Pangyo Station soju bar: beef suyuk with minari, perilla dip at Useum

A healthy meal at lunch, a great atmosphere for drinks at dinner. Useum Pangyo Branch does both well.

What kind of place is Useum Pangyo Branch?

Useum Pangyo Branch (우슴 판교점) is a hanwoo suyuk gastropub in front of Pangyo Station: gomtang for lunch, suyuk and jeongol (hot pot) with a drink in the evening. If you want a tasty lunch in Pangyo and a good place for drinks at night, I'd recommend it.

It has been open for almost a year now. At lunch, many people come for hearty gomtang, knee-tendon soup and yukhoe bibimbap. In the evening it has a word-of-mouth reputation as a Pangyo bar where you enjoy eobokjaengban, jeongol or suyuk with a drink.

Useum Pangyo Branch hours, parking and corkage

Useum Pangyo Branch is open every day from 11:00 to 23:00 with no break time. Parking is free for 2 hours, and corkage is available at ₩20,000 per bottle.

• Address: 31 Daewangpangyo-ro 606beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, 1st floor
• Hours: daily 11:00–23:00
• Open every day
• No break time
• Groups and reservations available
• Corkage available (₩20,000 per bottle)
• Parking available (free for 2 hours, then ₩1,000 per hour)

Just cross the crosswalk from Pangyo Station Exit 1 and you'll see it, so access is really good.

The space is much bigger and more pleasant than I expected, and the tables are spaced widely enough that you don't notice the people next to you. There are group seats and a private room too, so it looked fine for company dinners or gatherings.

What's on the lunch and dinner menus at Useum Pangyo Branch?

At lunch, Useum Pangyo Branch serves meals like gomtang and yukhoe bibimbap. In the evening it has drinking dishes such as eobokjaengban, jeongol and half-and-half suyuk. The restaurant lists these selling points:

✔ 38 years of expertise in ingredients ✔ Natural broth simmered 8+ hours ✔ Deep broth flavor without MSG ✔ Third-generation know-how

As a hanwoo suyuk gastropub, Useum clearly takes pride in its ingredients, and once you eat there it makes sense.

• Lunch: hearty meals such as clear gomtang, creamy gomtang, haejang gomtang, knee-tendon soup and yukhoe bibimbap
• Dinner: good drinking food such as eobokjaengban, knee-tendon jeongol, hanwoo bulgogi jeongol, hangover jeongol and half-and-half suyuk

Easy ordering with the table tablet

You order on the tablet at each table. There's no need to call a staff member, and I could browse the menu slowly, which was convenient.

The menu is neatly organized and easy to read, so choosing wasn't hard.

What comes in Useum's half-and-half suyuk, and how does it taste?

This time I ordered the half-and-half suyuk (₩55,000), one bottle of soju and one can of soda. The half-and-half suyuk comes with boiled beef from several cuts, including ox-knee tendon, brisket, flat brisket and ox tongue.

For a drink, suyuk is a must, right?

With brisket and several other cuts on the plate, each had a different texture and flavor. Even though it's long-boiled meat, it wasn't dry; it stayed moist, and the more I chewed, the more a nutty richness spread softly through my mouth.

How were the chadol, yangji and ox tongue?

The brisket (chadol) in particular was tender with a strong nutty flavor, while the flat brisket (yangji) had a satisfying chew, so you get two different charms.

With suyuk, some cuts can turn out tough or dry, but the suyuk at Useum had a good texture overall, and every cut was satisfying.

And the ox tongue, which is hard to come by: it was my first time trying it, and it was tender with no gamey smell. Delicious!

Eat the half-and-half suyuk with minari

The half-and-half suyuk comes topped with enoki mushrooms and minari (water dropwort), and personally I liked it best with the minari. The fragrant minari cleans up your palate and makes the meat's nuttiness come through even more.

One piece plain, one piece with minari, another dipped in sauce. It's fun to switch, so I never got tired of it until the end.

What is the knee tendon's texture like?

The dogani-suji (ox-knee tendon) in the half-and-half suyuk is soft yet chewy. Maybe thanks to the long, slow boiling, it didn't feel tough at all.

It's plump to chew yet goes down smoothly, with the chewy charm typical of a collagen-rich cut. If you like dogani, you'll be satisfied, and it was clean with no gamey smell, so first-timers can enjoy it without worry.

What's the broth served with the half-and-half suyuk like?

The broth served with the half-and-half suyuk was better than I expected. It looks clear but tastes quite rich, with the deep savoriness of a long-simmered stock. A spoonful warms your stomach, and it went really well with drinks.

Dipping the suyuk briefly in the broth made the meat even moister and warm, so it stayed tasty to the last bite. Sipping the broth between drinks even felt like a hangover cure.

Best sauce combinations for beef suyuk

You dip the suyuk in chojang (sweet-and-sour gochujang sauce) or soy sauce. The soy sauce isn't salty, so you can soak the meat in it without any problem.

On the other hand, mixing perilla powder into the chojang added a nutty, tangy flavor and had its own appeal. Even with the same suyuk, the taste changes with the sauce, so I enjoyed it to the end.

Is Useum Pangyo Branch a good bar near Pangyo Station?

The half-and-half suyuk went well with a bottle of soju, and I could see why the place is busy in the evening. The suyuk is mild yet nutty and matched the soju, and with the warm broth in between it kept going down easily.

It's not aggressively spicy or salty food, so it's a good menu for sitting a long time talking over drinks. I think it would please at company dinners, with friends, and even with parents. If you're looking for a lunch spot in Pangyo and also thinking about an evening drink, give Useum Pangyo a visit.