Seoul April 2017: BBQ Meat!
As promised, this next post is about BBQ meat that we had in Seoul. I will be writing about not one but two BBQ places. One is Hongdae Sutbul Galbi and the other is Loco Quan 401.
In general, BBQ meat is quite expensive in Korea. However, it also depends on what you order. As my husband and I don't eat beef, we just order pork, which is generally cheaper. Typically, we spent about 30000 to 36000 per BBQ meal for both of us. In general it is more expensive than, say, if we went to have dumplings or bibimbap, where we will spend less than 20000 won.
Hongdae Sutbul Galbi
Since it is located near the Hongdae (university) area, we expected that the BBQ here is cheaper and decided to try it out. Even though I've mentioned that it is in the Hongdae area, it can still be quite a big scope for a foreigner. To help a bit, it is near the area in Hongdae where students do busking or singing in the evenings. The shop is located on a road corner / shoulder and doesn't really have a shop sign. But it is very obvious that it is a BBQ meat shop because there are people crowding around the tables and eating lots of meat.
So once we were seated, the friendly and efficient ajummas started putting all these side dishes and set about lighting the stove with heated coal. Common condiments are kimchi, spring onion or leek salad, garlic, spicy bean paste, turnips and lettuce. There were also potato slices for cooking with the meat. The proper way is to wrap the cooked BBQ meat with the lettuce and some garlic and onion and stuff the whole thing in your mouth. I found it quite difficult to do without getting my face in oil / lettuce water, though.
On the menu there is mainly beef and pork, both with different cuts. Some of the ajumma could speak Mandarin and helped to translate the menu. We ordered pork collar and pork belly. All the meat was tossed on the hotplate in a jiffy!
A word of advice. When we were looking around other BBQ restaurants we would see that the prices for the meat were more or less the same, like 12000 to 16000 won for each type. The main difference is in the weight, some restaurants price the meat like 12000 won for 100g while others provide 200g for the same price. So that would be something helpful to look out for.
Anyway, at most BBQ restaurants, it is DIY, where you get to cook the meat yourself.
At Hongdae Sutbul Galbi, I found that they did not have the exhaust where some restaurants would have. However, the restaurant provides large plastic bags if you want to protect your bags and coats from the greasy BBQ smell. Or you can go for a walk around Hongdae after that to "diffuse" the smell. A walk does wonders after a BBQ meal. And some of the buskers are quite good really.
Loco Quan 401
For fans of Running Man, Loco Quan 401 might ring a bell. It is owned by HAHA from Running Man. I actually didn't know about this restaurant until I saw all these posters with HAHA all over Hongdae. As you step in, it's definitely more "posh" looking than Hongdae Sutbul Galbi (see pictures below). Also, the servers there are quite "cool" looking. But don't worry, they are friendly.
There is an exhaust above the hotplate and it is slanted for the fats and juices to drip into a receptacle below. We ordered pork belly and a pork special item.
In general, BBQ meat is quite expensive in Korea. However, it also depends on what you order. As my husband and I don't eat beef, we just order pork, which is generally cheaper. Typically, we spent about 30000 to 36000 per BBQ meal for both of us. In general it is more expensive than, say, if we went to have dumplings or bibimbap, where we will spend less than 20000 won.
Hongdae Sutbul Galbi
Since it is located near the Hongdae (university) area, we expected that the BBQ here is cheaper and decided to try it out. Even though I've mentioned that it is in the Hongdae area, it can still be quite a big scope for a foreigner. To help a bit, it is near the area in Hongdae where students do busking or singing in the evenings. The shop is located on a road corner / shoulder and doesn't really have a shop sign. But it is very obvious that it is a BBQ meat shop because there are people crowding around the tables and eating lots of meat.
So once we were seated, the friendly and efficient ajummas started putting all these side dishes and set about lighting the stove with heated coal. Common condiments are kimchi, spring onion or leek salad, garlic, spicy bean paste, turnips and lettuce. There were also potato slices for cooking with the meat. The proper way is to wrap the cooked BBQ meat with the lettuce and some garlic and onion and stuff the whole thing in your mouth. I found it quite difficult to do without getting my face in oil / lettuce water, though.
On the menu there is mainly beef and pork, both with different cuts. Some of the ajumma could speak Mandarin and helped to translate the menu. We ordered pork collar and pork belly. All the meat was tossed on the hotplate in a jiffy!
A word of advice. When we were looking around other BBQ restaurants we would see that the prices for the meat were more or less the same, like 12000 to 16000 won for each type. The main difference is in the weight, some restaurants price the meat like 12000 won for 100g while others provide 200g for the same price. So that would be something helpful to look out for.
Anyway, at most BBQ restaurants, it is DIY, where you get to cook the meat yourself.
At Hongdae Sutbul Galbi, I found that they did not have the exhaust where some restaurants would have. However, the restaurant provides large plastic bags if you want to protect your bags and coats from the greasy BBQ smell. Or you can go for a walk around Hongdae after that to "diffuse" the smell. A walk does wonders after a BBQ meal. And some of the buskers are quite good really.
Loco Quan 401
For fans of Running Man, Loco Quan 401 might ring a bell. It is owned by HAHA from Running Man. I actually didn't know about this restaurant until I saw all these posters with HAHA all over Hongdae. As you step in, it's definitely more "posh" looking than Hongdae Sutbul Galbi (see pictures below). Also, the servers there are quite "cool" looking. But don't worry, they are friendly.
There is an exhaust above the hotplate and it is slanted for the fats and juices to drip into a receptacle below. We ordered pork belly and a pork special item.
As soon as we placed our order the side dishes were served. There was kimchi, pickled turnips, macaroni cheese and spring onion / leek salad. Lettuce, garlic, bean paste and salt were also provided for the meat.
And then the meat was served. I noticed people at other tables were cooking the meat themselves so I didn't really expect what happened next. Our server placed the meat on our table and said something very fast in Korean, which of course neither me nor my husband could understand, and went off. Maybe he was saying something like, "ok you know how to cook this right?" And we just put the meat on the hotplate and pushed it around occasionally, like how we normally do. Then all of a sudden the server came back and arranged the kimchi with the meat on the hotplate. Then he basically cooked the whole thing like a pro! The meat was crispy but not charred. The fats melted down to the kimchi, giving a fragrant and aged flavour. It was really good!
Well, I guess looking clueless has its advantages sometimes. Also, the exhaust works really well as we did not smell of BBQ after our meal!
Whether you just like BBQ meat or are a fan of Running Man, I recommend both restaurants!
Hongdae Sutbul Galbi
331-1 Seogyo-dong Mapo-gu Seoul
Open 4 pm to 4am daily
Loco Quan 401 (previously Pal Ja Mak Chang)
https://www.facebook.com/quan401/
395-17 Seogyo-dong Mapo-gu Seoul
Open from 4 pm on weekdays, from 12 noon on weekends (Sat, Sun)
(This is the Hongdae branch, I heard there are other branches e.g. Myeongdong as well.)
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