Galbi restaurant by Seodaejeon Station: steamed egg add-on at Idobonga

I wanted delicious stone-grilled galbi with my husband, so we went for dinner to Idobonga, a galbi restaurant in Oryu-dong, Daejeon known for great grilled ribs. Idobonga is right next to Seodaejeon Station so it wasn't hard to find at all. It's on the 2nd floor of the Sky Palace building, located between Costco Daejeon and Seodaejeon Station.

Where do you park at Idobonga?

Idobonga has a dedicated underground parking garage in the building, and it's free for up to 3 hours. When you pay after eating, just tell them your plate number and they'll register it — parking was simple.

We took the elevator up to the 2nd floor

and as we walked toward Idobonga, the sign came into view right away. At the entrance there was signage about the Idobonga membership points and receipt review event, plus a notice that americano is free with a meal.

The menu was also posted outside so we could check it before going in, and a sign saying "solo diners welcome" caught my eye.

Idobonga at dinnertime: atmosphere and seating

Walking into Idobonga, the yellow lighting gave it a warm atmosphere.

Maybe because it was dinner time, there were quite a lot of people eating, and I also saw group seating for larger parties.

There were several window seats too, with a view of Seodaejeon Station.

The kitchen was visible further in, and it was kept nice and clean.

A phone charger was available, plus aprons and a baby chair were all set up too.

You could grab as much kimchi and pickled onion as you wanted from the self-bar, and there was a customer microwave too — seems like it's there for people warming up baby food.

There was also a coffee machine to use after the meal,

and the utensil sets came in neatly paper-wrapped sleeves, which stood out as a nice hygienic touch.

Idobonga's menu: the stone-grilled galbi set for two plus steamed egg

Looking at Idobonga's menu, the main dishes included the stone-grilled galbi set, scallion beef bulgogi, braised galbi, spicy braised galbi, and Sura galbi hot pot.

For rice dishes, there was galbitang (short rib soup), abalone galbitang, yukhoe bibimbap, chadol bibimbap, and mountain vegetable bibimbap, along with meat dishes like yukhoe (raw beef) and cold pork slices. There were also side dishes like mukmuchim (jelly salad), seafood doenjang stew, and steamed egg, so it was easy to pick what to eat alongside.

We ordered the stone-grilled galbi set for two plus steamed egg. The galbi came in a choice of soy sauce or gochujang flavor, and we went with gochujang. Rice and doenjang stew came included as standard.

Gochujang stone-grilled galbi, served bubbling hot

After we ordered and waited a bit, the gochujang stone-grilled galbi arrived piping hot and still bubbling. The ribs were piled high on a bed of onion, topped generously with sliced scallions — the moment it hit the table I was already reaching for my chopsticks.

The steamed egg came out with it too, puffed up like a little egg bomb. Scooping it with a spoon, it was soft and fluffy, and it went really well eaten between bites of galbi.

I also tried a spoonful of the doenjang stew. It wasn't too salty and paired well with rice, and it had tofu, blue crab, and zucchini in it, so I ended up scooping up the solids too, not just the broth.

Which side dishes come with the galbi set?

Idobonga's side dishes were quite varied too. There was kimchi, pickled garlic, and pickled onion,

lettuce and ssamjang (dipping paste) for wraps,

stir-fried zucchini, braised quail eggs, and seasoned bellflower root,

plus stir-fried mushrooms and pickled radish. There was even corn salad, jellyfish salad, and sweet pumpkin salad, so I ate a bite of galbi and then switched between side dishes one by one.

A spicy bite of galbi wrapped in lettuce

Idobonga's gochujang galbi had no gamey smell at all and a gentle, lingering spiciness. First I tried a piece of meat plain with nothing on it, then I made a wrap with lettuce, rice, a piece of galbi, pickled garlic, and onion.

With the spicy galbi joined by crunchy onion and pickled garlic, I found myself eating it right along with the rice. Since we came at dinnertime, more and more diners kept coming in — solo diners as well as groups sitting together.

Visiting Idobonga in Oryu-dong, Daejeon: hours, address, parking

• Name: Idobonga
• Address: 73-1 Oryu-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–21:00
• Event: Receipt review event currently running — choose ice cream, ₩1,500 in points, or ₩1,000 cash
• Parking: Up to 3 hours free in the building's dedicated garage; tell them your plate number when paying after your meal

• Anyone looking for a dinner spot near Seodaejeon Station
• Anyone wanting stone-grilled galbi or galbitang between Costco Daejeon and Seodaejeon Station
• Anyone who wants piping-hot galbi with rice and a full spread of home-style side dishes
• Anyone who wants to enjoy galbi comfortably even eating alone