Yangju hanwoo bulgogi dinner, 200g per person: Manpo Garden

On a recent Sunday evening I wanted some good meat, so I headed to Manpo Garden, a hanwoo galbi spot known as a Yangju favorite. I usually stick to pork galbi there, but this time I tried the hanwoo bulgogi instead — it was tender, delicious, and came with a great variety of side dishes, making it perfect for family gatherings or celebrations.

Where is Manpo Garden and when is it open?

Manpo Garden is located at 28-37 Godeok-ro 355beon-gil, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 1st floor, and is open daily from 11:00 to 22:00. Parking is available right in front of the store, and both group visits and Naver Reservations are supported.

• Address: 28-37 Godeok-ro 355beon-gil, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 1st floor
• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00
• Parking: Available in front of the restaurant
• Group bookings available, Naver Reservation supported

Driving there: the main road from Goeup-dong toward Okjeong

Manpo Garden sits on the main road connecting Goeup-dong to Okjeong, making it very convenient to reach by car. The interior was really spacious, and since it's a newer place, it had that polished, upscale feel.

What we ordered at Manpo Garden and what it cost

We ordered charcoal-grilled hanwoo bulgogi at ₩28,000 × 2 servings, plus rice at ₩1,000 × 2. When you order meat, you can also get either water naengmyeon or spicy mixed naengmyeon (one per person) for free, which makes for a great-value meal.

Side dishes and the self-service bar

The basic side dishes included dressed lettuce salad, yukjeon (pan-fried beef), yukhoe (beef tartare), salad, onions, and more, all set out together.

There was kimchi, water kimchi, and various other side dishes you could freely grab from the self-service corner. The lettuce for wraps was fresh, and honestly everything else was so fresh too — no wonder this place does well.

The seating itself was spacious and comfortable, and there were also private rooms available, making it a great spot for family gatherings, dates, or company dinners.

Charcoal hanwoo bulgogi for two: 200g per person

Our order of charcoal hanwoo bulgogi for two arrived. Even though it's hanwoo (Korean beef), the price was pretty reasonable, and at 200g per person, the portion was bigger than I expected.

We ordered one water naengmyeon and one spicy mixed naengmyeon; the spicy mixed one had a pretty bold, spicy flavor, so ordering one of each to share seemed like the way to go. Naengmyeon is a must with grilled meat, and since Manpo Garden gives it free, the whole meal ends up being great value.

The basic side dishes also included yukhoe and yukjeon, both of which can also be ordered separately as standalone dishes if you want more.

Since hanwoo can get tough if overcooked, the staff grilled it just right, and being beef, it cooked quickly.

Grilling it to just the right doneness meant we could eat it warm with rice, which made this Yangju hanwoo spot even better. Originally I'd planned to order pork galbi after finishing the bulgogi, but with 200g per person plus one free naengmyeon each, we were already completely full just from the hanwoo.

Dessert: iced coffee and puffed-rice ice cream

After paying, we could scoop coffee into an ice cup for dessert, and there were candies and dental floss on hand too, which was a nice touch.

There was also puffed rice and ice cream — you could use the self-serve ice cream machine freely, and piling ice cream on top of a big puffed rice cracker made it taste even better.

I love ice cream, so I piled it high on the puffed rice cracker, crumbled the cracker up, and scooped up the ice cream with it — refreshing to eat and I didn't need to seek out dessert elsewhere, which made for a very satisfying end to the meal.

Is Manpo Garden good for a family gathering?

With Chuseok coming up, I'd been looking for a place for a family gathering, and this Yangju restaurant fit the bill perfectly with its spacious interior and reasonable prices. It's also about 15 minutes by car from Uijeongbu, with a big parking lot that makes driving there easy, a clean interior, private rooms, and a menu ranging from pork galbi to hanwoo. I'd definitely come back to Manpo Garden, the Yangju restaurant with delicious hanwoo bulgogi :)