Gwacheon Korean restaurant lunch: bibimbap and tteokgalbi at Bibisam

While on a date with my girlfriend, we stopped by Bibisam Gwacheon Main Branch (비비삼 과천본점) because we wanted Korean food for lunch. We each ordered a set: Korean beef yukhoe (seasoned raw beef) bibimbap and vegetable bibimbap, both with pork tteokgalbi (grilled minced-meat patties). The warm, moist torryeom rice stayed with me.

How close is it to Government Complex Gwacheon Station, and where can I park?

The restaurant is a one-minute walk from Exit 11 of Government Complex Gwacheon Station. Its Bibisam sign made the exterior easy to spot.

The address is 1F, Room 101, 10-13 Saesulmak-gil, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (경기 과천시 새술막길 10-13 1층 101호). The hours listed in the original post were daily from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM, with last orders at 8:30 PM.

You can use the paid public parking lot across the street. The rate listed during my visit was ₩900 for the first 30 minutes, then ₩400 for every additional 10 minutes.

What are the seating and self-service bar like?

The restaurant was clean and comfortable. There were tables for two and four, so it was easy for the two of us to eat there, and I thought it would also be fine for a solo meal.

I also liked that the kitchen had an open layout, so I could see inside.

At the self-service bar, we could freely take basic side dishes and miso soup. Seaweed flakes were set out at every table, so we added them to the bibimbap as we liked.

What bibimbap dishes and prices are available?

The featured dishes listed during my visit were torryeom bibimbap and stone-pot albap (fish roe rice). The prices below are for individual dishes; the original post does not separately record the price of the tteokgalbi sets we ordered.

• Hwangdeung torryeom vegetable bibimbap: ₩9,000
• Hwangdeung torryeom bulgogi bibimbap: ₩10,000
• Hwangdeung torryeom Korean beef yukhoe bibimbap: ₩11,000
• Hwangdeung torryeom octopus bibimbap: ₩11,000
• Stone-pot albap: ₩10,000
• Stone-pot octopus albap: ₩12,000

There was also a notice during my visit that mini Namdo cockles were being sold for ₩500 as part of a Naver receipt-review event.

How did the Korean beef yukhoe and vegetable bibimbap taste?

I chose the Korean beef yukhoe bibimbap and pork tteokgalbi set, while my girlfriend chose the vegetable bibimbap and pork tteokgalbi set. We ordered soft drinks as well.

Both bibimbaps were prepared in the torryeom style, with hot broth worked into the rice. The rice was warm and moist, and the grains had absorbed seasoning.

The Korean beef yukhoe came separately, and I added it to the bibimbap. After adding sesame oil and seaweed flakes, I mixed it with chopsticks; the vegetables and raw beef went well with the glossy rice.

The vegetable bibimbap had a generous amount of different namul (seasoned vegetables). After mixing in a moderate amount of sesame oil and seaweed flakes, I had a bite and found it well seasoned and enjoyable.

How were the tteokgalbi set and side dishes?

The baekkimchi (mild white kimchi) served as a basic side dish refreshed my palate between bites of bibimbap.

The tteokgalbi in the set was topped with a soft-fried egg. Its sweet sauce worked well with the rice.

I could add enoki mushrooms to the miso soup I brought from the self-service bar. I liked the mushroom texture in the warm broth.

The bibimbap arrived neatly arranged on a tray, and the staff were kind. On a day when I wanted a Korean lunch in Gwacheon, it was a meal of moist, seasoned torryeom rice and tteokgalbi.