Galbi 600g set with doenjang jjigae at a Busan BBQ: Gim Geumja

These days, when I go out for meat, I find myself looking less for a place that's just delicious and more for a place that's comfortable when there's a group of you. Especially for family dinners or gatherings with friends, table spacing and the overall size of the restaurant actually matter quite a bit, and I also pay attention to whether there's a good range of meal menus beyond just the meat.

This time I went to Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch in Daeyeon-dong. Actually, this wasn't my first visit — it was my second. I'd been once before, liked it, and found myself craving the meat again, so I went back. The fact that I went back at all means the taste and atmosphere were good enough to bring me back, so this time I took my time picking the menu.

This visit, since there were several set menus, I looked through the menu board and ordered a set that combined marinated galbi with cheongyang cream udon. A cream udon pairing at a Korean BBQ restaurant seemed a little unusual, but it worked far better than expected — it ended up being one of the standout dishes of this visit.

How big is the dining room at Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch?

Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch has a fairly spacious interior. That makes it good for a quiet meal for two, but it also looked good for larger groups. In reality, Korean BBQ restaurants often see groups of two to four, but they also get bigger groups for company dinners or family gatherings.

In those cases, if the space is cramped, you end up squeezed against the next table or it's awkward to move around. Here, though, everything felt roomy, so it seemed like a good option for group visits too. I personally care a lot about restaurant size when choosing a spot for a group dinner, and on that front this place felt like a solid choice. If you're looking for somewhere to eat meat in Daeyeon-dong for a friend gathering or company dinner, it might be worth checking out.

Marinated galbi 600g set: how it tastes off the charcoal grill

Looking at the menu, you could order à la carte, but there were also several set menus prepared. Eating meat alone is nice, but ordering a set that comes with a meal menu made choosing a bit easier. This time we ordered the marinated galbi 600g + cheongyang cream udon set.

Marinated galbi (short ribs) really does taste best grilled over charcoal, so it definitely felt like a proper meat outing. As soon as the meat started grilling, the faint charcoal aroma rose up and my appetite kicked right in. I'm quite fond of marinated galbi at Korean BBQ places, and I prefer it when the marinade isn't overly sweet or strong, but balances nicely with the meat's own flavor.

Again this time, I grilled the meat slowly over the charcoal. Since marinated meat can burn on the sauce if left too long over high heat, it was good to flip it now and then. Taking a bite of the nicely browned marinated galbi, the charcoal aroma and the marinade's sweetness blended together deliciously. It reaffirmed for me that meat really is best grilled over charcoal.

What is cheongyang cream udon, and why does it come with bread?

The menu item I was most curious about this visit was the cheongyang cream udon. Cream udon at a Korean BBQ restaurant is a bit unusual, right? At first I wondered whether it would go well with the meat, but once I tried it, it worked better than I expected.

To describe the taste, it felt closer to eating a cream spaghetti. The creamy, smooth sauce with udon noodles gives a different texture from regular cream spaghetti, but the overall impression brought cream pasta to mind. Since it's udon, the noodles were plump and chewy, and the way the cream sauce clung to them was nice too.

Since the name includes cheongyang (a spicy Korean chili pepper), I worried it might be too spicy, but combined with the cream sauce it wasn't overwhelmingly hot — instead it added a slight kick that cut through the richness. Eating just cream sauce continuously can get a little heavy, but the cheongyang pepper's spiciness coming through now and then actually made me keep reaching for more.

And there was one more thing I liked here. When you order the cheongyang cream udon, it comes with bread too. You can eat the bread on its own, but I tried dipping it into the cream sauce. It was better than I expected. Dipping bread into the leftover cream sauce after finishing the udon noodles felt like finishing off cream pasta by wiping the sauce clean with bread at the end.

Personally, I really liked this combination. At first I thought of it as just a side addition, but eating the cream sauce with bread worked so well that I ended up thoroughly finishing the bread too. Alternating between a bite of meat and a bite of cheongyang cream udon made the whole meal feel more varied than expected.

