Gasan-dong galbijjim restaurant on my eighth visit: Gim Myeongtae

Honestly this is a spicy galbijjim (braised short rib) place I genuinely love and visit all the time — it's a 5-minute walk from home. And then, out of the blue!!! I ended up getting a partial sponsorship for this visit, so here we go...!!

No lie, I think I've been here about 8 times now

Eighth visit to Gim Myeongtae Gasan, five minutes from home

This is the place I naturally think of whenever I'm stressed or craving something spicy... After eating the tender meat with that spicy sauce, even a stuffy mood kind of lifts. T_T

They also give a ton of bean sprouts, which is amazing... If you come here on a truly stressful day, it's seriously the best. This time too, I ate really well.

My friend and I were craving something spicy again, so we went out for dinner at Gim Myeongtae Spicy Braised Short Ribs Gasan Branch!

Spice level at Gim Myeongtae: say it when you order

Gim Myeongtae Spicy Braised Short Ribs Gasan Branch lets you adjust the spice level, so this time we ordered the small portion of spicy galbijjim at medium spice. We both love galbijjim so the menu decision was quick, but we did hesitate a bit over the spice level for the 'spicy galbijjim'... We almost went for the really spicy version but passed since it was too much last time.

If you want to adjust the spice level, you have to say so when you order!!! If you don't mention it beforehand, they'll give you the medium spice by default, so anyone who can't handle spicy food well should just tell the staff before ordering.

How spicy is medium, and how tender are the ribs?

To my taste, Gim Myeongtae's medium spice was actually milder than Shin Ramyun. The side dishes were also good, and the medium spice we had wasn't as spicy as I expected. It wasn't numbing or hard to eat at all! (We did ask for extra spice added...)

Just from the restaurant's name I expected it to be pretty spicy, but the medium spice level was totally manageable. When the spice is too intense it's hard to actually taste the meat, but this time we could comfortably enjoy the sauce and meat together.

And the ribs here were genuinely so tender T_T If galbijjim isn't done well, the meat can be tough or hard to pull off the bone, but here the meat was soft and easy to eat. The sauce paired well with the meat too, and I kept reaching for more ribs the whole time. It's almost a shame the photos can't really convey how tender the meat was lol

Is the small galbijjim portion enough for two people?

The small portion of spicy galbijjim was way more generous than it looked in photos! Since there were two of us, I figured a small portion would be about right, but we ate our fill of meat and still had a little left over. No need to worry that 'small' means a small amount.

How much people eat varies, but for the two of us it was more than enough — generous, even. If two people are visiting, I think ordering small is totally fine. With other galbijjim places, it's disappointing when the meat portion is small for the price, but with Gim Myeongtae's spicy galbijjim you get plenty of meat, which was great!

Inside Gim Myeongtae Gasan and where to park

The Gim Myeongtae Spicy Braised Short Ribs Gasan Branch has more of a comfortable neighborhood-restaurant feel than a flashy, decorated one.

It was easy to talk over dinner, and the staff responded well every time we asked for something. Overall there was nothing chaotic or overwhelming about it, so we could spend the meal comfortably.

If you're driving, check the parking situation first. There's a small lot to the right of the restaurant that fits about 3 cars. But you can only use it if a spot is open, so make sure to check for availability first when you arrive!!

If the restaurant's lot is full, you can use the public parking lot across the street. If you use that lot, they give you a ₩1,000 parking subsidy. Even if you can't park right in front, there's a backup option across the street, so driving there was fine.

Soju and fried rice to finish the galbijjim

Drinking this much soju... and eating fried rice too... basically a pork party

The fried rice especially is a total highlight, so you absolutely have to order it..!!! It was so good but this is the only photo I have of it... T_T

And the highlight was so delicious we scraped up every bit and downed the soju with it — certified Doksan-dong hotspot.

How to find Gim Myeongtae Gasan on Gasan-ro, Geumcheon

The location of Gim Myeongtae Spicy Braised Short Ribs Gasan Branch is Gasan-dong 145-26, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul

Since it's located near the towers in Gasan-dong, there are a lot of office workers around too, so it seems like a real hotspot for Gasan Digital Complex..?!

The medium spice wasn't very spicy for me, and above all the meat was so tender! Even though it was a small portion, the amount was so generous that we couldn't finish it, and I got to have a satisfying galbijjim dinner for the first time in a while. If you're looking for galbijjim among Gasan-dong restaurants, or just trying to decide on a comfortable dinner menu, I think it's worth checking out Gim Myeongtae Spicy Braised Short Ribs Gasan Branch..!