Bakchon Station duck BBQ full course from salt to porridge: Ganaandeok

How different is duck grilled over charcoal? I visited Ganaandeok Gyeyang Branch (가나안덕 계양점), a place I kept seeing as a Bakchon Station spot with a wait.

Raw duck on a grill is supposed to lose its grease and leave only a clean, mild flavor. I wondered how different it would be from the duck I eat at home. Here is my honest take on what to order, how much one duck is, and whether the wait is worth it.

What to know before visiting Ganaandeok Gyeyang Branch

Ganaandeok Gyeyang Branch takes reservations by phone only, and only for parties of 8 or more. On weekends, booking can be hard, or you may be told to wait on site.

It is about 428m from Bakchon Station Exit 1, a 5-minute walk. If you drive, use the lot behind the restaurant. It holds about 20 cars, so it works fine for group gatherings too.

Ganaandeok Gyeyang Branch menu: what should you order?

The signature dish is the raw charcoal-grilled duck, a whole duck (700g). They also have seasoned pork ribs, clay-baked duck, and neungi baeksuk (oak mushroom chicken soup)!

I went on a weekday evening and, luckily, got in right away with no wait!

I worried about that typical gamey duck smell, so I agonized for a while over half jumulleok (seasoned pork), half raw duck.. but I figured I should try the signature dish first and ordered one whole raw charcoal-grilled duck.

How to grill raw duck over charcoal

Once the charcoal arrives, you grill the meat yourself. The heat is quite strong, so the trick is to flip often rather than leave one side down for long. A few flips front and back and it turns golden quickly.

The fat drains down below the grill and the edges get crispy! Unlike pan-frying, there is no greasy, floating-oil feeling, and every piece tasted clean and mild.

Side dishes and the self-bar seaweed soup

The side dishes at Ganaandeok Gyeyang Branch are seasoned chives, pickled onion, pickled radish wraps, lettuce, and seasoned bean sprouts. (If you run low, help yourself at the self bar.)

While the duck cooked, I fetched seaweed soup and mustard sauce from the self bar. The soup was hot and rich. I think kids would eat it well with rice mixed in!

Does the raw charcoal duck have a gamey smell?

The best bite was the first piece, lightly dipped in salt. That is where you taste the duck's natural mildness and the faint charcoal aroma most clearly.

Pairing it with seasoned chives, pickled onion, and pickled radish is fun, but in the end the salt is what my hand reached for most.

Even though it is raw duck, there was no gamey or musky smell at all.

I wrapped a big ssam (lettuce wrap) with seasoned chives, and the crunch and tang kept it fresh with nothing greasy. No wonder my wraps kept getting bigger.

How do you get the mung bean porridge to finish?

After the meal, request mung bean porridge on the tablet and you get a small tasting-size bowl per person. It is not much, so it is easy to finish even when you are full.

The mung beans are cooked down so the usual rough texture is almost gone. It goes down mild and smooth, and was perfect for settling my stomach after the duck.

Charcoal-roasted sweet potato, the final highlight

The last highlight! Ganaandeok Gyeyang Branch roasts one sweet potato per person in the charcoal alongside the duck. Right out of the fire it is hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth, so let it cool well.

I waited a long while before peeling it, and it was still piping hot!! It was crumbly like a chestnut sweet potato, yet moist rather than dry. I can only marvel that I had room for it after filling up on duck~

Is one whole duck enough for two people?

One whole raw charcoal-grilled duck was enough for two adults. We were so full that ordering more never crossed our minds. The meat alone is plenty! With the mung bean porridge and charcoal sweet potato after, it was a full-course meal, dessert included.

Ganaandeok Gyeyang Branch really shows off the appeal of raw duck grilled over charcoal.

Ganaandeok Gyeyang Branch visitor info

• Hours: daily 11:00–22:00 (last order 20:20)
• Pets not allowed
• High chairs and waiting area available; separate men's and women's restrooms
• Parking: lot behind the restaurant, about 20 cars
• Parties of 8 or more: phone reservations only