Yangju galbi restaurant on a fifth visit: Manpo Galbi ground floor

On a clear, bright early-autumn weekend, we made the trip out to Yangju for a bit of an outing plus galbi (grilled ribs) at Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch!

✨️ Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch ✨️ 65 Songnang-ro, 1st floor, Manpo Galbi, Yangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea

⏰️ Open daily 11:00–22:00, parking available

Parking and ground-floor seating at Manpo Galbi Yangju

Parking is easy in Manpo Galbi's own lot — the space is nice and generous.

Walk in and you'll see the kitchen, with the ground-floor hall to the left and stairs up to the second-floor dining room on the right. The great thing about Manpo Galbi is that since there's no elevator, if you mention mobility issues when reserving, they'll seat you on the ground floor.

The hall itself is clean and pleasant overall. It works for couples, friends, families, coworkers, club gatherings — any group. Since my mom has trouble with her legs, we always get seated on the ground floor, and being there means the staff serve us directly, which is pretty convenient.

They have disposable aprons so no worries about splatters on your clothes! Baby chairs are also available, so it's good to bring along kids too.

What to order: raw Korean pork galbi and house-marinated galbi

Pork galbi is the main event here, with a range of other meats — beef, and raw pork ribs — and à la carte items too.

There's a menu sheet right at the table so it's easy to order at a glance. They're currently running a ₩2,000 discount event for leaving a Naver receipt review!

Raw Hanwoo pork galbi ×2 / House-marinated galbi ×2

The first order has to be for 2 or more people.

How many side dishes come with the galbi?

Manpo Galbi — the name meaning "full and generous" — really lives up to it, starting with a generous, varied spread of basic side dishes.

Crunchy seasoned radish strips — not spicy, just the right amount of kick, really tasty.

Pickled gungchae (a leafy stem vegetable) to wash away the richness of the meat.

Our all-time favorite side, potato salad topped with flakes. Crispy texture plus soft potato — so good! Good enough that we asked for a refill haha.

Shredded green onions — an absolute must at any meat restaurant.

If you're Korean, meat with ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) is basically a national rule. Our second favorite side, spicy ssamjang mixed with gochu (chili).

Some kind of seasoned doraji (bellflower root)? Chewy and delicious.

The sheer generosity of Manpo Galbi giving out free yukjeon (pan-fried beef) — pair it with the green onions for a bite!

A fresh salad topped with black sesame dressing.

After the yukjeon, they even give out free yukhoe (beef tartare) too — Manpo Galbi's generosity is unreal!

How was the raw pork galbi?

The raw Hanwoo pork galbi came out first — true to a galbi place that uses only 100% real pork ribs, you could tell the quality was top-notch just by looking at the raw galbi.

Flat cuts of meat with a big bone attached — gnawing the last bit of meat off the bone is the real perk of raw pork galbi.

Flipping it diligently so it doesn't stick to the grill — grilled over charcoal, it was full of smoky flavor, with the fat rendered out so it tasted clean and light, and really delicious!

Alternating bites of the clean-tasting meat with the side dishes made it absolutely perfect!

House-marinated galbi with a 7-fruit-and-vegetable marinade

Now for the second star — the house-marinated galbi!

Manpo Galbi's house-marinated galbi apparently has its marinade made by hand, loaded with 7 kinds of fruits and vegetables.

A subtle marinade that's not overly sweet, letting the meat's natural flavor come through while soaking in nicely — proof of why this place is known as a galbi powerhouse.

The free house-made Hamhung-style naengmyeon

Water naengmyeon and spicy bibim naengmyeon to refreshingly finish the meal. A meat restaurant giving out free house-made Hamhung-style naengmyeon? Just how generous is Manpo Galbi? They apparently make fresh dough every morning for that day's use to keep the noodles springy.

Chewy noodles and a cool, clear broth — this place really knows how to do naengmyeon too!

House-made bibim naengmyeon without any added seasoning powder. The description on the menu already radiated the owner's pride, and after tasting it — not too spicy or sweet, with rich umami — I fully understood why!!

Eating the naengmyeon together with the meat was the icing on the cake~~

Dessert: rice puffs and ice cream

After inhaling the galbi and naengmyeon, we patted our full bellies and headed toward Manpo Galbi's signature dessert — rice puffs and ice cream!!

After eating that much meat, round two of dessert begins. Dipping the nutty, sweet rice puffs into ice cream and taking a bite — this is heaven. As they say, there's always room for dessert, so the rice puffs kept coming haha. It's a secret that we packed a few extra puffs to go after finishing. I think we ate the most rice puffs of anyone there...

Fifth visit to Manpo Galbi: the verdict

Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch proved once again that good-quality meat and food made with care never let you down. This was actually our fifth return visit, and no matter how many times we go, Manpo Galbi never disappoints us. If you haven't been yet, trust me and give it a try!!