Seocho Korean BBQ full by 7pm Monday: veggie-loaded couple set, Ugojip

A last-minute beef dinner on the way home from work: Ugojip

Ugojip (우고집) is a beef restaurant in the basement of Banpo Shopping Town Building 5, at the Express Bus Terminal. I always have to transfer at Express Bus Terminal on my commute home, so I got off there again today, and suddenly I was craving beef. A total spur-of-the-moment visit!

Ugojip was simply the closest Korean BBQ place to where I was standing, so I went in, and it was busier than I expected and way tastier than I expected, too! For reference, I went around 7pm on a Monday, and the moment we got our table, the place was completely full..!

• Opening hours: daily 15:00 - 23:00
• Last order 22:00

How do you read the menu at Ugojip?

The menu is posted on the wall of the restaurant, so you can see it all at a glance when you walk in.

We were given a menu with photos too! I'd come because I suddenly wanted chadolbaegi (thin-sliced beef brisket), but eating only brisket seemed like it would get too greasy, so we ordered the couple set~~ Having eaten it, I think if two of you are visiting, one couple set is just the right amount.

My photo came out terrible, but Ugojip gives you grilling cheese as a free service if you write a review haha. We were too full to have it, but if you like cheese, write a review and get your freebie~~

After we ordered the couple set, I looked around and saw appetizing photos and price posters all over the walls, and that Hong Kong ramyeon (instant-noodle-style spicy soup noodles) looked so good,,, Besides that, the yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) looked really delicious too, but I held back because I'd have turned into a pig if I'd eaten everything..

What comes in the Ugojip couple set?

The Ugojip couple set comes with 400g of beef in total: woosamgyeop (beef belly), galbisal (rib meat), tosisal (a lean cut from the skirt area) and a brisket doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew). It's even ₩4,500 cheaper than ordering the items separately at regular price haha.

And above all, the meat quality was really good. I loved that each cut came with a description of what it is. If you don't know much about beef, a set comes all mixed together.. and you just eat without really knowing which cut is which, so having descriptions written out is so nice.

Side dishes and Ugojip's special sauce

The side dishes at Ugojip were excellent. Beef can get greasy after only a little, but there are so many kinds of kimchi lol so you never get sick of it. On top of that there was salad, myeongi namul (pickled wild garlic-chive leaves), and pa-chae (shredded scallion salad) seasoned spicy with chili flakes. It felt like every combination for keeping the meat from feeling greasy was on the table..

And then there's Ugojip's special dipping sauce!!! It tastes like a regular sesame-style sauce with minced garlic and cheongyang chili (a hot green chili) mixed in, but I don't know why it was so good. Even while eating with my boyfriend, we kept raving that this sauce was the kicker.

The grilling order and the vegetables at Ugojip

The menu and side dishes were set up faster than I expected, so we were grilling almost as soon as we walked in. They first gave us a piece of beef fat, and we just swiped it over the grill to coat it.

And then straight to the meat..! The biggest reason I fell for Ugojip is that the vegetables are so generous hehehe. Zucchini, onion, mushrooms, as much as you want, and honestly I feel like it was thanks to the vegetables that I could finish all the meat.

First up: woosamgyeop

They told us to start with the woosamgyeop, so we grilled it and ate it, and it really melts in your mouth T_T And this sauce is totally the kicker!!! The chili is cheongyang chili too, so if you handle spice well, put one on top. The greasiness disappears completely.

Even my boyfriend, who is picky about pa-chae, praised Ugojip's. When I tried it, it was nicely spicy with a real scallion aroma, and it went well with the meat~!

After eating a fair amount of woosamgyeop, the vegetables were already golden brown. This surprised me a bit: at beef places the vegetables often stay raw while the beef cooks way too fast, or the veggies only burn on the outside and aren't cooked through, but at Ugojip they came out beautifully golden T_T_T

Maybe the grill conducts heat well, because the onion wilted and cooked fast as soon as I put it on. + They give you half a whole onion,, lol.

Once the onion was partly cooked, I cut it into bite-size pieces and cooked it about 3 more minutes, and with the strong heat it was done in no time. Busy, busy modern Korean life: I love this speed.

I really feel like I've found a place I can drop into on a whim whenever I'm craving brisket or woosamgyeop.

The couple set's brisket doenjang jjigae

While we were eating the woosamgyeop, the brisket doenjang jjigae suddenly arrived.

It was bubbling furiously, so even when I took a bite quite a while later, I still burned my whole tongue.

But how can there be so much stuff in it haha. With the brisket in it, the broth is deep and savory. I think it would be great with rice stirred in, like a drinking-night rice soup.

Second: tosisal

Next is the tosisal! Ugojip's tosisal is neither too thin nor too thick, so after a few chews it just slides down.

Honestly, tosisal is a lean cut that gets tough if overcooked, so it's not a cut I love, but maybe because the grill is hot, or maybe because they grilled it especially well, the tosisal really suited me this day!

It's clean-tasting yet nutty, goes really well with salt and wasabi, and isn't super oily, so we finished it in a flash.

Last: galbisal

Finally, the galbisal!!!! We'd nearly finished the beef from the couple set, so I worried the already fatty galbisal would feel even greasier, but it went down better than expected. We grilled it golden on both sides, and it's a taste I think I'll be craving later. So good!

Is Ugojip good for group gatherings too?

Just look at this violent visual hehehe. If you're looking for Korean BBQ near Express Bus Terminal, give Ugojip a visit~ The place is cozy but has quite a lot of tables, so I think it would be good for family gatherings, wedding invitation get-togethers, or office group dinners~!