Banchan at Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi: refills from the self-serve bar

Basic side dishes matter quite a bit at a Korean BBQ restaurant. Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch serves basic banchan (side dishes) to start, but as you eat, some might run low. Instead of constantly asking staff, it was convenient to just use the self-serve bar.

For people like us who eat a lot of side dishes with our meat, having a self-serve bar was definitely convenient. If a basic side dish runs low while eating, you can just grab more yourself from the bar without any hesitation. Especially with a larger group, the amount of extra side dishes needed goes up, so having a self-serve bar there makes things much easier.

What changed on the second visit to Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi

Honestly, visiting the same restaurant twice isn't that easy for me. Since Busan has so many good restaurants and I love seeking out new places, I tend to go somewhere new rather than revisit somewhere I've already been. But this time I ended up making a second visit to Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch.

This time, unlike my first visit, I tried the marinated galbi with cheongyang cream udon set, and surprisingly the cheongyang cream udon was what stuck with me. It's a bit different from the typical menu you'd expect at a Korean BBQ restaurant, so it could be good for anyone who wants to try something different alongside their meat. In particular, if you like the feel of cream spaghetti, the cheongyang cream udon is worth trying at least once. Dipping bread in the cream sauce was also a nice little treat in its own way.

Is Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi good for a group dinner in Daeyeon-dong?

Since the restaurant is on the spacious side, I personally thought it would work well as a group dinner spot too. When it comes to company dinners, taste matters, but so does having enough room for several people to sit comfortably. Because Korean BBQ restaurants put charcoal grills on each table, a cramped space can feel stuffy, but here the interior is spacious enough that this wasn't an issue.

If you're looking for a spot for a company dinner or want to gather a bunch of friends for meat, this could be worth keeping in mind. It also works fine as a casual family outing.

Finishing with doenjang jjigae and mul naengmyeon

It's a shame to skip doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) when eating meat. So we ordered it again this time. Eating a spoonful of doenjang jjigae between bites of charcoal galbi felt like it reset the palate from the marinade flavor, which made it nice to eat alongside the meat.

Eating hot doenjang jjigae with rice made the meal feel properly complete, like I'd had both meat and a real meal. Compared to just eating meat continuously, adding a meal dish like doenjang jjigae definitely made the whole thing feel more substantial. Between the meat, the cheongyang cream udon, and then the doenjang jjigae, the meal felt quite generous.

And of course, cold noodles are a must after eating meat. We ordered mul naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) again this time. After eating marinated galbi, a sweet marinade taste lingers in the mouth, and a bite of cold mul naengmyeon cleans the palate nicely, making for a good finish.

I'm the type who has a hard time choosing between doenjang jjigae and naengmyeon when ordering a meal dish at a Korean BBQ restaurant, so this time I ordered both. Doenjang jjigae is great for a hearty meal with rice, while mul naengmyeon is refreshing for a cool finish at the end — each played a different role. It's always funny how, even after feeling full from the meat, there's still room for naengmyeon. Slurping down noodles in that cold, clean broth was the perfect last course.

Second-visit verdict on Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch

This time again I tried a bit of everything — marinated galbi, cheongyang cream udon, doenjang jjigae, and mul naengmyeon — and the meal overall was satisfying. Trying the cheongyang cream udon for the first time really stuck with me. The combination of cream udon at a Korean BBQ place felt unusual at first, but once I tried it, it was as smooth as cream spaghetti with a slight cheongyang kick, and it paired with the meat better than expected. Having bread come with it, to dip into the cream sauce, was a nice touch too.

Marinated galbi is fun to grill over charcoal, and with doenjang jjigae and mul naengmyeon added on, it made for a full, satisfying meal. Above all, the spacious dining room looked good not just for two people but for larger groups too. And whenever the basic side dishes ran low, the self-serve bar made getting extras easy and convenient.

If you're looking for a Korean BBQ restaurant in Daeyeon-dong, and you're the type who likes finding a place you visit once, like, and end up going back to — like I did — Gim Geumja Sutbul Galbi Daeyeon Branch might be worth checking out. Next time I visit, I'm curious about the other set menus beyond the marinated galbi I had this time, and I'd like to try a new combination. Having eaten meat and finished off with naengmyeon, I left this time full and satisfied again ^_^