Handmade marinated galbi at Uijeongbu Korean BBQ: Manpo Galbi

Lately, I’ve been craving meat for some reason. I was especially in the mood for galbi with that sweet-and-salty marinade soaked in, so I looked around and found a place to visit.

Manpo Galbi Uijeongbu Main Branch

It is in Uijeongbu’s newer downtown area and close to Uijeongbu Station, so it was easy enough to get to. Once I tried it, I found that the overall spread was good—not just the meat, but everything from the banchan (side dishes) to the naengmyeon!

A clean, spacious restaurant

A lot of barbecue places pack their tables tightly together, but this restaurant was more spacious than I expected.

There was also a space farther inside for groups, so it looked like a nice option for a family meal or gathering.

How can you choose your galbi?

True to its name, Manpo Galbi had a wide range of galbi options. There were handmade LA galbi, handmade marinated galbi, fresh galbi, marinated beef galbi, and Korean pork fresh galbi, among others, so you could choose according to your taste.

They also sell a galbi sotbap (rice cooked in a stone pot) set meal at lunchtime, so it looked like a good place to visit for a meal without grilling the meat yourself.

Why I liked the banchan from the start

The banchan arrived before the meat, and there was quite a variety. What stood out most was that yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) came as one of the basic side dishes!

Along with the yukhoe, there were ssam vegetables and several side dishes, plus a variety of sauces to have with the meat, so it was easy to eat just the way I liked.

When I eat grilled meat, I like to wrap it with kimchi, garlic, and pickled onions too, and that combination went together really well.

Galbi grilled over charcoal

Handmade LA galbi and handmade marinated galbi

At last, the charcoal arrived and I put the meat on the grill. As the galbi began to sizzle over the coals, I was reminded that meat really should be grilled over charcoal.

Since the galbi was marinated, it was important to keep turning it so it would not burn. The heat was fairly strong, so the meat cooked relatively quickly.

I cut the nicely browned meat into bite-size pieces and tried a piece. The marinade was not overly strong or too sweet; it had just the right sweet-and-salty balance, and the meat was tender rather than tough.

Even the meat near the bone was not chewy, and it came off nicely, which I loved. When looking for pork galbi in Uijeongbu, the marinade matters, of course, but the texture matters too—and personally, I thought it went especially well with rice.

Side dish: chadol doenjang-jjigae

Meat alone felt a little incomplete, so I tried a side dish as well.

The chadol doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew with thin-sliced beef brisket) had plenty of brisket and other ingredients in it. It had a lightly spicy kick, making it great with rice.

You can’t skip naengmyeon with galbi

And one of the things I liked most about Manpo Galbi! They offer free house-made Hamheung naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles in the Hamheung style).

You can choose between mul-naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth) and bibim-naengmyeon (spicy mixed cold noodles), which was perfect for refreshing my palate after the meat.

The noodles also came in a size that was not too heavy for dessert, so they made a good finish after eating plenty of meat.

After trying everything, I could see why this place is often introduced as a good restaurant in Uijeongbu. The meat itself was tasty, but I also liked the variety of items you could enjoy together, from the yukhoe served as a basic side dish and the many banchan to the chadol doenjang-jjigae and complimentary naengmyeon. The restaurant was especially spacious and the tables were reasonably far apart, so it also seemed like an easy choice for a family meal or gathering.