Seoul Korean BBQ dinner with Mom: flap meat & minari yukhoe, Gungmin

I went to Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch (국민한우집 삼성역본점), a hanwoo specialist, and had the mixed grill, jjageuri (a thick, bubbling stew) and bibim naengmyeon. Recommended if you're hunting for a Samseong Station BBQ spot for a get-together.

How busy does Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station get?

It was really packed at dinner time. A crowd of foreigners was buzzing in front of the entrance, so I couldn't take an exterior photo, but once they all went in I snapped one. As you'd expect from a Samseong Station hanwoo hot spot, it was buzzing inside too, so no interior photos, sorry T_T

There was even a banner for lunchtime galbitang (beef rib soup)! Galbitang for lunch at a meat restaurant is the golden rule, right~

Where does Gungmin Hanwoo House source its beef?

The counter has a Model Restaurant certificate, and the origin sign says 100% domestic, which is reassuring T_T Lots of places use Chinese rice even for the bowl of steamed rice, but here it's Korean, of course.. Nice.

Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station menu

You can order either a mixed grill set or single cuts, whichever you like. Sides such as yukhoe (beef tartare), yuksashimi (raw beef slices), fried rice and jjageuri are plentiful, so they work well as a palate cleanser.

With a name like "Gungmin" (meaning "national") Hanwoo House, it gives off a hanwoo place everyone loves vibe~ The name hooked me right away.

It's close to Samseong Station and sits toward Daechi, so access is great. It's an office district, so there were lots of company dinner tables too. I bet it's even busier with office workers at lunch. They have galbitang as a meal option, so it'd be so good to pop in from work for galbitang at lunch. I'll try it next time I come at lunch ^^

Do you need a dinner reservation at Gungmin Hanwoo House?

For dinner at Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, I'd book through Naver Reservation. The interior is partitioned, so you can eat in a fairly separated atmosphere, but it was jam-packed inside, so I was glad I'd reserved. If you want meat for dinner, book on Naver and skip the wait~~

Minari yukhoe side dish, refilled once

The best of the banchan (side dishes) was the minari yukhoe muchim (water dropwort with seasoned beef tartare). Fresh, sweet and so good. With the yukhoe mixed in, it tasted even better.. It was so good that I got a refill. On a refill they give only the minari muchim without the yukhoe, but even that was so refreshing and delicious.

Mom, who came with me, said all the banchan here were good.

Will your clothes smell like Korean BBQ?

There was hardly any smoke at Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, so my clothes didn't pick up any smell at all. While you wait with the minari yukhoe, they set up the grill quickly, and this grill plate doesn't burn, which was so nice. Maybe because it's beef, there's little smoke, very good.. I loved not smelling of meat on the way home.

Gukdae mixed grill 400g: cuts and taste

We ordered the Gukdae mixed grill 400g, which comes with one of each: premium sirloin, flap meat and rib meat. Of these, the flap meat was my favorite T_T I could feel the quality the moment it arrived. Bright pink hanwoo, doesn't it look so good T_T

Premium sirloin first, with mushrooms and shishito peppers

First up they grill the premium sirloin, and grilling the vegetables they give you (mushrooms, shishito peppers) alongside is the trick.. There's oil under the mushrooms and peppers too, so you can grill them golden!

Doenjang jjageuri stew with beef

The doenjang jjageuri (soybean paste stew) I ordered to go with the meat,, is so good. I'd had doenjang jjigae for lunch, but this jjageuri was still delicious. I want to make it at home with the chives too. I vowed to turn leftover doenjang jjigae into jjageuri for a weekend lunch.

It's hearty and delicious with meat, so everyone, order it together with your meat~ And as a beef specialist, they put beef in the doenjang jjageuri, which made it even better. Doenjang stew really does taste richer with beef in it.

While I was taking a bite of jjageuri, the meat got grilled. I like eating it when it turns a golden red, so I dipped it in a little salt and popped it in. Tender and so good T_T

The best cut of the night: flap meat

The premium sirloin melted away and was gone fast, so I started grilling the next cut, flap meat, right away. Beef cooks quickly, which I love. Pork takes so long to grill that it's hard to wait when you're hungry T_T

I liked the flap meat even more than the premium sirloin. I cut it along the grain and off it went into my mouth,, so tender, even better. I dipped it in salt once, then wrapped it with the onion salad, and it wasn't greasy at all and was delicious.

To finish: rib meat and bibim naengmyeon

Last was the rib meat! It felt lightly marinated, with seasoning that isn't greasy! So it seems best to grill it at the end. Ordering bibim naengmyeon at this point and eating it together with the rib meat is the trick. Meat really has to be eaten with bibim naengmyeon T_T

The bibim naengmyeon I ordered as dessert is just the right portion after eating meat T_T It has the thin noodles I like, so it slid down easily.

So we finished it all, meat, naengmyeon and jjageuri, perfectly ^^ I feel proud to have had such a good meal in a while, and even prouder that everyone ate so well... The flavor is just so good. I saw foreigners eating with wine, so next time I should bring wine with corkage and have it with the meat.

Payment options and restrooms

Toss Pay, Zero Pay and Kakao Pay all work too. I finished paying with Seoul Pay~

The restroom is inside the restaurant, so you don't have to go outside, which is nice. It's not unisex either, which I liked even more. Try the restroom before heading to round two~

As a proper popular spot, quite a few celebrities have visited Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch. It would have been even better if they'd been there when I went.. Sadly not. It's at 15 Teheran-ro 86-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 1st floor.