Suwon Station bar with yukhoe, fire-grilled dak-bal, jokbal short

This time I went to Manseokjip Suwon Station branch! The first thing I loved was that it's set up with private rooms. A lot of bars near Suwon Station are packed and the tables next to you are right on top of you, but here you go in with your group and can talk comfortably while eating. And there's more to do than you'd expect,,,!!!!

Song requests, fortune-telling, and games in the room

It's not just ordering food and drinking soju — you can also request songs, check your fortune, and play games, which makes the in-between moments of a drinking session really fun. We tried a bunch of stuff while waiting for the food, and having these options made the waiting time pretty enjoyable.

Manseok yukhoe ₩19,900 — the gamtae combo

The first thing to arrive was the manseok yukhoe (raw beef tartare)! It's ₩19,900, and it comes with cheese, black sesame sauce, and gamtae (seasoned seaweed) on the side. Eating the yukhoe on its own is fine, but putting it on the gamtae worked better than I expected. There's cheese too, so sometimes I ate the yukhoe with cheese, sometimes dipped in the black sesame sauce, haha. It wasn't just one way to eat it — you could mix and match, which was nice. And of course yukhoe has to go with alcohol... it was a good light starter dish.

Basic side snack: chicken-leg crackers

Once we sat down, we got chicken-leg-shaped crackers as a basic side snack. You know how you keep picking at these without noticing? Before the food even arrives, you grab one after another and suddenly the plate's empty...

Fire-grilled buldak-bal ₩19,900 — with bean sprouts and rice

Then I ordered dak-bal (chicken feet), which I love. Fire-grilled buldak-bal for ₩19,900! Here it's not just chicken feet — it comes with bean sprouts and rice too. The rice has mayo and dried seaweed flakes sprinkled on it, which seems meant to be eaten alongside the chicken feet. A bite of chicken feet then a bite of rice — perfect combo, haha. And with the bean sprouts there, snacking on those in between gave a nice crunchy texture. Being fire-grilled, it had that smoky char flavor, great as a drinking snack. If you like chicken feet, this one's worth ordering!

Hanwoo gopdoritang ₩26,900 — fun to pick through

This one I knew I had to order: hanwoo gopdoritang (Korean beef stew). It's ₩26,900. There's genuinely a lot packed in there — potato, rice cake, daechang (beef intestine), glass noodles, chicken thigh meat, and perilla leaf. I like eating daechang and chicken together in gopdoritang, and both were in there, which I loved, plus the glass noodles and rice cake made it fun to pick through the ingredients. Especially when drinking, having one dish with broth definitely helps. We started with yukhoe and chicken feet, then later scooping up the broth was great too. And the potatoes were nicely soaked in the broth, so tasty haha. If you're going with a group, this is a good one to order and share.

Wrapping up with shot-dari ₩16,900

The last thing we ordered was shot-dari (fried short chicken legs)! It's ₩16,900. Shot-dari comes with peanuts, mayo, and soy sauce sauce on the side. There's nothing much to explain — it's just a great snack to pick at one by one while drinking, haha. You can dip it in mayo, dip it in soy sauce, or eat it plain. After eating a bunch of other things and feeling full but still wanting a bit more to go with the drinks, this hit the spot.

If you're looking for a private-room bar near Suwon Station

Overall, the food was great, but honestly what I liked most was the private room setup. A lot of bars near Suwon Station are loud and crowded, but sitting in with just your group made things noticeably more comfortable. And like I said, being able to request songs, check fortunes, and play games made the whole drinking session feel more like an activity than just eating and leaving. It's good for chatting and hanging out with friends, and also good for a bigger group ordering a bunch of different dishes.

Here's what we ate that day.

• Manseok yukhoe ₩19,900
• Fire-grilled buldak-bal ₩19,900
• Hanwoo gopdoritang ₩26,900
• Shot-dari ₩16,900

With so many menu types, there was a fun element of picking and choosing. If you're looking for a private-room bar near Suwon Station, or somewhere to do more than just drink, Manseokjip Suwon Station branch is worth checking out :) Personally, I think it's best suited for going with a group of friends and ordering several dishes together, haha.