Gupabal Korean BBQ: staff-grilled gabeurisal and mushrooms, Donmihyang

What is Donmihyang Gupabal Branch like?

Donmihyang (돈미향) Gupabal Branch is a pork BBQ restaurant at 33 Jingwan 3-ro, basement level, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. It is open daily 16:00-23:00 (last order 22:20) and closed every Tuesday.

Today Kkombine headed out to Donmihyang Gupabal Branch, a Gupabal BBQ spot 🐷🔥 You catch a little whiff of grilled meat right at the entrance, and my steps sped up all by themselves.

The menu board out front has a picture of a pig being grilled 🐽 and it even has the Korean pork (Hanu... I mean Hanjon) certification mark, so my trust went up a notch before we even walked in.

Inside Donmihyang Gupabal Branch and the menu

The inside of Donmihyang Gupabal Branch is spacious and tidy, so it was comfortable to sit in 😊 Every table has its own grill brazier, which gave off a proper meat-party mood. The moment I sat down, my diet went on a little vacation.

My eyes got very busy looking at the menu and the recommended combos 👀 Pork neck, gabeurisal, bibim milmyeon (spicy mixed wheat noodles), beef brisket doenjang stew... a full-on eating spree had already started in my head before we ordered 🔥

Free steamed egg with a Naver receipt review

Donmihyang Gupabal Branch also runs a Naver receipt review event, so we ordered the steamed egg as the freebie 🥚 It would be a shame to pass on an event like that. I write a review, I get a steamed egg... that's basically a tasty deal 😆

There are stones inside the brazier under the grill, which was interesting. Why are they there??

The side dishes came out first, and the lineup was neat 🥬 Ssam vegetables (leaf wraps) and sauce sides were set out to eat with the meat. They felt like warm-up players entering before the meat showed up 😋

There was also sesame oil and water on the table 💧 Have a sip of water and let's go.

Staff-grilled pork neck and gabeurisal: how did they taste?

At Donmihyang Gupabal Branch, a staff member came over and grilled the pork neck, gabeurisal and king oyster mushrooms, so all we had to do was wait. When the meat finally arrived it looked thick and fresh, and my expectations shot up. From this moment the only topic of conversation was meat 😆

They put king oyster mushrooms on too 🍄 They sat quietly inside foil and somehow looked cute. With mushrooms joining as the meat's buddy, the combination got even fuller.

Here's a full shot of the meat slowly cooking 🔥 The thick pork was transforming deliciously on the grill, and just watching it made me happy. Once the smell rose up, my hunger suddenly started working overtime 😂

The staff member came over and grilled the meat nicely 🙌 Thanks to that, we only had to wait comfortably.

Gabeurisal

This cut is gabeurisal (pork shoulder-loin ridge meat) 🥩 It was golden outside and moist inside, and it really woke up my appetite. One bite and I thought, ah, this is why people come for meat.

Pork neck (tongmoksal)

The thick cut is the whole-cut pork neck (tongmoksal) 🐷 It was thick with a real chew, and it looked like it would be juicy. The thickness of the meat rose right along with my happiness level 😋

The staff grilled everything and left, so we could dig in right away 🔥 The meat arranged in a ring looked like the starting signal for an eating show. Now only the chopsticks need to be busy 🥢

I put wasabi on a piece and took a bite, and it cut the greasiness while keeping the meat flavor 💚 Eating it in a ssam wrap added the freshness of the vegetables, which was a good combo. One bite of meat, a full spoonful of happiness 😆

Review-event steamed egg and king oyster mushrooms

This is the steamed egg we got from the review event 🥚 It was fluffy and soft, just right to eat in the middle of the meat. It was a freebie, but its presence was main-dish level.

The king oyster mushrooms were grilled well too 🍄🔥 They were moist and easy to eat, and between bites of meat they worked as a palate cleanser. Just a mushroom, but with a secretly leading-role attitude 😋

The staff cut them into bite-size pieces too ✂️ The whole-grilled king oyster mushroom has a great texture, so I'd definitely recommend eating it along with the meat.

Bibim milmyeon and brisket doenjang stew with the BBQ

At Donmihyang Gupabal Branch we added bibim milmyeon and beef brisket doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) to the meat. The spicy bibim milmyeon cut the richness of the pork, and the stew was generous with ingredients. The sweet-spicy-tangy sauce on the noodles looked like it would go well with the meat. Ordering noodles at a BBQ place isn't a choice, it's practically a house rule 😆

Bibim milmyeon is best when you mix it well 🥢 The sauce soaked in between the strands, and it made my mouth water just looking at it.

Eating the meat together with the bibim milmyeon was a really good combo 🥩🍜 The spicy noodles cut the richness of the meat perfectly, so I kept going back for more. This is a mouth-watering explosion combo 😋🔥

The brisket doenjang stew was generous with ingredients, and I was satisfied 🥄 The rich brisket flavor had soaked into the broth, so my spoon kept moving. Saying it's better than the meat might hurt the meat's feelings, but it was really good 😆

Donmihyang Gupabal Branch: overall verdict

At Donmihyang Gupabal Branch the staff grill the meat for you, so it was easy and comfortable to eat 🐷🔥 The thick meat with bibim milmyeon was a good pairing, and the brisket doenjang stew made the meal hearty, so I was satisfied. It's a good place to visit when you crave meat in Gupabal 😋 Saved on Kkombine's eating-show radar 💛