Seoul Station Japanese restaurant, steak with salt and wasabi: Ichigyu

On days when meat is calling, gyukatsu or steak are both solid choices. Rather than pick just one today, I went a little indulgent at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch and ordered both the steki (Japanese-style steak) set double jumbo and the gyukatsu set, so I could enjoy the taste and texture differences side by side.

Both dishes feature beef as the main, but their charms are clearly different. The steki set is about enjoying the meat's own aroma and juicy texture, while the gyukatsu set is about the contrast between crispy breading and tender beef.

With warm rice, soup, cabbage and various sauces alongside, plus the option to cook the meat a bit more to taste, it was a meal that stayed interesting down to the last bite.

Two dishes ordered at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch

This time I ordered the steki set double jumbo and the gyukatsu set. Each arrives on a large plate generously piled with meat, alongside shredded cabbage and sauce. With rice, soup, side dishes, salt and sauce all included, even a single main feels like a pretty complete meal.

The steki set double jumbo makes its presence known through sheer volume first. The meat, sliced into easy-to-eat pieces, fills the plate — a great pick on a day you want to really eat your fill of meat. The gyukatsu set also uses thick-cut meat, so picking up each piece is quite satisfying.

Steki set double jumbo: how much meat you actually get

First, the steki set double jumbo. The plate holds a generous amount of meat sliced into bite-sized pieces — browned on the outside, still pink inside, with a juicy texture that catches your eye. Rather than coming out fully cooked like a typical steak, it arrives in a state where you can enjoy the tender interior, so you can eat each piece to your own taste.

Unlike gyukatsu with its breading, biting into this meat gives you the beef's flavor and juices right away. The savory notes build as you chew, and without overly complex seasoning, it leans toward letting the meat speak for itself. True to the 'double jumbo' name, the generous portion is especially satisfying if you want a hearty meal with rice.

Grilling the steki a little more on the mini brazier

One thing that stood out at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch was being able to adjust the meat's doneness to your liking. Using the mini brazier set on the table, you can cook the pink center a bit more. If you like juicy, near-rare meat, eat it as is; if you prefer it more cooked, just set it on the brazier briefly.

It's fun how the same steki tastes slightly different depending on doneness. Cooked a bit more, the savory surface flavor intensifies; eaten as is, the juicy, tender interior comes through more. Try the first few pieces plain, then cook the rest a little at a time to find your preference.

How wasabi cleans up the flavor of the steki

Steki is delicious plain, but my personal favorite pairing was wasabi. A small dab on top of the meat cuts through the beef's richness nicely. Rather than piling it on, a light touch at the edge adds a sharp aroma without masking the meat's flavor.

The thinly sliced pickles served alongside also go well on top. Adding wasabi and pickles to a juicy bite of steki brings more variation than eating the meat alone, making it easy to finish even a large portion like the double jumbo without feeling weighed down.

Steki dipped lightly in salt

Salt is provided alongside the sauces. When you want to taste the beef itself, salt is the simplest and most fitting pairing. A light touch of salt on the end of a piece of steki adds a savory saltiness that brings out the meat's richness even more clearly.

Dipping the meat directly in salt works well too. If wasabi is the sharp, refreshing direction, salt is the one that lets you focus on the meat's flavor. Try it plain first, then switch through salt, wasabi and sauce in turn to enjoy the same meat in several different ways.

Gyukatsu set: crisp outside, juicy inside

The gyukatsu set shows a completely different charm from the steki. On the plate, the meat is coated in a thin, golden layer of breading. Rather than feeling as thick as a tonkatsu (pork cutlet) crust, the breading here stays light enough that the beef's presence still comes through.

Pick up a piece and the outside is crispy while the pink meat inside stays juicy. What you notice first is the savory flavor of the breading, quickly followed by the tender texture of the beef — a clear contrast between outside and inside.

If steki is a dish focused on the meat's soft, clean flavor, gyukatsu is easier to understand as a dish where you also enjoy the crispy texture.

Cooking the gyukatsu to your own doneness

Gyukatsu also works well either eaten as is or cooked a bit further. If you like the juicy interior, try it plain; if the pink meat feels like too much, place a piece at a time on the brazier and cook to your liking.

