Yangju beef galbi restaurant: 500g raw short ribs, Manpo Galbi

I had some errands in Yangju, Gyeonggi and stopped by Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch, which apparently gives out free naengmyeon (cold noodles)!! I ate all the way through dessert, so here's the full record of this meat restaurant~

Where is Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch, and is there parking?

Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch is on the 1st floor at 65 Songnang-ro, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, open daily 11:00–22:00. You can park in the lot right in front of the restaurant.

I liked this place right away because the parking lot is seriously huge! There's so much space that we walked in without any parking stress haha

Inside Manpo Galbi: sofa seating on the first floor

The interior has this fresh, green kind of vibe!

We sat at this sofa seating! The sofa was so soft and comfy for eating meat haha (I kind of wanted to lie down...)

What comes in the 19,000 won weekday lunch galbi set?

We came during weekday lunch, and it turns out there's a handmade galbi set you can only order at lunch on weekdays for ₩19,000!! The handmade galbi set comes with 250g of handmade seasoned ribs plus naengmyeon and brisket doenjang sulbap (soybean paste rice), so it was a pretty generous lunch. It's only available weekdays 11:00–15:00, so keep that in mind if you're visiting for lunch!

The 10 side dishes in Manpo Galbi's basic spread

Wow... you could finish two bowls of rice on the side dishes alone. Salad, yukhoe (beef tartare), jeon (Korean pancakes), scallion strips, radish salad, salt, potato salad, chili-doenjang mix, pickled gungchae (Korean angelica)... the side dishes alone number a whopping 10!!!!

They loaded the sesame oil sauce up with plenty of onion too

Ah... please hit me for assuming the yukhoe would be frozen meat.... it was seriously so nutty and delicious ㅠㅠ Absolutely zero fishy or gamey taste, totally tender, chewy, and plump!!

How did the 500g raw beef short ribs for two taste?

We ordered raw beef short ribs for 2 (500g) and the handmade galbi set for 1.

Once you order, the staff sets the charcoal in for you

Raw beef short ribs!! Manpo Galbi says it puts real importance on using good meat, and since the raw short ribs aren't marinated, you can taste the meat itself — grilled over charcoal, it really let the ribs' distinct flavor come through ㅠㅠ

Personally, I prefer meat where I can taste the meat itself over something heavily seasoned, so I was glad I picked the raw short ribs haha

Ha... the color alone is no joke, right?! You can tell right away it's good quality meat haha so, so good!!!!

The 250g house-marinated ribs in the galbi set

The handmade galbi set we also ordered!! It really was a good composition for lunch. With handmade seasoned ribs, brisket doenjang sulbap, and even naengmyeon all coming out together, you get a pretty full spread without adding anything else

Look how thick these are?! The seasoning wasn't too sweet, and even though the meat was thick, the seasoning soaked through evenly, which I loved!!! So even, y'know.

Ah... the juices are just...

This is the doenjang sulbap that comes with the galbi set! It's loaded with enoki mushrooms, zucchini, and tofu, and with the cheongyang chili in there, it tasted even better paired with the meat ㅠㅠ For a Korean-food lover like me, it's basically human feed lol

House-made Hamhung naengmyeon, free with the meat

This naengmyeon is also part of the galbi set!! Manpo Galbi's naengmyeon has something special going on — you get to enjoy self-made Hamhung naengmyeon (cold noodles) together with the meat for free!! They make both the noodles and the broth in-house, and I saw that a lot of real visit reviews mention being able to enjoy naengmyeon with meat without any burden?!

Eating only meat can get a little greasy after a while, but having naengmyeon alongside cleans up your palate, so they're basically soulmates you can't ever split up.

This is the sweet and tangy bibim naengmyeon (mixed cold noodles)! And doesn't seasoned galbi just call for sweet-tangy bibim naengmyeon? You can't only try the mul naengmyeon (broth version).

Aw, look at these noodles stretching out! I guess self-made naengmyeon really is different starting from the noodles

Of course, the first bite of meat has to be dipped in salt — so soft and just full of juice, just!!

Every single side dish was so good, it was fun cycling through them all haha especially that chili-doenjang mix, that was a real hit... it was so good I wanted to buy some to take home

While the meat's cooking nicely, holding back is genuinely so hard,,, even before it's fully cooked, that sweet marinade smell just torments my nose ㅠ

Mul naengmyeon and seasoned galbi! They just can't not go together,,

Aw, such good boys, the seasoned galbi's sweet sauce was so delicious (honestly nothing's not delicious to me...^^) I tried the scallion strips, pickled gungchae, and radish salad with it, and personally that gungchae paired amazingly with the seasoned galbi — that crunchy gungchae texture is just it

Dessert at Manpo Galbi: bbeongtwigi and soft-serve ice cream

Manpo Galbi apparently puts real weight on serving generously from the basic sides all the way to dessert, and with bbeongtwigi (puffed rice snack) and soft-serve ice cream on hand, we got a proper palate-cleansing finish >_< I honestly buy bbeongtwigi with my own money all the time, and here they were, gifting me dessert like this

How's this former Lotteria part-timer's soft-serve swirl looking (honestly, it was a fail lol)

The fun of putting ice cream on bbeongtwigi! Bbeong-scream! Haha finishing the meat with sweet ice cream wrapped the meal up on a happy note haha Real visit reviews mention this bbeongtwigi ice cream so often as dessert that it's clearly one of Manpo Galbi's fun signature points~!

You can even see the bbeongtwigi machine right at the entrance haha kids would probably love this? Well, me first honestly

Hehe, worried the bbeongtwigi would get lonely, so I made it a friend ^_^ okay, both of you, off to my stomach together

Is Manpo Galbi Yangju a good spot for a family meal?

Overall the restaurant is pretty large-scale and the tables have generous spacing, so it looked good for family visits too. There's also a group space on the 2nd floor, so it'd suit anyone looking for a spot for a family gathering or a meal with a group!

Above all, with the huge parking lot + generous meal setup + free naengmyeon alongside the meat + bbeongtwigi ice cream dessert, this was a place I could enjoy from start to finish, before the meal even began. If you visit on a weekday lunch especially, the handmade galbi set lets you enjoy both galbi and a full meal in one go, so keep that in mind!! This was Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch, a great spot to visit in Yangju when you want a proper galbi meal for a family outing or lunch :)