains young chicken, garlic, and green onions, all cooked together slowly so the ingredients release their flavor into the broth.
The restaurant opened in 1978 and has kept the same preparation method since the beginning. The Michelin Guide added it to its selection in 2011, recognizing its approach to this classical dish.
Guests make their own dipping sauce at the table by mixing soy sauce, yellow mustard, vinegar, and a house-made chili paste while the chicken simmers in the broth. This hands-on seasoning ritual is a central part of how people eat here, and every person ends up with a slightly different combination.
The restaurant is close to Dongdaemun Station and easy to reach on foot from there. Numbered tickets are handed out during busy hours, so arriving early or between meal times helps avoid a long wait.
The kitchen uses only 35-day-old chickens and pre-boils them before sending them to the table, where cooking continues in the broth. This two-step process produces meat that is tender throughout and gives the broth a depth that a single cooking stage would not achieve.
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