My friend and I drove 45 minutes through peak I-495 South traffic from Tysons after work to visit GJ2 4U on its first soft-opening day last Wednesday evening. Normally, it's a 15-20 minute drive without traffic, but we were fueled by curiosity and anticipation to finally try the gejang.
When we arrived, we were seated immediately, and only a few other parties were dining in at the time. As we looked over the menu, we were fully prepared to splurge on the 99.99 ASSORTED JANG (which is a sampler of all the raw marinated meats they have), but our server gently informed us that it would be far too much food for just the two of us. I do think it would have been the perfect option for a group of 4-5 people.
To start, we were served an assortment of banchan, a lightly sweet bean-based porridge, and a tangy, pickle-forward broth. The kimchi was spicier than what I'm used to, so I focused on the blanched and sautéed veggies that didn't carry any heat.
HALF & HALF GEJANG - 54.99
+ganjang gejang, 2-4 pcs
+yangnyeom gejang, 3-5 pcs
I warned my friend in advance that my spice tolerance is essentially nonexistent when it comes to yangnyeom gejang, so I knew I'd be eating mostly the ganjang gejang, which came with all parts of the crab. The body shell was light on roe and mostly filled with soy sauce marinade, which tasted herbaceous and slightly medicinal. I didn't love the sauce on its own, but it worked better once I scooped in some white rice in and mixed everything together. The legs and claws were pretty meaty and paired well with the marinade, and the crabs themselves were undeniably fresh. My main complaint was the lack of roe.
On the other hand, I only managed one leg of the yangnyeom gejang, which was completely drenched in sauce. I think I was eating more sauce than crab meat. That said, I genuinely enjoyed the yangnyeom gejang more overall, but my lack of spice tolerance was the only thing holding me back.
SAEWOO JANG (SOY SAUCE MARINATED SHRIMP) - 19.99
Each order came with 12 plump, juicy shrimp arranged neatly atop the soy sauce marinade. And wow! These were decadent and deeply umami-rich. The marinade paired especially well with the shrimp's thick, firm texture, offering a satisfying bite that crab meat simply can't replicate. My friend and I both agreed this was our favorite dish of the night and an absolute must-order.
My friend ended up packing half of the yangnyeom gejang to go, having clearly ordered more than we could handle. In the future, I recommend coming with a larger group to get more variety: the shrimp is a must, definitely one of the gejangs, perhaps another marinated dish, and a budae jeongol to round everything out nicely.
Overall, 4.5/5 but bumping to a 5/5 since they're still in their soft-opening stage read more