Yongin BBQ lunch for two: LA kkotgalbisal and doenjang stew, Dongbaek

Looking for a Dongbaek meat restaurant? Here's my honest review of Dongbaek Hanokjip Charcoal Grill Butcher Restaurant.

My husband and I were debating what to have for lunch, and for some reason I was really craving meat that day. Normally we'd just grab rice or noodles, but that day I was strangely in the mood for charcoal-grilled meat.

"Should we have meat for lunch?" I said, and he agreed right away, so we decided to go eat a hearty meal together.

So the place we ended up at was Dongbaek Hanokjip Charcoal Grill Butcher Restaurant.

I'd been looking for somewhere to eat meat in Dongbaek, and this place was a bit different from your typical BBQ spot. Like a butcher shop, it has its own meat fridge inside the restaurant where you pick out the cut you want yourself. As meat lovers, my husband and I found this style pretty fun.

How to get to Dongbaek Hanokjip, and where to park

Dongbaek Hanokjip Charcoal Grill Butcher Restaurant is on the 1st floor of 221 Eondong-ro, Giheung-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi, South Korea. We drove there, and there's a big parking lot behind the building, so parking was easy.

How the butcher-shop system works: choosing your cut from the meat fridge

The first thing that caught my eye as soon as we walked into Dongbaek Hanokjip was, of course, the meat fridge. At a typical BBQ place, you look at a menu and order the cut you want.

But here, like a butcher shop, you look at the meat displayed in the fridge and choose it yourself. There was something fun about browsing the different cuts and deciding what to eat that day.

My husband and I stood in front of the fridge deliberating for a while. "Doesn't this one look good?" "Let's try this today." Chatting back and forth while choosing the meat, even the ordering process was already fun. If you love meat, I think you'd really enjoy this style.

What we picked that day was the LA kkotgalbisal (flap meat). It cost ₩60,880.

I chose the kkotgalbisal expecting a savory, tender flavor, and knowing we'd be grilling the meat we picked ourselves right at the table made me eager to dig in.

Side dishes, the self-serve corner and self-serve drinks

At Dongbaek Hanokjip, once you sit down, basic side dishes come out first.

And if you need more vegetables or extra side dishes while eating, you can help yourself at the self-serve corner.

I like to eat a mix of ssam vegetables and side dishes with my meat, so having a self-serve corner was convenient. You just take as much as you need, no pressure about it. Especially with meat, sometimes you finish the first round of side dishes and need more.

In that case, being able to grab more yourself instead of constantly calling the staff kept the meal flowing nicely. And here's another fun thing!

The drinks are self-serve too. We picked a cold bottle of Terra that day. The beer was ₩4,000.

Grilling meat over charcoal at lunch and having a beer alongside it gave us the feeling of a relaxed weekend, even though it wasn't one.

Grilling over charcoal at your own table

After picking the meat, we sat down. Soon the basic side dishes were laid out one by one, and the charcoal came out.

There's always something exciting about the moment charcoal arrives at a BBQ place. Even before any meat goes on, that faint charcoal aroma rises and you can feel the warmth around the table.

Since we grilled the meat we'd chosen ourselves right at the table, it was also nice for eating slowly.

While grilling, my husband and I chatted about this and that, eating each piece as soon as it was done.

There really is something fun about watching the meat sizzle right in front of you at the table, rather than having someone grill it for you.

Grilling the LA kkotgalbisal over charcoal

Now for the actual grilling. Once the pan had heated up enough, we laid the LA kkotgalbisal on, piece by piece.

The moment the meat touched the pan, there was that sizzling sound — and that sound really does stir up your appetite.

As the surface cooked, a savory aroma rose up, mixed with a faint charcoal smell, and before I knew it I wanted to eat it right away.

We grilled it golden brown on both sides without overcooking it. Kkotgalbisal really is best eaten hot, right off the grill.

I picked up a well-cooked piece and tried it plain first, with nothing else. As soon as it hit my mouth, the savory flavor came through first, and as I chewed, the tender texture and juices blended together.

There was also a faint smoky note from the charcoal grilling, which really let the flavor of the meat itself shine. It's hard for meat grilled fresh over charcoal at a BBQ place to taste bad, haha. If you're looking for a Dongbaek meat restaurant where you can properly enjoy charcoal-grilled meat, this is worth a visit.

First I tasted the meat on its own, then I tried a piece wrapped in ssam vegetables. The crisp vegetables with the savory meat made the flavor even fresher.

Putting a well-grilled piece of kkotgalbisal on top of a spoonful of rice was also really delicious. A piece of meat, a spoonful of rice — this combo is hard for Koreans to give up.

The surprise star at Dongbaek Hanokjip: hanok doenjang stew for 7,000 won

But the dish that stuck with me most that day was something else entirely. It was the hanok doenjang stew (soybean paste stew). We ordered it along with a bowl of rice, and it cost ₩7,000.

Honestly, at a BBQ place I usually think of doenjang stew as just a side dish to have alongside the meat. I always assumed the meat was obviously the main event. But that day, the stew surprised me — it was delicious from the very first spoonful.

A rich, savory doenjang aroma came through strongly, and the warm broth filling my mouth paired perfectly after a bite of charcoal-grilled meat.

After the rich, savory taste of the meat, a spoonful of the salty, savory doenjang stew broth felt like it cleansed my palate.

It also went really well with warm rice. So if I had to pick my personal best dish of the day, I'd surprisingly choose the hanok doenjang stew. The meat was of course delicious grilled over charcoal, but the stew I didn't expect much from ended up being even more memorable.

A bite of meat, then a spoonful of doenjang stew broth. Then a spoonful of rice, then another bite of meat. Eating like this, before we knew it, the stew bowl was nearly empty too, haha.

Is Dongbaek Hanokjip worth it for lunch in Yongin?

We visited for lunch, and eating meat out for lunch turned out to be really nice, more than I expected.

I usually try to keep lunch simple, but sometimes having a hearty meat meal like this is nice too.

Sitting across from my husband, grilling pieces of meat over charcoal one by one, chatting away over good food — the meal flew by.

Especially since the process included picking the meat yourself and grilling it over charcoal, it was more fun than simply ordering a single menu item and eating it.

Parking was easy, and using the self-serve corner and self-serve drinks was simple too, which made for a comfortable meal without much fuss.

In particular, I found the hanok doenjang stew even more memorable than the charcoal-grilled LA kkotgalbisal. If you're looking for a Dongbaek meat restaurant, definitely give this place a try.