Namyang-eup Korean BBQ with private rooms: lamb tacos, Morakmorak

Last weekend my husband and I went out for dinner at Morakmorak Jeongyuk Sikdang (모락모락정육식당), a Namyang BBQ place. It's a butcher-shop-style restaurant where you look at the meat and pick exactly the cuts you want, and it's one of our all-time favorite spots near Hwaseong City Hall. So if you're hunting for a place near Rolling Hills, here's my honest review :)

Where is Morakmorak and where do you park?

Morakmorak Jeongyuk Sikdang Namyang Hwaseong City Hall Main Branch is at 70 Yeokgoljungang-ro, Namyang-eup, Hwaseong, and you can use the dedicated parking lot next to the restaurant for free. It's open daily 11:30–23:00 (last order 21:00), year-round.

It's close to Hwaseong City Hall and within about 10 minutes by car from Rolling Hills, so it's a handy pick if you're looking for a restaurant around either. Just use the dedicated lot beside the restaurant! Group seating, takeout and Naver reservations are available, there are baby chairs, and corkage is free. They also take gift set orders and can ship them.

A Namyang-eup BBQ place with private rooms: what's the atmosphere like?

The inside is clean and pleasant overall, and the tables are spaced generously, so it was comfortable to eat there.

It also has private rooms, which I liked even more. It looked great for family meals in Hwaseong, company dinners and group gatherings.

Table fee and self-bar

Like most butcher-shop restaurants, Morakmorak charges a separate table setting fee: ₩5,000 per adult, and it's free for toddlers through elementary, middle and high school students.

The self-bar has all kinds of side dishes and ssam (leaf wrap) vegetables to go with the meat. There's also a wide range of sauces and extras like tortillas, sriracha sauce, garlic dipping mayo, cilantro, guacamole and salsa, so it's perfect for making tacos.

The ramen is bottomless too, and it even comes with hanwoo (Korean beef) bone broth, which makes it a great way to finish the meal.

How to order at a butcher-shop BBQ, and the menu

Here's how it works: first you pick the cuts you want at the butcher counter, then hand them to the staff. The meat is pre-grilled and brought to your table, so you can enjoy dinner without the hassle of grilling everything from scratch.

The showcase had a wide variety of meat: pork belly, pork neck, gabrisal, lamb, galmaegisal, hanwoo, pork jowl and more. They also have lunch specials like the sandeomi kimchi jeongol (mountain-high kimchi hot pot), so it looks like a good option for lunch near Hwaseong City Hall or Rolling Hills too.

The basic spread while the meat is being pre-grilled

While the meat was being pre-grilled, they set out fresh ssam vegetables, mueksabal (chilled acorn jelly in broth) and a range of side dishes, and you can grab more from the self-bar if you run out, which was convenient.

The complimentary yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) was a real treat. It was fresh and tender, perfect for whetting the appetite before the meat arrived.

I also grabbed tortillas and gosari (bracken fern) from the self-bar and put them on the grill early to get them nice and golden before the meat came out~

Before long, the pork jowl, pork belly and lamb we ordered arrived pre-grilled.

Before putting the meat on the grill, a staff member cut it into bite-size pieces for us, and the little performance made it fun to watch too.

They also bring this doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) as a freebie with the meat. The broth was rich and a little spicy, the kind you'd want to pour over a bowl of rice, so of course we ordered extra rice to go with it.

Is the lamb at Morakmorak free of that gamey smell?

Now for the main event. First up was the lamb we picked from the showcase. Since it was pre-grilled, it didn't take long to cook, and we only had to cook it a little more on the grill, which was easy!

The golden-brown lamb wasn't tough at all. It was tender, and that nutty lamb flavor and aroma spread through my mouth. I didn't notice any gamey smell either, so even people who aren't big on lamb could enjoy it.

Wrap the lamb in a tortilla for tacos

The combo I really want to recommend is wrapping the lamb in a self-bar tortilla like a taco. With cilantro and a few sauces, the distinctive aroma gets even better. If you order the lamb, definitely make these tacos!

The pork jowl is worth ordering again

Next I grilled pork jowl (hangjeongsal), one of my favorite cuts. After the chewy lamb, the jowl felt much more tender by comparison. It has just enough fat so it isn't dry, and the fat and lean meat balance well, so it gets nuttier the more you chew!

Personally, I thought this jowl was a lot better than I expected, and I'm sure I'll order it again next time!

Water-aged Korean pork belly and ssam combo

Last, I put on the pork belly, which no BBQ place can do without. It also came pre-grilled and cooked quickly on the grill. Maybe because it's Korean pork (hanbok) water-aged for 7+ days, the juices flowed freely,

and the ratio of fat to lean was just right, so you really get that classic pork belly flavor. Dipping it in salt is great, but wrapping it in ssam vegetables with scallion salad and a few side dishes is just amazing!

Dessert: bottomless hanwoo bone-broth ramen

After finishing the meat, we couldn't skip dessert, so we boiled up the hanwoo bone-broth ramen. It's bottomless, so you can end the meal feeling really full, which I loved.

Maybe because it's made with bone broth, the soup was rich from the first sip, and it got even better once we added sliced kimchi and chili pepper!

Who is this Namyang room BBQ restaurant for?

We liked the meat and the self-bar, and Morakmorak is fun because you pick cuts one by one, and the bottomless ramen makes the meal even more filling. Best of all, it has private rooms, so it works well for family meals and company dinners, and with baby chairs available it's also fine to visit with kids! If you're looking for a place near Hwaseong City Hall, a Namyang room restaurant or somewhere near Rolling Hills, give Morakmorak a try :)