Changwon izakaya with Kirin Ichiban draft beer: Yakitori Gong

Yakitori Gong

Friday after work at Yakitori Gong, 3rd floor of Urban Bricks

For Friday night I grabbed a beer in the neighborhood with my close younger sibling. You know beer after work and a workout hits different, right — ?

We went to Yakitori Gong, the izakaya in Urban Bricks 🍻

Getting to Yakitori Gong and where to park

📍How to find it

Yakitori Gong is on the 3rd floor of the Urban Bricks building in Changwon, unit 3044.

There's a parking garage from B1 to B3. Take the central escalator up to the 3rd floor, turn toward the back, and it's on the left line past the restrooms.

✔ 3 hours of free parking are provided.

Yakitori Gong menu and prices

✔ Menu (prices) at Yakitori Gong, a Changwon Uni City favorite

• Yakitori 6 skewers ₩19,900
• Chilled whelk mul-hoe, signature dish (cool + spicy + sweet^^) ₩25,000
• Charcoal-grilled mentaiko ₩14,500
• Mentaiko scallop cream pasta ₩19,000
• Shiba-no shioyaki (salt-grilled mackerel) ₩10,000
• Highball ₩7,000–15,000
• Tsukune (chicken meatball skewer) ₩5,200
• Tebasaki (chicken wings) ₩3,900
• Soju ₩5,000
• Beer ₩5,000
• Kirin (draft beer) ₩9,000

They have a wide range of side dishes and set menus, so we ordered the 3-skewer set + mentaiko scallop cream pasta, plus one extra tsukune 🤍

Kirin Ichiban draft beer and a highball

To go with the good food, I ordered Kirin Ichiban beer and my sister got a highball >< 🍻🍻

The draft and highball came out first — ah, so good ,, with a Japan trip coming up soon, we can't wait to get there and chug Kirin Ichiban ice cold (beer is love ,, 🍻)

They bring out salted kelp + cabbage as a side dish combo, and it's a real treat 🤤

What does the mentaiko scallop cream pasta taste like?

• Mentaiko scallop cream pasta

The salty umami of the mentaiko (pollock roe) blended really well with the smooth cream sauce — better than I expected 🍝 The scallops were chewy and clean-tasting, and paired perfectly with the cream sauce 🫶🏻

Instead of the usual heaviness of cream pasta, the mentaiko keeps it a little salty with lots of umami, so you keep going back for more! The scallops add great texture too, and it makes a perfect side to enjoy alongside the yakitori!

If you're looking for a different kind of pasta at Urban Bricks, this is worth trying at least once — the mentaiko + scallop + cream combo is great.

The 3-skewer set, grilled over charcoal to order

• 3-skewer set

The owner grills them on charcoal and brings them right out, which felt very Japanese and I loved that even more! The charcoal aroma is no joke — I didn't even need a dipping sauce, they were delicious just as they were.

I first came here on a recommendation as a Changwon Uni City favorite, was totally satisfied, and now I'm an izakaya regular here — I love it so much ~~~~~

Beef tendon oden soup with soju

• Beef tendon oden soup

We also ordered oden soup, which goes great with soju — ah, the broth is truly amazing! There's also a great variety of oden, so it was fun picking through them ><

The broth gets richer the longer it simmers. There are glass noodles in there too, and since I'm a glass-noodle killer, I ate every bit happily — nothing beats this as a soju side dish 🤤

Atmosphere at Yakitori Gong and final verdict

The interior is dark and quiet, so it was perfect for chatting. The owner is always so kind every time I visit, which makes the whole experience feel even better!

Strongly recommended as a Changwon Uni City favorite 🤍