Siheung beef rib restaurant with baby soy egg rice: Daehwa Sutbul

The day my friend and I suddenly ended up co-parenting for the afternoon haha. On the way to Je T'aime Kids Land, a place I'd been wanting to try, lunchtime hit right on schedule, so we went "let's just feed the kids some meat first!" and rushed into Daehwa Sutbul Garden Siheung Janggok Branch.

It was an unfamiliar neighborhood so I honestly had zero expectations, but as we ate, my friend and I were like "if this were our neighborhood we'd be regulars here..." Both our rice-refusing babies eating meat and rice so well already sealed the deal (the whole store turned into a meat-meat-meat choir lol). The meat was tender and the set was so well-rounded that it's worth remembering if you're looking for kid-friendly restaurants in Janggok-dong, Siheung.

Where is Daehwa Sutbul Garden Siheung Janggok Branch, and when is it open?

Daehwa Sutbul Garden Siheung Janggok Branch is located at 10 Janghyeonjanggok-ro, 1616-dong B111~B113, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do. Monday to Friday it's open 15:00-23:00, Saturday and Sunday 12:00-23:00, last order at 22:00, and it opens at 12:00 on holidays.

You can visit from lunchtime on weekends, and on weekdays it opens from 3pm, so just check the timing before you go!

Parking at Daehwa Sutbul Garden with two toddlers

Parking was genuinely easy. It uses the apartment complex retail parking lot!! For us, moving around with two kids, that was such a relief haha. Living up to its reputation as a kid-friendly restaurant in Siheung, it was easy to visit.

Inside Daehwa Sutbul Garden: sofa seats for families

The store overall had a clean, comfortable atmosphere, good for dining at ease.

Even though it's a BBQ restaurant, it didn't feel too hectic or intimidating, and more importantly, that day our combo was 18-month-old, 22-month-old, plus two moms haha.

On a day when we had to grill meat, feed the kids, and also eat ourselves while parenting, what mattered more than atmosphere was whether "the kids can actually eat well," and as it turned out, that mission went pretty smoothly here. (The 22-month-old's mom loves the sofa seating ^_^)

At first it was a place we found in a rush in an unfamiliar neighborhood, but as we kept eating, I thought this would be a nice place to come for a family meal.

The menu: Gyeongju-style marinated beef short ribs and the baby meal

Daehwa Sutbul Garden's signature menu is Gyeongju-style freshly marinated beef short ribs. You can order it as a single plate, and if you order the set, you get not just the ribs but several sides, a main dish, and even dessert.

Since we came with kids, what caught my eye as much as the meat was the so-called baby rice — soy egg rice. When you go to a BBQ restaurant with a kid, meat is often the only thing to feed them, and there are moments you worry what to feed them if they don't eat meat, so having a menu item like this was a welcome relief for moms haha. (Luckily both babies ate the meat well too ^^)

What we ordered at Daehwa Sutbul Garden

• Gyeongju-style freshly marinated beef short rib single plate (set)
• 1 baby rice (soy egg rice)

We ordered the set with marinated beef short ribs, planning to feed the kids meat, and added a soy egg rice for Donghae. At first we were like "as long as the kids eat well, that's enough~" but from the ribs to the noodles to the final ice cream, we ended up eating one thing after another, and in the end the moms ate everything too haha. Even in the middle of chaotic parenting, we make sure to eat everything ^_^

Are the marinated beef short ribs tough? Juicy and tender

The thing I remember most about the meat is the juiciness. As you grill and eat it, you can really feel the juice inside the meat, and above all it wasn't tough at all, just tender. Since kids were going to eat it, if it were tough no matter how tasty, they'd spit it right out and moms would scramble, but here it was tender enough that it worked even for 18-month-old and 22-month-old babies.

The marinade is on the sweet side, exactly the flavor babies love. Sure enough, both of them ate it up well haha. Normally I might briefly think "is it okay to feed them something this sweet," but these days, raising two babies who are both mid rice-refusal phase, sweet or whatever, if they just eat, thank you thank you haha. Eating well is the best thing.

The moms grilled some tortillas too

The baby meal: soy sauce egg rice for toddlers

And then the baby rice we ordered for Donghae — soy egg rice.

Even if a kid eats meat well, having rice to go along with it, rather than just meat alone, feels less monotonous(?) and more like a solid, filling meal from a mom's perspective, which I liked.

And above all, Donghae ate it well. Meat plus soy egg rice — as a mom, I already felt like today's outing was a success haha.

The portion was generous enough that both babies could share it easily. Having a baby-rice option like this when you go to a rib restaurant with a kid is a real, if quiet, advantage.

Early on Donghae sat pretty well in the sofa seat, so I thought today would be smooth, even manageable solo(?) — arrogance and overconfidence — but luckily she ate both the meat and rice well, which was so nice. But as time went on, Donghae's stomach filled up and she started wanting to move around,,^^

In the end, it was one of those parenting moments where you can't tell if the moms' food is going in through the mouth or the nose lol ㅠㅠ (we burned through all the meat and tortillas too haha). Still, as long as the kids eat well, whatever^^... Made a fresh vow to bring the dads next time; co-parenting or not, we need one more adult..!haha

Kalguksu noodles to finish the set

The noodles we had as we were finishing up the meat. It felt exactly like the cold noodles you get to wrap up a meal at a BBQ restaurant.

After eating meat, having some noodles or broth makes it feel like a properly finished meal. It didn't feel like starting a heavy second meal, more like a light dessert after the meat, which was nice. That made the set as a whole feel even more satisfying.

Ice cream at the end of the meal

And the true finale: ice cream. After the meat and the noodles, cleansing your palate with cold ice cream felt like the end of the course haha (a refresh for the co-parenting too lol).

Having ice cream included in the set meant the meat, meal, and dessert flowed together in one go, which I liked. After being run ragged looking after two kids, we came out having eaten meat, then rice, then noodles, then ice cream haha. We ate pretty well, didn't we ^_^haha.

Donghae's mom's verdict: is Daehwa Sutbul Garden worth it with kids?

Daehwa Sutbul Garden Siheung Janggok Branch was a place we ducked into with zero expectations because lunchtime overlapped with our trip to Je T'aime Kids Land. When you go to a BBQ restaurant with a kid, it matters whether the parents like the food, sure, but more than half of the satisfaction comes down to whether the meat is tender, whether there's rice for the kid, and whether the kid actually eats well — and here, thanks to tender meat and sweet marinade, both our rice-refusing babies ate well, and with the soy egg rice available too, it seemed like an easy way to give kids a protein-inclusive meal even if they skip the meat.

And I really liked the set composition. Eating meat, finishing with noodles, and then ice cream on top made it feel like we'd had a proper, complete meal. Parking was easy too since it's apartment complex retail parking, and our original destination that day, Je T'aime Kids Land, was also great, so I think we'll be back in this neighborhood. Which means here too,,!! Definitely a revisit candidate with the kids ^_^haha. Officially naming this a go-to spot near Je T'aime Kids Land.

Only next time, we're really bringing the dads haha. Kids eating meat well, parents eating a little more comfortably — that's what a real family outing in Janggok-dong, Siheung looks like ~!haha

After feeding the babies, the moms' final break time..^^ You know the drill without me explaining, right?haha Now let's head to today's main event, Je T'aime Kids Land!!!!!!!!!