Hoegi Station galbitang with extra ribs: Hoegi Wang Galbitang

Lately my dad keeps singing about feeling drained and wanting something restorative to eat. I was racking my brain for something delicious that would also help him recover his energy, and now that the weather's getting a bit chilly, I've been craving hot soup too?! So galbitang (short rib soup) came to mind .ᐟ.ᐟ.ᐟ 💡 Tender meat plus hot broth is basically the perfect recovery meal, right?! So I took my dad to "Hoegi Wang Galbitang," a well-known restaurant near Hoegi Station, to recharge together! With a name like Wang (king) Galbitang, I went in with high expectations .. ✨

Where is Hoegi Wang Galbitang? Walking distance from Hoegi Station Exit 1

Hoegi Wang Galbitang is located close to the Hoegi intersection right out of Exit 1 of Hoegi Station, so it's very accessible and easy to find! Apparently they make their own seokbakji (radish kimchi) from scratch instead of buying it, even though it's more work, just to serve customers something tastier. That already earned some trust ჱ̒ ｰ̀֊ｰ́ )

Inside Hoegi Wang Galbitang: window seats for solo diners to family tables

The interior of Hoegi Wang Galbitang is bright, spacious, and clean. There's a thoughtful mix of seating — window seats for solo diners all the way up to tables for larger families — so it looked comfortable for anyone, whether eating alone, having a family meal, or meeting up for lunch near Kyung Hee University. Since the university is nearby, lots of students seemed to drop in for lunch too! ( ̳• ·̫ • ̳)

What we ordered: fortifying special galbitang and vitality galbitang

Here's the menu! Rice isn't included with takeout, and broth comes in double the portion. Since my dad needed to recover his energy, he ordered the fortifying special galbitang, and I got the vitality galbitang.

Free self-serve corner: unlimited banchan and rice, misugaru and barley gangjeong

In one corner of Hoegi Wang Galbitang there's a self-serve station called 'jagachalim,' where you can refill side dishes like seokbakji, napa kimchi, peppers, onions, and broth as needed. On top of that, they offer free yeot-gangjeong (crunchy grain candy) and grandma's grain misugaru (roasted grain powder drink) for dessert ..❣️ There's even a separate rice cooker, so if you run low on rice, you can help yourself to more — filling and generous. This "Hoegi Wang Galbitang" near Kyung Hee University really seems to take customer service seriously, love it, love it .. I tried the misugaru before the meal and it was so sweetly delicious ╥﹏╥ 💓 You really have to try it ,, I was already so satisfied before the main dish even arrived 🥹

Orders are placed via kiosk, and there's also a Naver review event, so make sure to join in ❣️

Hoegi Wang Galbitang hours, parking and takeout

• Hours: (Mon–Sun) 10:30–21:00, last order 20:20
• Parking: 2 spots available in front of the restaurant; if full, use the Cheongnyang Elementary School public parking lot nearby

Besides the basic side dishes that come with the meal, we grabbed a few more from the self-serve station, haha. There's also a dipping sauce for the meat set up at each table.

How the fortifying special galbitang tastes: extra ribs and a clean broth

The fortifying special galbitang comes with 1–2 extra rib pieces. Doesn't it look really generous? 🥹 This popular restaurant near Hoegi supposedly soaks 120 kg of ribs in water for 12 hours daily to remove blood, washes them thoroughly, then par-boils them for an hour with various ingredients. After that, they spend over 6 hours removing fat and massaging the meat, season it with healthy ingredients, and simmer it for another 2 hours. After all that back-and-forth with fat removal and heat control, the carefully made galbitang is finally ready. Maybe because it's made with so much time and care, when I tasted the broth first, it was clean, flavorful, deep, and warming inside. It wasn't heavy at all, so it was easy to eat with rice too — I even picked up the whole bowl to drink the broth. So warm, felt like a proper recovery meal .. 🍖

Above all, this popular restaurant near Hoegi really stands out visually.. With a large, generous rib piece included, it's clearly different from galbitang that's mostly broth with little meat.. The meat on the ribs was really plump and substantial, so it was fun picking it apart, and with so much meat it was great. My dad loved it so much, which made me really proud .. The meat came off the bone so easily that I picked it all off and mixed it with rice in the broth, and it was so filling and satisfying 🥹

Dessert and the verdict on Hoegi Wang Galbitang

After a hearty, filling meal, we finished off with misugaru and yeot-gangjeong for dessert - ! Why is this K-dessert yeot-gangjeong so delicious..? Sweet in a way that keeps you reaching for more ㅠ You've got to stock up on this too, seriously can't stop .. Both my dad and I were really satisfied all the way through the meal, and most of all, I felt happy and proud that my dad seemed to truly get his energy back - !

If you're near Hoegi Station craving something warm and soupy, looking for delicious food to recover your energy, or want a hearty meal for lunch or dinner, I'd recommend giving "Hoegi Wang Galbitang" a try — a popular Korean restaurant near Kyung Hee University. Especially on days like these when you're craving something hot, one bowl of wang galbitang can warm you up from the inside out ❣️