Bucheon lamb BBQ: charcoal ribs and yuzu cold noodles at Ichiryu

Where is Ichiryu Bucheon Hyundai Branch, and what is the seating like?

Ichiryu Bucheon Hyundai Branch (이치류 부천현대점) is a great lamb rib restaurant behind Hyundai Department Store in Bucheon. It has counter-style seats on the first floor, and group seating and a private room on the second floor.

When we walked in, there was a space for storing luggage, so we dropped our bags right away and took our seats.

The private room can be used by parties of 6 or more and fits up to 12 people. If you want to come as a group, I recommend booking by phone first!

Side dishes are set out in advance when you book

We reserved before visiting, so everything was already prepared. It isn't in the photo, but the staff had covered the dishes with lids to keep dust out. The standard sides were edamame, pickled chili peppers, pickled scallions (??), wasabi, white kimchi and a soy sauce.

What we ordered at Ichiryu Bucheon Hyundai Branch

We ordered premium fresh lamb ribs (₩33,000), top-grade French rack (₩37,000) and two bowls of steamed rice (₩2,000 each).

A staff member heated up the brazier of charcoal, greased the grill with fat, and put the vegetables on first: onion, mushrooms, eggplant, tomato and scallions.

And here come the lamb ribs! They looked gorgeous, and you could see how fresh the meat was.

We ordered steamed rice too, made with Koshihikari, a premium rice variety. Salt and chili powder sit beside the table, and I stirred about two spoonfuls of the chili powder into the soy sauce.

Do the staff grill the lamb ribs for you at Ichiryu?

Yes! At Ichiryu Bucheon Hyundai Branch the staff grill the lamb for you, so you can relax and eat. They start with the fresh lamb ribs, cut them into bite-size pieces and cook them evenly, which also leaves you free to chat with whoever you came with.

Honestly, with the meat cooking right in front of you, haha, you end up focusing on the meat more than the conversation haha

There's a small brazier in front of you, and the staff moved the well-cooked vegetables over first. Then they put the fresh lamb ribs on.

Eat the fresh lamb ribs with salt and wasabi

Doesn't that glistening shine look delicious? With meat, the basic move is to dip it in salt first~! Then comes the salt and wasabi combo. I also tried it topped with pickled scallions(?).

Personally, I liked dipping it in salt or eating it with wasabi because you can really taste the meat itself. The texture was chewy and rich, and so good.

How to eat the bean sprout bibimbap and ochazuke

Partway through the fresh lamb ribs, a staff member stir-fries bean sprouts at Ichiryu Bucheon Hyundai Branch. They lightly season the sprouts, then tell you to put them on your rice, add the soy sauce and mix.

Just as they showed us, I put the sprouts on the rice, added the soy sauce and mixed it all up. They also said that if we left a tiny bit of rice, about a fingernail's worth, they would make us ochazuke (rice with tea or broth poured over it). I thought, 'Huh? Ochazuke at a lamb rib place?!' and got curious.

The lamb rib bones were cooked well with a torch, and they slipped paper handles on so we could hold them and eat. Thanks to the paper handles, the bones weren't hot to hold, which was nice.

How does Ichiryu's top-grade French rack taste?

The second dish was the top-grade French rack~! They seasoned it beforehand and put it on the brazier for us.

They grilled it to such a lovely golden brown :)

I ate the French rack with wasabi, and also with the pickled chili peppers and bean sprouts. The meat is so good that everything went well with it.

The fat part of the French rack was cut off and cooked a little longer separately. I found it much richer and nuttier than I expected, and it was so delicious.

I had a little rice left, so I asked for ochazuke too, and this is what they made for us. It was savory, and eating it near the end of the meal felt clean and nice.

Are Ichiryu's yuzu Koshoman cold noodles worth ordering?

The Koshoman cold noodles at Ichiryu Bucheon Hyundai Branch are cool, clean-tasting noodles with a light yuzu scent, and they were the best. When I went to order them, the staff mentioned a receipt review event, so I joined the event and got them that way.

These Koshoman cold noodles were really good. They were perfect to close out the meal, but if I'd had them earlier, I would have ordered another bowl.. haha

I've been to a lot of lamb rib restaurants, and I loved Ichiryu Bucheon Hyundai Branch: great atmosphere and really delicious meat!