₩23,900 three-meat set at a Dalseo, Daegu meat buffet: Gankeun Galbi

Introducing a Seongseo, Daegu favorite — an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant in Dalseo-gu with its own playroom: Gankeun Galbi Seongseo Branch.

A Daegu all-you-can-eat BBQ restaurant that works with a 30-month-old

Now that our little Sogeum has passed the 30-month mark, eating out has basically become a battle of wills every single time haha. So we went looking for a Daegu all-you-can-eat BBQ place with a playroom where we could also eat as much meat as we wanted.

71 Igok-dong-ro, 2nd floor, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, South Korea / Daily 12:00 - 23:30

That place turned out to be Gankeun Galbi Seongseo Branch, a Seongseo favorite. The building has its own parking lot, so there was no need to worry about parking, and the space was generously sized, which was great.

There was a menu board at the entrance, plus a separate lunch special menu, and two all-you-can-eat options. You might assume everything on an AYCE menu is imported, but their pork belly is actually domestic.

Inside, the place was spacious and well-kept — a genuine Seongseo favorite. The tables were wide and well spaced, so we could eat comfortably.

Gankeun Galbi Seongseo Branch prices and when kids eat free

Gankeun Galbi Seongseo Branch offers three all-you-can-eat options.

• Pork ribs all-you-can-eat ₩19,900
• Pork ribs + domestic pork belly + makchang all-you-can-eat ₩23,900
• Premium beef short rib + makchang + domestic pork belly + pork ribs all-you-can-eat ₩28,900

We went with the ₩23,900 set, and since it's free for kids under 36 months, our Sogeum got to enjoy it at no charge.

The kiosk menu screen also had detailed request options — things like 'preschooler cutlery set' or 'please give a baby chair' — so we could visit comfortably with a kid without feeling self-conscious.

The playroom in Dalseo: where the toddler goes while the meat grills

Since this is a Dalseo, Daegu restaurant with a playroom, my husband was able to run around happily with our child in the playroom the entire time I was prepping side dishes and grilling meat.

It was kept as clean as a kids' café and was bigger than I expected, so our kid absolutely loved it.

What's on the self-serve bar at Gankeun Galbi

Next I checked out the self-serve bar. The meat lineup ranged from pork ribs, pork skin, beef heart, domestic pork belly, to makchang,

and there were plenty of things that go well with meat — shredded green onion, shredded onion, pickled radish for wraps, garlic, chili peppers, sauce, ssamjang (dipping paste), sesame oil, lettuce, makjang sauce, perilla leaf kimchi,

tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), seasoned fried chicken, nuggets, pork cutlet, seaweed soup,

and even ramyeon and rice were all-you-can-eat.

There were also eggs, rice cake for tteokguk, green onion, mushrooms, bracken fern, potato salad, and canned fruit to add to the ramyeon,

and for dessert there was patbingsu (shaved ice with red beans), ice cream, coffee, juice, and soda — so we could finish the whole meal, dessert included, at the same table.

Even just grabbing small portions of the side dishes we liked filled the table generously.

Domestic pork belly first, and why the grill pan changes with each meat

You have to decide whether to eat the ribs or the pork belly first, since each type of meat uses a different grill pan.

So we decided to start with the pork belly and makchang, and grilled up the pork belly first — an Igok-dong favorite.

The cuts were thick, but the heat was strong enough that they cooked up nicely in no time.

Maybe because it's domestic pork belly, even the thick-cut pieces were tender and juicy, tasty even on their own.

It was also great wrapped with the various side dishes or lettuce.

Bone-in pork ribs, with a self-service grill pan swap

After grilling two rounds of pork belly, we moved on to the pork ribs. The rib grill pan is stored separately under the table, so you just swap it in yourself.

The ribs came pre-marinated, which means they burn easily, so I kept turning them around to grill them just right.

The seasoning itself was on the sweet side, which made it great with rice.

Usually all-you-can-eat ribs come boneless, but at this Seongseo favorite, every piece had the bone still attached, which made gnawing on them part of the fun.

And the pork skin at this Dalseo, Daegu favorite, dipped in soybean powder, is the kind of thing that makes soju go down way too easily.........lol

Ending the meal with doenjang stew full of blue crab

To wrap things up, we ordered doenjang (soybean paste) stew, which had blue crab inside — refreshing and clean-tasting, great with rice.

Today's trip was to an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ place in Daegu. Being a Daegu restaurant with a playroom made it easy to eat with our kid, and even as an all-you-can-eat spot the meat quality was solid, so we came home stuffed to the brim with our kid.