Gangseo lamb restaurant for French rack and crispy eggplant: Hwarodam

I've always liked lamb, but I'd kind of forgotten about that flavor... Then I had lamb skewers recently and suddenly rediscovered the lamb taste I'd been away from for so long. So, while looking for a truly delicious lamb-rib specialist, I visited Hwarodam Yang Kkochi Magok (화로담양꼬치 마곡), a great spot in Magok.

Easy access near Magok and Balsan, plus the restaurant atmosphere

It's near Magok and Balsan, so getting there is easy. The exterior itself is sleek and tidy, and you can check the menu outside too.

Once inside, the upscale, clean atmosphere immediately stood out. There are large areas to either side of the entrance, and the whole place felt spacious and comfortable.

Even though I visited on a weekday evening, there were already quite a lot of diners. There are many offices nearby, so there seemed to be lots of work dinners and group gatherings.

Looking further inside, I found private rooms as well. The regular tables were all roomy too, with good partitions between them, which I really liked.

A varied menu, from lamb ribs to dishes and rice

Looking over the menu once seated, there were lots of premium lamb-rib and lamb-skewer choices. The Chinese-style dishes were very varied too: mango cream shrimp, fried eggplant, guobaorou (sweet-and-sour crispy pork), sizzling eggplant, stir-fried morning glory, mapo tofu, tomato and egg stir-fry, and more. For meals, there is mapo tofu fried rice and warm noodle soup, as well as refreshing sides such as smashed cucumber.

They were also running great-value lunch set menus and various alcohol promotions. We wanted to try a range of things from meat to cooked dishes, so we ordered a seriously varied... generous spread.

• Lamb ribs (French rack) ₩36,000
• Lamb ribs (shoulder rack) ₩26,000
• Flavorful fried eggplant, small ₩15,000
• Guobaorou, small ₩14,000
• Mapo fried rice ₩10,000
• Total ₩101,000

They say they use lamb under one year old, so it has very little gamey smell.

When we sat down, they set out white kimchi and pickled gungchae (stem lettuce) as the basic sides. Both were pleasantly chewy and crisp. There were also three special dipping sauces—chive-flower sauce, house soy sauce, and Silk Road sauce—so it was fun mixing and matching them.

As dish after dish arrived, even the roomy table became completely full.

Crispy outside, tender inside: flavorful fried eggplant

Flavorful fried eggplant, small ₩15,000

The flavorful fried eggplant did not look especially crisp at first glance, but it was surprisingly very crunchy. One bite revealed a chewy-crisp exterior and a meltingly soft interior—it was so good. Even after it cooled a little, the texture held up well.

The sauce had the savory depth and moderate saltiness of oyster sauce, with a gentle garlic aroma. It is the kind of flavor almost anyone would enjoy. I used to dislike eggplant, then somehow became an eggplant lover, and this was exactly my kind of dish. It was so tasty that I think even people who normally do not like eggplant could enjoy it.

Mild, comforting mapo fried rice

Mapo fried rice ₩10,000

This would be perfect as a meal on a first round of drinks, too. The portion is generous enough to be filling. Mapo tofu comes alongside fluffy egg fried rice.

The mapo tofu is not an aggressively numbing or spicy style; it is mild and savory, tailored to Korean tastes. It has a gentle doubanjiang-based flavor. Personally, I love the tongue-tingling mala flavor, so I found that slightly disappointing, but this is definitely a flavor that will appeal to more people.

It had a subtle, doenjang-like fermented soybean flavor and a savory saltiness that went well with the nutty egg fried rice. But that egg fried rice was also really delicious with the fried-eggplant sauce.

Guobaorou with real tang

Guobaorou, small ₩14,000

This was another dish I could not resist ordering because it came in a small size. I love trying lots of different things, though the downside is that the table ends up groaning under the weight...

It arrived coated in sweet-and-sour sauce, and the distinctive sharp vinegar tang had my salivary glands going from the smell alone. Personally, I prefer guobaorou where the sourness is stronger to tangsuyuk, Korean sweet-and-sour pork, where sweetness dominates! This one really delivers on acidity.

It seemed to be made with starch or glutinous-rice batter, so it was properly crisp and chewy at once. The vinegar tang hit right away without becoming overly sour, which made me keep reaching for more. The pork was tender too, with absolutely no off smell. I think having one tangy dish like this makes a meal feel much more varied.

French rack or shoulder rack—which is different?

Lamb French rack ₩36,000

The friendly staff grill the lamb ribs directly on the grill, so you can enjoy them very comfortably. They started with the relatively more tender French rack, and it looked thick and wonderfully tender even at a glance.

A bite of the well-cooked French rack had a melt-in-your-mouth texture that I absolutely loved. It was full of juices, yet the distinctive lamb aroma and flavor were not overpowering, so I think even people unfamiliar with lamb could enjoy it. It went well with the fragrant chive-flower sauce, and it was also good dipped in the tangy-spicy sauce. It is delicious on its own, too...

Lamb shoulder rack ₩26,000

The shoulder rack they grilled next had a little more chew than the French rack, with a much richer natural lamb aroma. The meaty aroma was pronounced but there was no gamey smell at all, and its nutty flavor was wonderful.

I would recommend the French rack if you want a melting texture and gentle aroma, and the shoulder rack if you want more chew and a deeper meaty aroma. Both have such distinct charms and impressive quality that it really comes down to preference.

At the end, we even grilled and ate those rib bones. I was stuffed... How did we eat all of this...

Hwarodam Yang Kkochi Magok is a Magok restaurant with a great atmosphere and great food! Everything we ordered was genuinely delicious: meltingly tender French rack, richly meaty shoulder rack, crisp-chewy fried eggplant, tangy guobaorou, and filling mapo fried rice. If I had to choose, the French rack, guobaorou, and fried eggplant were most exactly my taste, but everything was excellent quality. With private rooms and plenty of space, it would be great for gatherings too. Highly recommended if you are looking for a good restaurant in Magok!