Pyeongtaek Station lunch set and glass noodle jumulleok: Pyeongtaek

Today I want to recommend a restaurant near Pyeongtaek Station. It's called Pyeongtaek Jumulleok, right in front of the station — the jumulleok (spicy marinated grilled meat) is delicious and the menu lineup, including a solo-dining lunch set, makes it a great lunch spot too.

Pyeongtaek Jumulleok's location, between Pyeongtaek Station and Tongbok Market

Here's where Pyeongtaek Jumulleok is. It sits between Pyeongtaek Station and Tongbok Market.

Here's the exterior of Pyeongtaek Jumulleok. You can feel the years on it, right? Pyeongtaek Jumulleok has held down this spot for a whopping 50 years, like the neighborhood's local hero haha.

Group-friendly interior and a self-serve bar

The interior looks like this. There's a central aisle with two spaces, one on each side. There were plenty of seats, so it looked great for groups too. I went on a weekday evening and there were quite a few gatherings happening haha.

An excellence award plaque (?) hanging on the wall.

There was also a self-serve bar in the middle.

Tablet ordering and the ₩10,000 solo-dining lunch special

Orders are placed via tablet, and the receipt review event and lunch special menu caught my eye. Participating in the receipt review event gets you a choice of bibimbap, rice ball, fried shrimp, mandu (dumplings), or fries. As for the lunch special, there's a solo-dining set — for just ₩10,000 you get a full meal that includes meat.

Once I tried the jumulleok, it was seriously delicious, ㅠㅠ. If you work nearby, you have to try it for lunch at least once.

I ordered three servings of the popular gochujang jumulleok at ₩16,000 each.

Soy-marinated shrimp as a side dish

First, the side dishes came out.

Soy-marinated shrimp comes as a standard banchan (side dish). Rice-thief-level soy shrimp haha.

The gochujang jumulleok, three servings, on the table

The main dish, gochujang jumulleok, arrived too.

This is three servings' worth of gochujang jumulleok. It came with meat, scallions, onion, and carrots, and the portion was generous.

Seeing that red sauce made my mouth water instantly. You can see the meat is nicely coated in the seasoning too, right?

And glass noodles come along with it. No need to order them separately — they're included by default! haha

Lettuce wraps came too, plus chili peppers and garlic.

The rice at Pyeongtaek Jumulleok is black rice. It had good chew and tasted great.

Cooking on high heat and adding the glass noodles

The jumulleok was cooked hard on high heat. A bit of broth formed from the sauce and vegetable juices.

While stirring with the tongs, I noticed the meat had the perfect fat-to-lean ratio, so I snapped a photo. Pulling off piece by piece, the thickness was just right and the fat was well-balanced — I could tell it'd be delicious without even tasting it.

Once the meat was cooked enough, we threw in the glass noodles to cook along with it. I think it's my first time having glass noodles with jumulleok, and to cut to the chase — they go really well together haha.

Finally, it's all cooked!!

It looked done, but to make sure it was perfectly cooked, I started with the soy-marinated shrimp before digging into the jumulleok. The seasoning was just salty enough, the shrimp was plump — a nice appetizer(?). No fishy taste, and the shrimp wasn't mushy, which I liked.

How's the meat? The lean-to-fat ratio

Now for the star, the jumulleok. As I mentioned above, the ratio between lean meat and the fat layer is really optimal. I'm not a fan of dry cuts, and I think pork needs some fat to taste good — Pyeongtaek Jumulleok is truly a 200-point score here haha. Not the slightest hint of dryness, and not the slightest hint of greasiness from the fat either.

Pyeongtaek Jumulleok's gochujang sauce is a lightly spicy-sweet, umami-packed marinade, and it soaks completely into the glass noodles too, making them delicious. This was my first time having glass noodles with jumulleok, and it suited so well I wanted to add more!! If you love glass noodles, I'd recommend ordering extra when you first place your order.

Since it's gochujang-seasoned jumulleok, the seasoning is spot-on even without ssamjang (dipping sauce) — just meat and garlic. The slight spiciness paired really well with the lettuce.

Why I recommend it as a lunch spot near Pyeongtaek Station

Pyeongtaek Jumulleok says they carefully select fresh ingredients every morning to bring out the best flavor each day, and you can really taste that. My mom makes amazing dwaeji bulgogi (spicy pork stir-fry), and this was just as good as hers (that says it all...). Now I fully understand why it's called the popular gochujang jumulleok haha. Popular menu items don't fail you! If it's your first visit, you have to try the jumulleok.

Pyeongtaek Jumulleok, a recommended restaurant near Pyeongtaek Station. It's a real old-school restaurant where you can enjoy jumulleok made with quality meat and an incredibly savory sauce at a reasonable price. There must be a reason it's stayed in business for 50 long years. Visit at lunch for the lunch special at an even better value — I definitely recommend giving it a try.