Gopchang dinner with chives at Ilmigop, an Anyang restaurant

After being out near Gwacheon, I was wondering what to have for dinner, and really, nothing beats gopchang for an evening meal haha. This time, while looking for a good gopchang spot in Anyang, I visited Ilmigop (일미곱).

What is the atmosphere like at Ilmigop?

Ilmigop has such a large sign that you can spot it at a glance, even from far away.

“We tender meat using only natural ingredients.” “Our principle is to prepare and sell ingredients delivered that same day.”

That is what it said. Freshness and avoiding any unwanted odor are especially important with gopchang, right? Seeing the restaurant emphasize those points had me looking forward to it before I even went in.

Inside, the interior has warm wood tones throughout. When I think of a gopchang restaurant, I imagine somewhere a little noisy and hectic, but this place had some space between the tables and felt neat.

Each table had a tablet, so it looked easy to check the menu and order. The chairs and tables had that classic Korean barbecue restaurant feel, making it nice for a casual drink with friends or dinner. It was relatively quiet when we visited, so we could eat comfortably.

The side dishes served with gopchang

Once you order, they set out the basic side dishes first. There were pickled onions, seasoned chives, salad, and sauces for dipping the gopchang. Personally, I feel a little disappointed if there are no chives with gopchang, so I loved that they gave us plenty. A bite of pickled onion also freshens up your palate when things get rich. Everything was well suited to eating with gopchang, so I kept reaching for it.

A gopchang platter piled high with chives

Finally, the main dish arrived! It looks pretty generous even in the photo, right?

Several cuts, including gopchang (beef small intestine) and daechang (beef large intestine), came on one platter, along with enoki mushrooms, onions, and scallions to grill. It was topped with a huge pile of chives. What I especially liked was that it arrived already partly cooked and ready to eat.

At some gopchang places, you have to wait ages for it to cook, but this was easy to start eating right away haha. When I look for gopchang in Anyang, the gopchang itself matters, of course, but I also check whether there are plenty of things to eat alongside it. Ilmigop was great because I could have chives and mushrooms with it too.

The more I chewed the gopchang, the more nutty flavor came through, while the daechang had that satisfyingly rich fattiness. Picking it up with chives cut through the richness, so the combination worked really well.

A bite of the neatly curled, bite-size gopchang with chives was perfect with drinks. It is worth a visit even for anyone expanding their search toward good gopchang places around Beomgye.

Thin-sliced beef brisket and sundubu-jjigae too

We also grilled usamgyeop, thin-sliced beef brisket. It was not just gopchang—we also had this dish with meat, enoki mushrooms, onions, and scallions, as pictured.

Grilling it on the griddle made it feel different from the gopchang. The meat had just the right amount of fat, so it was not too dry and had a nice chew. Eating only gopchang can get a little rich, but having another dish in between made the meal more varied.

And then there was hot sundubu-jjigae (spicy soft tofu stew). You cannot leave out a hot soup with a meal like this, right? haha We had the bubbling stew alongside everything else.

It had big pieces of soft tofu, and the broth was spicy enough to make it perfect for spooning up between bites of gopchang. You know that reset feeling after rich food and a spoonful of spicy broth, right? haha The tofu was soft too, so I took big spoonfuls. Personally, I loved that a gopchang meal in Bisan-dong came with such a comforting hot broth as well.

I ordered Zero Cola, and they gave me a cup full of ice, so it was nice and cold.

Overall, the gopchang-and-chives combination was excellent, and there was plenty to eat alongside it, from the side dishes to the stew, so I left full. It should be a good choice if you like having lots of different things with your gopchang instead of eating it on its own. And if you are like me and love loading your gopchang with tons of chives, it will suit you even better!