After-work butcher BBQ for two in Dongbaek: 400g beef, Hanokjip

What kind of place is Dongbaek Hanokjip Charcoal Grill Butcher Restaurant?

Dongbaek Hanokjip Charcoal Grill Butcher Restaurant (동백한옥집 숯불구이 정육식당) is a butcher-shop-style charcoal BBQ restaurant at 221 Eondong-ro, 1st floor, Giheung-gu, Yongin. It is open 11:30-21:30 and closed on Mondays, and you can use the private parking lot behind the building.

I came out for dinner after work, just me and my wife. She was having a rough day, so I wanted to treat her to beef for the first time in a while. She's very picky, so... every place we'd been to before let us down. This one is a bit far from home, but the Google reviews were so good that I tracked it down, and that's how we found Dongbaek Hanokjip.

Hanok tile-roof style... the exterior and interior of Dongbaek Hanokjip are so classy that it would be a great place to bring your parents or guests...

Unlike the modern buildings around it, it really stands out...

Where do you park at Dongbaek Hanokjip?

Dongbaek Hanokjip has its own parking lot behind the building. It was a weekday evening, but the lot already had quite a few cars.

The rice is Suhyangmi

I saw bags of rice stacked at the entrance of Dongbaek Hanokjip... and they use premium Suhyangmi rice. The steamed rice really is stickier and has a nuttier aroma than what I eat at home. This is where you start to see why it's such a good Dongbaek BBQ place.

How do you order at Dongbaek Hanokjip?

It works like a butcher-shop restaurant: you choose your meat at the butcher counter first, pay at the register, then carry it to your table. We went a little after 6 p.m. on a weekday...

Butcher-shop style... when you arrive, pick your meat, have it rung up at the register and take it to your table. When cuts run out, they keep restocking them...

There are lots of different cuts, and... the color of the meat is seriously something else. Compared to all the beef I've had so far... haha

Oh, and right next to the meat counter there's a separate aging room. I think aging is the secret.

Side dishes and tablet ordering at your table

When you get back to your seat after choosing the meat, the table is full of side dishes. Right next to the table there are scissors, tongs, small plates... and so on, so you can just grab what you need.

For anything besides meat, it's convenient to order on the tablet beside the table... We added rice, doenjang stew and yukhoe naengmyeon...

How was the charcoal-grilled beef at Dongbaek Hanokjip?

Grilled over charcoal, the beef had a rich meaty aroma and a nutty depth, and even my picky wife called it the best of the Dongbaek BBQ places. The charcoal came out... and now I get why "charcoal grill" is in the name. The charcoal is really good.

The color of the meat is really different...

They give you green onions and shishito-style peppers (kkwari gochu) to grill alongside... and these are the real kicker. They go so well with the beef and taste great.

The meat especially has a rich aroma and nutty flavor... My wife, who hates buffet-style places and prefers quality meat, said it's truly the best among Dongbaek BBQ spots...

If you're looking for really good beef, you should remember Dongbaek Hanokjip charcoal grill. The quality of the meat is on another level.

How much beef should a couple order?

We ordered about 400g of beef for the two of us at Dongbaek Hanokjip and it was plenty. They seem to be honest about the weight, too.

I love the pickled onion and wasabi combo most, so I really enjoyed it.

If you need more salad, lettuce and so on... there's a separate self-serve corner, so you can take just what you need without leaving leftovers...

How were the doenjang stew and hanwoo yukhoe naengmyeon?

The doenjang stew tasted like it had ground pork in it, and it was packed with vegetables, so it wrapped up the meat nicely. The extra stew came out and the two of us scraped the pot clean. It soothes a greasy stomach and finishes the meal neatly.

This is the yukhoe naengmyeon made with hanwoo (Korean beef). The yukhoe (beef tartare) on top was more generous than I expected, and the unusual part... they give you kelp vinegar instead of regular vinegar, and the flavor is different... From the rice to the meat to the vinegar, you can feel they carefully try to serve you good things...

Verdict

At Dongbaek Hanokjip Charcoal Grill Butcher Restaurant the meat quality is top-notch, and the service attitude and the quality of the space put you in a good mood. We decided to come back next time with my wife and the kids...