Dakgalbi restaurant near Sinnonhyeon: potato pancake wraps at Dakgalbijeon

Is it easy to meet near Sinnonhyeon Station?

I had dinner at Dakgalbijeon Gangnam Branch near Sinnonhyeon Station. It was close to the station and easy to reach by public transport, so I thought it would work well as a meeting spot.

The restaurant is on the second floor of Gangnam Dioville. I went up the stairs beside the building.

How did we order the potato pancake and dakgalbi?

Dakgalbi wrapped in potato pancakes is the main menu here. There were regular dakgalbi and cheese dakgalbi, and we ordered two portions of Gamsachidag. Since we both like potato pancakes and cheese, it was a combination we enjoyed.

Add-ons were not included. Cheese rice cakes, plain rice cakes, sweet potato, jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles), udon noodles, and ramen noodles were ₩3,000 each. We were told they could not be added later, so anyone wanting add-ons needs to choose them with the initial order.

Besides potato pancakes, there were squid kimchi pancakes, squid chive scallion pancakes, and fish cake soup. Looking at the menu, I thought it would work not only for a meal but also for having pancakes or soup as anju (food served with drinks).

What was it like to sit and talk as a group?

The interior was spacious and tidy. In particular, the wide gaps between tables made it comfortable to talk while eating.

What were the texture and portion of the potato pancake like?

The potato pancake was made from ground potatoes rather than shredded potato. Soy sauce was served alongside it for dipping the pancake on its own. A little perilla leaf added aroma and savoriness.

It was soft, nutty, and mild. The pancake was large enough for the two of us to share.

Do you need to stir-fry the cheese dakgalbi yourself?

The cheese dakgalbi was stir-fried in the kitchen, topped with cheese, and brought to us. We did not need to cook it ourselves at the table, which made it easy to eat. It also seemed to lessen the concern about food smells clinging to our clothes.

There was a burner on the table to melt the cheese on top. It was also convenient that we could reheat it if the cheese hardened or the dakgalbi cooled down while eating.

Once melted, the cheese stretched in long strands. Its salty, soft flavor went well with the spicy dakgalbi. Eating the melted cheese with the cabbage also brought out the cabbage's soft, sweet taste.

The chicken came in substantial pieces. It was deboned, which also made it easy to eat.

What does dakgalbi wrapped in potato pancake taste like?

I tore off a section of the potato pancake with perilla leaf, placed dakgalbi on it, and wrapped it up. The nutty, soft pancake tempered the dakgalbi's heat. The combination brought together the pancake's soft texture and potato flavor with the mild taste of chicken.

How did we finish with fried rice?

After the dakgalbi, we ordered fried rice. We left some sauce and chicken and asked for it to be stir-fried in. The fried rice was prepared at the table, so we could watch it being made.

The remaining chicken made the fried rice feel more substantial. It was a dinner that went from cheese dakgalbi wrapped in potato pancakes to fried rice.