Protein-heavy dinner at Seoul Station: striploin steak bowl, Ichigyu

This is about the Seoul Station restaurant I just came back from, Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch (이치규 서울역점), still warm from dinner. Lately I've been paying a lot of attention to my protein intake, so even when I'm meeting someone I want to eat as healthily as possible, protein first. This Seoul Station spot was exactly what I needed.

How to get to Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is on the B1 floor of the LG Building, close to Seoul Station Exit 10. I wondered where I was supposed to go down, but you just walk in through the main entrance of the LG Building and take the escalator inside.

Go down to B1 and you'll find the Ichigyu entrance.

Since it's in the basement of an office building, I assumed it would be empty on the weekend, but it was full of customers. I guess it really is a Seoul Station favorite...

This is what the inside looks like.

What I ordered at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch, with prices

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch specializes in gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) and steak. Sadly, the tenderloin dishes weren't available because of supply issues, so I ordered two striploin dishes.

• Striploin steki-don (steak rice bowl) (₩19,000)
• Striploin steak (₩19,000)

Somehow I came to a gyukatsu place and ordered only steak dishes, not gyukatsu. It's fine, I'll come back and eat it next time, haha.

They had a receipt event: write a Naver receipt review and get free karaage (Japanese fried chicken). But to focus on the meat, I passed with tears in my eyes~

What comes with the striploin steak, and refills

The striploin steak at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch came out quickly, served with rice, a soup, two cabbage side dishes and butter. The staff kindly told me that sides and rice can be refilled if I run short!

But there's way more rice than I expected, haha. I should have ordered the side curry to eat with it... I left some behind, sob.

Oh, and the butter is Isigny butter? From France, no less... Extra butter is ₩1,000, and now I get why.

Is the striploin steki-don too salty?

The striploin steki-don at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is a rice bowl where the meat itself isn't seasoned and the rice is moderately seasoned. Usually with this kind of dish the meat is seasoned quite salty, but here it's a real steak rice bowl that wins on the flavor of the meat itself.

A good doneness and a generous pile of bean sprouts. Since the meat is unseasoned and the rice is moderately seasoned, I could enjoy more of the meat's flavor in Ichigyu's steak bowl.

How to grill the striploin steak on the cast-iron plate

At Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch you grill the striploin steak yourself on a cast-iron plate, and

Oh no, I was so eager to eat that I put the meat on without putting the butter down first!!!!!

The tip for enjoying it says to put about a third of the butter down first. If you grill the butter in three portions, you can enjoy its aroma together with the meat for longer~ (so I followed that exactly)

Sizzle sizzle.. ah, it was so good..

Put a little wasabi on the moderately cooked striploin and mmm~~~~ it's the best, absolutely delicious. Eating it right when it's tender and not overcooked felt like heaven. Why is it so good?

They say you learn ten from one, and I'm really looking forward to how good the gyukatsu must be at this Seoul Station spot.

I also had a semi fire-gazing session while grilling the meat. Kind of a healing time...

Striploin melting softly in my mouth, flames flickering in front of my eyes.. a pleasantly cool air conditioner.. isn't this paradise?

Would I go back to Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch?

I wanted to add extra meat (₩14,000) and have the striploin one more time, but I held myself back and left Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch! It's close to Seoul Station, so whenever I have a reason to be at Seoul Station, I'd happily eat here again. The striploin melts so softly~