Date-night izakaya by Balsan Station with counter seats: Gou Magok

Yakitori Gou Magok (고우 마곡발산점) is the place that comes to mind when you want an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) with a good mood around Balsan. The vibe works for a blind date or date night, and as a yakitori (grilled chicken skewer) specialist, the skewer quality is solid too.

From the signature hormone skewer to five kinds of yakitori, here is my review after actually eating there.

What kind of izakaya is Yakitori Gou Magok?

Magok izakaya Gou, Japanese vibes in the middle of the city

Gou started as a yakitori restaurant at the original Itaewon branch. The name comes from the English word "go", meant to say it is heading out to the whole world.

For a date, counter seats or tatami seats?

Gou Magok has no private rooms, but there are quiet tables in the back, and in the hall there are counter seats and tatami seats where you take off your shoes. With J-pop playing softly too, you feel like you have wandered into a Japanese izakaya.

We were guided to the counter seats, and through the big glass window you can see the skewers being grilled, so waiting was never boring. The counter is for the fun of watching the smoky cooking, and I think the tatami seats suit days when you want to focus quietly on your conversation.

Jim Beam highball or cassis orange: which drink?

My partner's pick was the Jim Beam highball. I had one sip and the fizz is quite refreshing. You notice it even more with oily dishes.

My pick was the cassis orange. It suits people who like sweet drinks. The fresh orange juice flavor is quite distinct and it goes down smoothly. If you like sweet cocktails, I recommend this one!

What does the tomato salad taste like?

Gou's tomato salad is a completely different thing from the sugared tomatoes you usually eat. It is dressed with a fresh dressing, so it goes down tangy like a salad.

It is sliced so thin that you can see the pattern of the bowl right through it.

The 5-kind yakitori set and how each cut tastes

The five-kind yakitori set at Gou Magok is nicely put together, perfect when you want to try a bit of everything! Every cut has its own flavor and texture, so comparing them as you go is definitely fun.

Tebasaki (grilled chicken wings)

First, tebasaki (grilled chicken wings). Familiar and tasty, like Korean-style chicken skewers. Everyone will like this one, no divide.

Pork-wrapped tomato skewer

I thought it was just cherry tomatoes, but thinly sliced pork is wrapped around the outside. Bite in and the hot tomato juice bursts out, leaving sweetness lingering in your mouth.

Momoniku (grilled chicken thigh)

The momoniku (grilled chicken thigh) was tender and not tough at all. The soft meat melts in your mouth and makes you want to order one more beer for no reason.

Negima and hatsu

Negima is chicken thigh with green onion. Chicken can get monotonous, but with the onion in there you tire of it much less.

Last was hatsu. Maybe because it is the chicken heart, it is springy and firm. The chew is lively, so texture lovers will like it right away! It has that organ-meat flavor, but no off smell, so it goes down clean.

Why is Gou's signature hormone skewer so famous?

The hormone skewer came out next, Gou's signature and steady seller. It is the very skewer Park Se-ri strongly recommended on Bobblessu 2 (a Korean TV show). It is a daechang (beef large intestine) skewer made with domestic beef intestines, and after one bite I understood right away why it made it onto TV. The moment you chew, the fat and juices it was holding burst out.

The surprise of the day: ginnan-age

The biggest surprise that day was ginnan-age (fried ginkgo nuts). I had my first ever at Gou. The outside is grilled crisp, but when you chew it is soft and chewy. It feels like chewing chapssal-tteok (sticky rice cake).

I always dodge the ginkgo nuts that fall on the street, but eating them like this, I thought, huh, they are good too. Nutty and salty, with a faint sweetness at the end.

Edamame you can't stop picking at

Edamame is boiled young soybeans, the kind that shows up in Crayon Shin-chan too. Sprinkled with salt, they are mild yet salty.

I was already fairly full, but my hands stayed busy with this snack. Pick at them without thinking and the pile of pods grows high.

Handmade fried gyoza: what to watch out for

Gou's age-gyoza (fried dumplings) are handmade yaki-gyoza. Crispy fried dumplings with a salty filling, so they are plenty good even without sauce. The quality rivals a dumpling specialist.

They are extremely hot. I recommend eating the skewers first and the gyoza after they cool a bit.

When is Yakitori Gou Magok a good choice?

In a nutshell, Yakitori Gou Magok is a place you sit down in at first for the mood, and then keep thinking about for the skewers as you eat. It suits days when you think "I want to go somewhere nice today", blind dates, date nights, and days you want to talk quietly.