Seongnam Korean restaurant: gabrisal bossam and free kalguksu

The ultimate value-for-money meal Order one gabrisal bossam and get two servings of kalguksu free! Tender gabrisal bossam boiled fresh every day, plus warm, brothy kalguksu or makguksu—so good!

As the weather gradually gets cooler, I find myself craving warm broth~ The place I visited this time lets you enjoy kalguksu and bossam at the same time.

Getting to Bossam Ae Kalguksu Seongnam Sangdaewon Branch

Bossam Ae Kalguksu Seongnam Sangdaewon Branch is easy to reach by bus from Dandaeogeori Station. I drove, though, and was able to park right behind the restaurant.

You can park behind the restaurant, and if it is full, simply use the nearby Sangdaewon 3-dong Public Parking Lot!

A comfortable, spacious interior

There was plenty of space between the tables, and the overall interior and cleanliness were neatly maintained.

Even though I visited a little after mealtime, many seats were occupied and there were lots of families~ The staff were all kind, and you can comfortably order from the tablet on the table while looking at menu photos.

Gabrisal bossam with complimentary kalguksu

Bossam is the signature dish, with regular bossam and gabrisal bossam available. There is also a great-value single-serving bossam set meal that is perfect for a hearty lunch :)

Honestly, in this era of high prices, it is not easy to get both quality meat and piping-hot broth, so I think this might be one of Sangdaewon-dong's best-value restaurants! The small gabrisal bossam for two costs ₩37,000, and there are medium servings for three and large servings as well. They also have seafood minari jeon (water parsley pancake) as a side—wouldn't that be lovely on a rainy day? :)

I ordered the small gabrisal bossam set for two. The truly amazing part is that when you order a bossam dish, two servings of kalguksu come out for ₩0—that is, on the house!

Neat, well-prepared side dishes

The side dishes were generously served, too. Bossam kimchi, geotjeori (fresh kimchi), and green onion kimchi come with it, so of course they are bound to hit the spot for Korean tastes :) Naturally, there is also salted shrimp, ssamjang (savory dipping paste), peppers, and more to enjoy with the bossam!

Then the kalguksu noodles, zucchini, carrots, green onions, and broth arrived too, and my mouth was already watering, haha.

How did the gabrisal bossam taste?

When the meat first arrived, it had such a beautiful sheen that I was impressed just by the look of it. Most restaurants use pork belly or front leg meat to keep costs down, but this place uses gabrisal, a special cut that comes in limited amounts from each pig!

They say they boil it themselves with care every morning, and perhaps that is why it felt especially thoughtfully prepared.

And because it is gabrisal, you can really see the fine marbling—there was not even 1% dryness! The tenderness of the lean meat and the rich flavor of the fat were blended in the perfect ratio, so it felt like it just melted away.

It had a deep meaty flavor without being greasy at all! It went incredibly, incredibly well with the bossam kimchi :)

It was sliced to just the right thickness for chewing, too, so I think even older guests with weaker teeth or anyone who dislikes tough meat could enjoy it without divided opinions!

Kalguksu cooked in a hotpot

The bossam was delicious, but I ate the kalguksu with real admiration, too! Rather than a tiny tasting portion in a ttukbaegi (earthenware pot) or soup bowl, you cook it yourself in a very large hotpot, so there was plenty to eat~

It was full of fresh vegetables like zucchini, thinly sliced carrots, and green onions, so it had a naturally sweet flavor that made it even better, haha. It was so refreshing and clean-tasting that it felt like it cleared me right out, paired especially well with the geotjeori, and I scraped up every last bit!

The amount of meat in the small gabrisal bossam in Sangdaewon-dong, Seongnam, was far more than I expected, and after properly finishing the kalguksu too, my stomach honestly felt like it might burst, haha. I had planned to add egg and have egg juk (rice porridge), but I thought I would burst, so that will have to wait until next time~~

If you work at Seongnam High Tech Valley and are looking for lunch, a place for an after-work team dinner, or somewhere for a family meal on the weekend, give it a visit!