A note on the words: ganjang-gejang is raw crab steeped in soy sauce, a Korean dish eaten with rice; yangnyeom-gejang is the chili-marinated version. Yukgaejang is a spicy beef and vegetable soup, and bulgogi is thin beef marinated in sweet soy. Bibimbap is rice served under vegetables and other toppings, mixed at the table. Akasaka-mitsuke is an office and dining district in central Tokyo. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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Pro Ganjang-gejang, Akasaka Branch on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hey, this is Hangover Meshi. Well, there are a lot of good Korean restaurants around Akasaka, so I have been making a point of working through them, and it occurred to me that I had never actually been to one of the old, famous ones. So on a whim I dropped by for lunch at Pro Ganjang-gejang, Akasaka Branch. I keep seeing the “Jang Keun-suk has eaten here!” kind of tagline all over the place, but when I actually thought about it, I realized I had never once been. Partly because ganjang-gejang itself tends to be fairly pricey, and partly because I had zero image of it as a lunch dish lol Still, since I happened to be around Akasaka, I figured I would try it at least once!
I turned up without a reservation, and got in surprisingly easily. There was only one other party ahead of me.
Well, ganjang-gejang for lunch still is not something you hear about all that often, is it. (Also — can you actually eat rice with gejang, I wondered lol)
[Weekdays only] Ganjang-gejang Set — 5,500 yen
[Weekdays only] Yangnyeom-gejang Set — 5,700 yen
[Weekdays only] Crab Roe Bibimbap Set — 2,700 yen
[Weekdays only] Yukgaejang Set — 1,500 yen
[Weekdays only] Beef Bulgogi Set — 1,900 yen
Everything on here says weekdays only, so I guess lunch is not a thing on weekends?
Even so, the ganjang-gejang set is pricey lol 5,500 yen! Though that is still a few hundred yen cheaper than the dinner menu, so lunch is the better deal if you are going to have it either way! Naturally, gejang was what I was here for, so I chose the ganjang-gejang set.
The TV, or rather the footage, playing in the restaurant is quite old lol
It is more than a little faded, and it also gave me the realization that gejang used to cost in the 2,000-yen range back then — so, double now. Which raises the question of whether they should really keep using this footage or not, but it does tell you the place has been famous for a long time!
Kimchi and namul, lotus root, and Korean seaweed! The kimchi tasted a touch more sour than usual, if I had to say — nicely fermented.
The lotus root was wonderfully crisp and delicious!
And here it comes!! Gejang!! Each half of the crab is split again in half, so the legs come out in four pieces.
You can tell just by looking it is melt-in-your-mouth tender! One bite in and — wow! The soy sauce and the sweet crab meat, and that silky texture, all excellent!
But would this actually go with rice, I wondered — and then I was told to finish by putting rice into the shell and eating it that way.
Wow, gejang really is good. 5,500 yen for a blue swimmer crab does give me pause, but I suppose it is not the kind you would just catch off any random pier!
Delicious is delicious, no question. That said, the portion is pretty small, so if this is supposed to be all of lunch, plenty of people would probably feel shortchanged lol Let us just tell ourselves it is good for the diet and leave it at that!
You do get a proper bowl of rice with it, but honestly it feels like too much rice to fit into the shell and mix.
This really calls for some pickles lol
I put rice in the shell and tried it, and it was incredibly delicious!!!
Like a very luxurious version of rice with raw egg over it.
This one is the yukgaejang set.
Well, if you are thinking about portion size, this is basically the obvious choice lol
There is an enormous amount of soup. It is almost extreme in the opposite direction lol This is one serving?!
The soup itself is mild on the spice, a bit on the salty side. It does not pack much of a punch flavor-wise, but it is loaded with ingredients and the portion is huge!
I am starting to think splitting the gejang and the yukgaejang between two people is the right move.
So, gejang! I had not eaten it out much before, and it really was delicious! That said, the balance between portion and price does not feel quite right to me, so I found myself thinking a bit more tweaking of the set would make it easier to order. Delicious as it is, it is a tough sell for lunch, honestly lol Still, I finally got here once, and it made for a good memory!
Pro Ganjang-gejang, Akasaka Branch (korean / Akasakamitsuke Station, Akasaka Station, Tameike-sanno Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