Cooking gyukatsu a little more brings out both the savory flavor of the breading and the aroma of seared meat together. That said, leaving it on too long can reduce the beef's tender texture, so cooking one or two pieces at a time — just as much as you'll eat — works better than loading several pieces at once. Eating the freshly warmed gyukatsu right away is part of the fun of this dish.

Why the cabbage and sauce work together at Ichigyu

Both dishes come with a generous portion of shredded cabbage. Eating meat dishes tends to leave a rich, oily feel in your mouth, and the cabbage in between clears things up nicely.

You can add sauce to the cabbage and eat it alongside the meat, or eat it separately after a bite or two of meat. The crunch of raw cabbage especially stands out with a breaded dish like gyukatsu. Crispy gyukatsu, juicy meat and crunchy cabbage together make for a really rich mix of textures.

With rice, the steki set becomes a full meal

Rice is essential to any meat set. Warm white rice with steki makes for a familiar, satisfying combo. Put a piece of meat lightly dressed in sauce, salt or wasabi on top of the rice, and it goes down easily even without other side dishes.

Gyukatsu also pairs well with rice. Eating the savory, crispy-outside, juicy-inside gyukatsu together with rice, the fried flavor blends naturally with the soft rice. Since the main portion of meat isn't small, adding rice makes for a hearty full meal.

Warm miso soup completes the Ichigyu set

The miso soup that came with the set was nice to sip a spoonful of between bites of meat. The savory, warm broth settles your palate, and the fried tofu inside adds another texture to enjoy.

When you're eating rich, meat-heavy dishes like steki and gyukatsu back to back, warm broth starts to sound good — and having soup included with the set makes the whole meal flow naturally. Alternating a spoonful of rice, a piece of meat and a sip of soup, the whole spread disappears faster than you'd expect.

Side dishes that reset the palate between bites

The vegetable side dish served alongside was also good to eat between bites of meat. Its crunchy, slightly tangy flavor resets the mouth from the meat's richness. When eating a large-portion dish like the steki double jumbo, this kind of small side actually plays a fairly important role.

Rather than eating just the meat from start to finish, mixing in cabbage, side dishes and soup along the way felt more delicious overall. Being able to cover meat, rice, vegetables and soup all in one spread is the advantage of a set menu.

Steki set or gyukatsu set: which to order at Ichigyu?

Rather than one being better than the other, the two dishes seem to come down to personal preference. If you want to enjoy the beef's aroma and juicy texture directly, the steki set is the right fit. Especially on a day you want to eat plenty of meat, the steki set double jumbo is a solid choice.

On the other hand, if you like the combination of crispy breading and tender beef, the gyukatsu set is more fun. If you usually like tonkatsu but want a slightly different meat dish, gyukatsu is a good pick too.

If you're visiting as a pair, I'd also recommend ordering one steki and one gyukatsu to share. Because the two dishes have such different characters, alternating between them actually makes each one's traits stand out more clearly.

Wasabi on a single slice of beef, a different flavor again

Personally, the combination that stuck with me most from this meal was a well-cooked piece of meat topped with wasabi and pickles. The beef's savoriness meets the sharp bite of wasabi, and the whole mouth feels clean and refreshed.

Rather than dunking the steki in sauce, tasting the meat itself and occasionally switching things up with wasabi or salt suited it especially well. With sauce, salt and wasabi all available, there's no need to stick to just one method. Trying several combinations was the more fun way to enjoy Ichigyu's set.

Worth a meal near Seoul Station?

On this visit to Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch, I tried the steki set double jumbo and the gyukatsu set together. The steki double jumbo stood out for its generous portion and juicy meat, while the gyukatsu delivered a clear contrast between crispy exterior and tender beef.

Both dishes come with rice, soup, cabbage and side dishes, making for a well-rounded meal, and the process of cooking the meat a little to your own taste along the way adds to the fun. If you love the meat's own flavor, go for steki; if you want crispy texture too, go for gyukatsu. And above all, if you're visiting with someone else, ordering one of each to share is the best way to go.

The steki set double jumbo at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch let me enjoy the beef's juicy texture and a generous portion, while the gyukatsu set charmed with its crispy breading and tender meat combo. With rice, warm soup, cabbage and side dishes, plus salt, sauce and wasabi to mix and match, it was a spread I could enjoy in many different ways right to the end. If you're near Seoul Station craving gyukatsu or steki, go to Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch!!