Beef offal set and retro lunchbox dinner at Makchang Ilbeonji, Gunsan

Near Gunsan City Library: Makchang Ilbeonji

I'm a physical therapist who's always hunting down good restaurants. Curious what Gunsan spot I'm introducing today?? It's Makchang Ilbeonji in Gunsan. It's near the city library in Susong-dong, a neighborhood I know well, so finding it was easy~

For lunch specials, Makchang Ilbeonji offers yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef tartare rice bowl), hanwoo radish soup, and hanwoo gomtang all for a cash price of ₩6,000. Isn't that price way too cheap?!!

I visited in the evening with Gwakbap, so I can't cover the lunch special menu today, but I'll introduce it next time!! Let's get into our visit to Makchang Ilbeonji in Gunsan from last Wednesday~~

• Address: 15-3 Seosusongan 1-gil 1F, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk, South Korea (Naun-dong 1538-11)
• Hours: Mon–Sat 11:30–22:00 (break time 14:00–17:00) / Closed every Sunday

What's in the basic side dishes?

Let's start with Makchang Ilbeonji's basic side dishes (banchan). Lung / scallion salad / garlic and ssamjang / bean sprout soup sized per person / fish cake / green onion kimchi / white kimchi, and even tripe, odregi, and liver~!!!

The symbol of freshness... Gwakbap got excited the second he saw the odregi~ He kept muttering to himself about it, which cracked me up for no reason.

The menu and our order

Let's check the Makchang Ilbeonji menu. They have two Makchang Ilbeonji sets / raw beef sashimi, yukhoe / hanwoo beef gopchang, hanwoo beef makchang, hanwoo daechang, premium beef tripe grill, pork belly~~ plus desserts, alcohol, and drinks!

As always, Gwakbap and I debated what to order and ended up with Makchang Ilbeonji Set A / two retro lunchboxes / Chum Churum soju / cider~

The dining room and self-bar

Here's the inside of Makchang Ilbeonji in Naun-dong, Gunsan. It's mostly 4-top tables, with some 6-tops too, so it looks good for groups. I remember around the time we were leaving, a big group came in — I think it was 12 people...!! So many people came~

There's a self-bar, so you can help yourself to extra side dishes~~ I felt like the basic side dishes we were given were already plenty, so I didn't bother getting more. The basic banchan portions were generous enough.

Cider meets soju... haha. Gwakbap got excited about drinking soju with the beef gopchang, all on his own. He said sorry for drinking alone~!! He mentioned he doesn't drink that often so he wasn't really craving it~ and I just clinked glasses with my cider.

The taste of tripe and liver

We started with tripe and liver~~ The flavor and texture that I didn't like as a kid... !! Now it suits my taste so much I actually seek it out~ The liver was fresh and firm too...!! And the tripe had no off smell and was delicious~ It goes so well with sesame oil...

Makchang Ilbeonji Set A, part ①: grilled specialty cuts

From the Makchang Ilbeonji Set we ordered, the grilled items arrived~!!! Beef heart / makchang / daechang / gopchang, with garnishes too. It made me think I'd need to come back to Makchang Ilbeonji whenever I crave specialty cuts. It was so fresh and delicious that I'm thinking about it again even while writing this post...haha.

The owner laid the meat out neatly on the heated stone plate...!! And cut it into bite-sized pieces for us~ He told us how done to cook it for the best taste, and we quietly waited as it grilled.

Makchang Ilbeonji Set A, part ②: beef gopchang hot pot

The second dish of Makchang Ilbeonji Set A!!! Beef gopchang hot pot (soegopchang jeongol) arrived~~ It was packed with beef gopchang, generously portioned~ chunky yet spicy-savory, and really hit the spot. I loved this beef gopchang hot pot so much haha.

Beef heart

We started tasting with the beef heart~~ Back in college, I used to think even the heart skewers at Yeokjeon Halmeoni Beer were so good haha... but now I think beef heart might be the tastiest of all...haha. Chewy yet full of juice, so good.

Beef gopchang

The beef gopchang was also delicious~~ Gwakbap was happy to grill gopchang again after a while, saying haha. He said it had been a while since he binged on beef gopchang in Jeonju before~~haha. No smell, so tasty... rich and mellow!

What's inside the retro lunchbox?

The two retro lunchboxes (chueok-ui dosirak) we ordered arrived~ Old-school sausage pan-fried with egg on top~ and stir-fried kimchi laid underneath. Salty and savory, great mixed in with rice!! I really loved this retro lunchbox...haha. Goes great alongside the beef gopchang too~

Daechang

The richness of daechang is love... A clean, fatty flavor filled the mouth~~ without being too greasy, which was great. Maybe because it was so clean, it tasted even better.

Makchang

We ate the makchang together too~ Gwakbap says it's his second favorite after beef gopchang haha. Makchang really is delicious... a meat-like chewy texture~~ great picked up with enoki mushrooms and dipped in sauce...

We also scooped the beef gopchang hot pot into our small plates~ Gwakbap must have been full, because he only took three or four pieces of gopchang into his plate. Makes sense he'd be full by then..haha.

Maybe because it had a hefty dose of perilla powder simmered in... the beef gopchang hot pot was so rich and delicious~ The glass noodles, tripe, beef gopchang, and onion inside were all so satisfying and tasty ㅠㅠㅠ

If we'd had just a little more room, I think we would've finished it off with fried rice~~haha. If you're looking for a good gopchang restaurant in Gunsan, remember Makchang Ilbeonji and pay a visit!