Busan BBQ near Motgol Station: spicy galbi with corn-mayo, Gim Geumja

Today I'm sharing my visit to Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch, a Daeyeon-dong BBQ place where you can enjoy a variety of marinated galbi and juicy meat at friendly prices. I demolished the marinated galbi, spicy galbi and raw galbi!

Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch: location, hours and parking

Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch (김금자숯불갈비 대연점) is on the ground floor at 185-5 Suyeong-ro, Nam-gu, Busan, South Korea, a 3-minute walk from Motgol Station and a 7-minute walk from Daeyeon Station. Hours are Mon–Fri 16:00–01:00 and Sat–Sun 11:30–01:00, and I'd recommend using the Nam-gu Office parking lot.

Access is great, so it's perfect even if you're on foot!

How long is the Saturday evening wait near Motgol Station?

There was a wait at 6pm on Saturday, and we got in right after about 10 minutes. The waiting app is Catch Table!

The place has a retro yet clean vibe ✨ It's really big, but it's still full of regulars, family dinners and get-togethers, so it's the real deal, right?!

There's a separate group room at the back, so it's also great for team dinners and gatherings. Definitely a Motgol Station favorite!

Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi menu and prices

You can order grilled items in 200g portions, and set menus run in the ₩30,000–₩40,000 range. Menu prices are below (in thousands of won).

• Sets: half-and-half set 49.4 / Gim Geumja set 33.4 / raw meat set 45.8 / bone-in & boneless set 37.4
• Grill: pork belly galbi (200g) 15.8 / marinated galbi (200g) 7.6 / spicy galbi (200g) 9.6 / pork neck galbi / whole pork jowl / whole pork skirt / honeycomb pork skin (2 pieces) 7.8 / charcoal-grilled chicken feet 12.8
• Meals: anchovy noodles and yangpun bibimbap (bowl-mixed rice) 5.8 / doenjang rice, cold jjolmyeon (chewy noodles) and pineapple sherbet 6.8 / doenjang stew, cold noodles, spicy cold noodles and kimchi noodles 5.8 / nurungji (scorched rice), jjondigi and grilled dried filefish 2.0 / ramyeon 3.0
• Drinks: draft beer 2.9 / soju or beer 5.0 / non-alcoholic Cass 4.0

Pick whatever you like from the many grilled items and sides, and there are reasonably priced set menus too 🤩

The spicy galbi, Gim Geumja's signature menu, is a direct hit for spice lovers ~🔥

What we ordered: three kinds of galbi, 200g each

• Pork belly galbi (200g) 15.8
• Marinated galbi, level 2 (200g) 7.6
• Spicy galbi (200g) 9.6
• Icy kimchi noodles 5.8
• Bone soup 1.0

Since you can order in 200g portions, I tried a bit of everything on the first order!

What side dishes come free with the galbi?

The side dishes at Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch are scallion salad, kimchi, cabbage salad, pickled onions, and a refreshing muksabal (chilled acorn jelly soup). If you need more, just grab it yourself from the self-bar!

The muksabal broth was so refreshing and delicious that it vanished in a flash 🐽

How to grill and eat the fresh pork belly galbi

The raw pork belly galbi comes with pork belly, galbi and vegetables for grilling, and you grill it first on the raw-meat grill plate. It looks amazing, and the quality is great, probably because it's domestic pork.

They set down the raw-meat grill plate first, and you just grill away 🫶🏻 The little garlic dish is a nice touch so nothing falls through the grate!

The pork belly is chewy yet clean-tasting 🥺 Lean meat and fat are nicely mixed, so dipping it in salt is the best!

The nutty, juicy galbi meat isn't gamey at all, and dunked in meljeot (salted fermented anchovy sauce) with its top-tier savoriness, it's 👍🏻

How does the marinated pork galbi taste?

The marinated galbi is aged in a secret sauce, and after you finish the raw meat, the staff swap straight to the marinade grill plate. They're really kind even while busy 😇

Galbi soaked in the sweet-salty marinade burns easily, so flip it often as you grill!

With galbi, is it pickled radish wraps? Scallion salad? I say both 🤤

The special marinade isn't too sweet and keeps your chopsticks moving, so it's a Daeyeon-dong BBQ place everyone is bound to like!

Spicy galbi heat levels and the corn-mayo sauce tip

You can choose the spice level of the spicy galbi. I picked level 2, about Buldak ramyeon (fire noodles) heat, and the spiciness melted all my stress away 👅

My own little tip: it pairs perfectly with the salad sauce, which tastes like corn mayo, kind of like chicken feet plus mayo 😋

And don't forget fresh vegetable wraps for your health!

Are the icy kimchi noodles and ₩1,000 bone soup worth ordering?

The icy kimchi noodles (₩5,800) at Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch are perfect for summer, and the bone soup is only ₩1,000, so it's well worth ordering. I added marinated pork galbi to go with the noodles topped with floating ice 💦

Made with well-fermented aged kimchi, the noodles have a tangy, deep broth that's just right for summer 🧊 The noodles are soft and well cooked, so even older people and kids could eat them without trouble.

The bone soup has two meaty bones in a rich broth like galbitang (short rib soup), and for just ₩1,000 I hope you'll order it 👏🏻

It's a Daeyeon-dong BBQ place you can trust for its domestic pork, which makes me recommend it even more~🙂

If you want charcoal pork galbi with real charcoal aroma, definitely visit Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch, a top value-for-money spot in Daeyeon-dong!