Indeogwon yakiniku after a 30-minute weekday wait: Yakiniku Pungyeong

Is Yakiniku Pungyeong near Indeogwon Station full even on weekday evenings?

Yakiniku Pungyeong near Indeogwon Station was full even on a Wednesday evening. A friend who lives near Indeogwon Station told me about a yakiniku (Japanese-style grilled meat) place near her home where office workers line up every evening, so I went after work on a Wednesday! As the rumor said, the charcoal-grilled flower short rib and skirt steak were ridiculously good. The owner also gave us tons of freebies, so it was a really happy dinner for my mouth~ There's always a reason people line up 💛

Yakiniku Pungyeong is a beef specialist that says its owner, a meat expert with a national technical qualification, personally selects the high-quality beef. The moment you walk in, the walls are covered with certificates and with awards and commendations from the governor and the mayor, and you can feel the pride. I think I really did find a good place!

I went straight from work, and even though it was a Wednesday, maybe because word had spread, Yakiniku Pungyeong was already full. I left my number with the owner so he could call when a seat opened, waited in the car for about 30 minutes, then got the call and went in around 7:30. I'd recommend booking ahead if you can.

Seating and group tables at Yakiniku Pungyeong

The dining hall at Yakiniku Pungyeong is divided by wooden partitions. They aren't fully closed off, but the mood is nice for quiet conversation, just like a Japanese izakaya (pub).

I took this photo of the group seating around 9 pm, as I finished and was paying on the way out. A company dinner had just wrapped up, and I snapped it so you can use it as a reference when booking a group. It seats 16 people plus a few more.

There were only two of us, so they avoided the group seating and gave us a quiet table in the back. Maybe because we'd been on the waiting list, the side dishes and cutlery were already set out. They put freshly heated charcoal straight into the Japanese-style charcoal grill.

What did we order at Yakiniku Pungyeong?

At Yakiniku Pungyeong we ordered 130g each of snowflake short rib, skirt steak and premium short rib, plus tonkotsu miso ramen and a bowl of rice. I'd heard the melt-in-your-mouth snowflake short rib is the most popular yakiniku item, so I ordered 130g of that first, and the "limited to 15 servings a day" sign tempted me into 130g of skirt steak too. (+ I added another 130g of premium short rib partway through.) For the meal part, I got tonkotsu miso ramen and a bowl of rice.

Check the prize draw before ordering sides

Besides beef, Yakiniku Pungyeong has lots of tempting side dishes, and there's a prize draw too, plus they give you a lot if you write a review. So first look over all the events, join the ones you can, collect the freebies, and only then order extra sides! We got 4th and 5th prizes in the review draw, so we received scallops and tartare seaweed rice balls!

Four kinds of pickles as side dishes

The basic sides at Yakiniku Pungyeong were soy sauce, salt and four kinds of pickles that go well with beef.

They were pickled aged chili, napa cabbage, mustard leaf and gungchae (pickled stem lettuce). Personally, the gungchae was my favorite and the one I ate the most: crunchy texture, and a sweet-salty seasoning that was delicious.

This was a free appetizer before the meal: a finger food of tomato and cucumber marinade on top of baby potato chips. It was sweet and tangy, perfect for getting the appetite going.

The tonkotsu miso ramen came out too, and with that everything from our first order had arrived.

In what order should you eat the skirt steak and snowflake short rib?

A Yakiniku Pungyeong staff member recommended eating the skirt steak first and then the snowflake short rib. Aren't the colors of the snowflake short rib and skirt steak amazing? 🧡 Even by eye, the snowflake short rib had much more fat running through it, so I expected it to be tender.

When the staff brought the meat, they recommended eating the skirt steak first and then the snowflake short rib, saying that order tastes best.

Skirt steak, limited to 15 servings a day

Sliced button mushrooms came as a free garnish. They gently grilled the skirt steak on the Japanese-style charcoal grill just until the red had slightly faded.

It's easier to grill skirt steak ✌evenly✌ if you cut it a bit smaller. I grilled it to my liking, first ate it with just salt, then topped it with mustard leaf pickle. It was tender but still had some bite, and it was really delicious!

This yuzu tomato salad was also free. During the meal they keep bringing out something like this nonstop. I can't go home 😂 It's tasty just as a drinking snack, and it was fresh and nice with the beef too.

Today's star: snowflake short rib

The second batter up came quickly: today's star, the snowflake short rib!! The marbling really is different, and even grilling it felt different. Ooh-!!

I dipped it lightly in salt and it just disappears in your mouth, seriously. That doesn't mean the skirt steak isn't tender, not at all. The skirt steak is tender too. It just had a bit more bite.

Personally, rather than ordering two servings of just one, I recommend ordering one serving of each and trying both.

Add premium short rib if you're still a little hungry

I wanted more meat, so after much deliberation I ordered the premium short rib!

Are you kidding me! This one is delicious too!! It looked like it had sinew, but it chewed tender with no sinew at all, and I was moved. If you're still a little hungry, I recommend the premium short rib at the end. It went especially well with the gungchae pickle.

Scallops and tartare seaweed rice balls from the Yakiniku Pungyeong prize draw

The 4th prize in the draw was scallops and the 5th prize was tartare seaweed rice balls. I was curious what I'd get when I picked scallops for my 4th prize. They cooked it on the grill as butter-grilled scallops and brought it over. I ate so eagerly that my partner asked if we should order a whole box of scallops for home. That's how good they were!

And this is the seaweed tartare rice ball my partner got as 5th prize. You normally get 1 piece, but they brought 2. Also free, they said (touched).

It was so delicious that I regretted ordering a bowl of rice. I should have just ordered more tartare seaweed rice balls! Write a review for these if you have to, and definitely try them.

How much is the tonkotsu miso ramen at Yakiniku Pungyeong?

The tonkotsu miso ramen at Yakiniku Pungyeong is ₩9,000. I recommend it if you want a soup to go with your drinks: the noodles are springy and the broth is really good. Normally with this much food I leave some noodles, but I finished everything, it was that good. It's not only the beef that's great! It's much cheaper than buying ramen elsewhere, so I recommend ordering it.

The watermelon dessert before paying

When I was about to pay and get up, they asked me to wait a moment. I thought they'd come to take payment at the table like at a family restaurant, but they brought fruit dessert instead. Whoa, this much sweet watermelon! You'd think we were a party of four. The generosity was incredible.

All we actually ordered was beef and ramen, but with all the free dishes and dessert they filled the table, and we ate a really generous spread.

The atmosphere is cozy and nice, and it's a great Indeogwon Station restaurant for a special anniversary date or a family meal, and the space on the other side works for group gatherings too. I could see why Yakiniku Pungyeong has lasted 14 years in the same spot. Go after work, definitely 😇👍🏻