Cheese dakgalbi with Bukhan River view in Gapyeong: Jayeon Dakgalbi

The weather was so nice today that I went for a drive — destination: Nami Island! The road there is so pretty that I was in a great mood the whole way. But then I got a tip about a really good dakgalbi place near Nami Island, so I thought, let's give it a try, and headed over.

Where is Jayeon Dakgalbi and where do you park? A wide lot on the way to Nami Island

Jayeon Dakgalbi is a dakgalbi restaurant at 1007-10 Bukhangang-byeon-ro, Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, right on the way to Nami Island. It's open 09:00–20:00 and there's a parking lot the size of the Pacific Ocean in front of the shop. Dogs are welcome too.

If you park right on the 1st floor side, you have to go up these stairs on the right to reach the entrance. The parking space is really huge! Vast, even.

If you go up the narrow road on the left instead of the stairs on the right, there's also parking on the 2nd floor level — park here and you can walk straight into the entrance with no stairs, which is way more convenient! If you're traveling with someone pregnant or elderly, I'd recommend this route :)

Inside Jayeon Dakgalbi: the floor-to-ceiling Bukhan River view

Inside Jayeon Dakgalbi, each table has generous spacing and there's separate group seating too, so it looked like it could comfortably fit family gatherings or larger parties!

And the real highlight here was the view out the window. The whole panorama of the Bukhan River fills the floor-to-ceiling glass, and the scenery while eating was truly a work of art :) On a side note, I really want to try the zip line over there...

Jayeon Dakgalbi menu and the self-serve corner

There's a separate self-serve corner where you can grab whatever you need. Garlic, cheongyang chili peppers, and sauce were all generously stocked. Crisp lettuce and finger-sized gaji-gochu (small green chili peppers) were also freshly prepared :)

The basic table setting was neat and tidy!

Dakgalbi for two with cheese and makguksu: how it arrives

At Jayeon Dakgalbi we ordered dakgalbi for two plus added makguksu and cheese. The ingredients get set up on the pan first like this — perilla leaves, cabbage, rice cakes, sweet potato... it already looked delicious :)

And then they brought out an entire bowl of cheese like this... haha, so grateful ~ the portion was so big it felt really filling :)

And this is the makguksu that came separately — it was topped generously with garnish, so it looked delicious right from the start :) It went insanely well with the dakgalbi, I swear.

While the ingredients sizzled and the sauce soaked in nicely, they piled on a huge amount of cheese.

Stirring it gently with the spatula, the cheese started melting down smoothly. I really couldn't hold back;;; the savory smell spread all around and just smelling it made me start drooling haha.

The visual was... wow, isn't it insane? The cheese stretching out every time you lift it up is just — oh man.

The dakgalbi was soft and moist and cooked well, with the sweet-spicy sauce evenly soaked in. The rice cakes and sweet potato also soaked up the sauce nicely, so I kept reaching for them even on their own.

It's delicious wrapped in lettuce like this too!!

And wrapped with the makguksu, it's amazing too. The dakgalbi itself is so good that it's delicious with anything really.

Finishing with fried rice in the leftover sauce

After finishing the dakgalbi, I felt like I was about to burst... I tried to resist... but I ended up mixing in the fried rice too.

They added plenty of gim-garu (dried seaweed flakes) and bean sprouts, mixing it all evenly into the leftover sauce, so every single grain of rice soaked up the sauce with a bit of smoky flavor too — it felt like a sin not to eat it, haha. I think you have to eat this to really complete the course :)

Finished it off properly with a Fanta!

Final verdict: is Jayeon Dakgalbi worth a stop near Nami Island?

On a nice day, before heading to Nami Island, I stopped by Jayeon Dakgalbi on a tip — overall, a really satisfying meal :)

• The dakgalbi itself is soft and the sauce is tasty without being overly harsh
• Spacious interior with group seating makes it comfortable for families or larger groups
• The Bukhan River view through the floor-to-ceiling windows is a work of art
• Dog-friendly, so you're welcome to bring your pup along
• Generous amount of cheese topping — the best part
• Finishing with the fried rice completes the whole course

If you're heading to Nami Island and craving a bowl of dakgalbi, I recommend Jayeon Dakgalbi! I'll be back again next time~ 🐔