Gwangalli Korean BBQ: aged shoulder rack three ways at Donbegi

When I look for a place to eat, I tend to dig through a bunch of reviews, and while scrolling one place really caught my eye. A quiet, calm Korean BBQ restaurant with an old Japanese house feel, haha. Here's my review of Donbegi Gwang-an Branch (돈베기 광안점), known as a top pork belly spot in Gwangalli!

Where is Donbegi Gwang-an Branch, and what are the hours and parking?

Donbegi Gwang-an Branch is a Korean BBQ restaurant using the 1st and 2nd floors at 34 Millakbondong-ro 11beon-gil, Suyeong-gu, Busan, about a 21-minute walk from Gwangan Station Exit 1. It's open daily 12:00-23:30, with last order at 23:00.

Parking is possible too. If you park at Seohui Starhills Centum Primo officetel, they cover 1 hour!

What does the exterior look like?

Donbegi Gwang-an Branch is a 2-story building with an atmospheric old Japanese house feel, and the exterior really catches the eye.

It gives off such a neat, tidy vibe, haha. There's even a Cheonsa Nanum (donation program) certification mark posted.

The menu is briefly laid out outside the building, so you can start deciding before you even go in 👍

Hexagonal tables for 5 people and a palm tree garden

Inside Donbegi Gwang-an Branch, the tables are spaced widely, so you don't have to worry about the next table.

Besides regular 4-person tables, hexagonal tables are scattered here and there, and that's the highlight! It's the perfect setup when 5 people come.

Splitting into 2 tables breaks up the conversation, but squeezing 5 people at a 4-person table is cramped. The hexagonal table solves exactly that awkwardness!! So clever, I thought, lol.

In the middle of the building there's a small garden with palm trees, and the view out the window was pretty. To feel this exotic mood inside a BBQ restaurant, you can tell they put a lot of thought into the interior.

Rooms, wine and facilities

Donbegi Gwang-an Branch also has separate rooms, so it seemed perfect for a company dinner in Gwangalli.

They sell wine too, so you can set the mood as well! haha

Disposable aprons are placed here and there. The restroom is inside as well. The women's restroom even has disposable toilet seat covers and feminine products, and small touches like these leave a good impression, haha.

The storage box under the table holds wet wipes and tissues, and the spoons and chopsticks are hygienically packed in paper sleeves.

If you need more side dishes, just use the self-service bar 😊

Donbegi Gwang-an Branch menu and the 480-hour aged pork

Donbegi's pork is top 1% premium pork aged for a whole 480 hours. This is not ordinary meat!

The menu is quite varied. You can choose by cut: shoulder rack, French rack, pork belly, pork neck, pork skirt and more. What caught my eye most was the pork omakase (chef's choice) menu, but sadly it was sold out that day 😢

The wine list is well stocked, and some set menus include wine. Wine with meat might sound like an unfamiliar combo, but maybe that's why it feels more special, haha.

The 600 set and side dishes

From the set menus at Donbegi Gwang-an Branch, I ordered the 600 set, made of 400g shoulder rack + 200g pork belly. It was a day to just fill up on meat, haha.

The side dishes came out first,

scallion kimchi, gungchae muchim (seasoned stalk lettuce), seasoned radish, pickled onion, ssamjang (dipping paste), myeongran-jeot (salted pollock roe), white kimchi,

scallion salad, cold bean sprout soup, shiitake wasabi, pickled ginger and coarse salt. The lineup was really generous. Just from the number of side dishes, you could feel the care this place puts in.

How do you eat shoulder rack for the best taste?

At Donbegi Gwang-an Branch, the staff grill the meat for you, cooking it to just the right doneness and kindly explaining how to eat it for the best flavor.

Since it's aged meat, they said it tastes best when cooked only about 80%, not a hundred percent. They also told us the order for eating the shoulder rack:

• First, dipped in salt only
• Second, wrapped in white kimchi
• Third, topped with myeongran-jeot (salted pollock roe)

Eating it this way, it was fun and fascinating to enjoy the same meat in different ways. But honestly, the shoulder rack is so good with just salt. The meat itself is just that delicious 😋

Pork belly with shiitake wasabi

They said the pork belly is fatty, so try it with shiitake wasabi, and wow... the shiitake wasabi combo was way tastier than I expected. Shiitake wasabi is the best!!!

They grill mushrooms together too. Can you see the juice coming out of the mushrooms...

After grilling, they divide the meat and put half at each person's spot, fair and square, lol. Looking at this, I want to eat it again..

Overall verdict on Donbegi Gwang-an Branch

The space, the meat and the service were all good! The claim of 480-hour aged top 1% premium pork was no empty talk. The shoulder rack is truly delicious with just salt, and the shiitake wasabi combo was an unexpected hit! There are rooms and varied table setups, so it suits everyone from 2 people to big groups. If you're eating meat near Gwangalli, definitely stop by once. 😄