Nam-gu, Ulsan gyukatsu restaurant: C set after tattoo removal, Izawa

After finishing my 5th tattoo removal session, I was starving and wanted something clean and tasty but easy. I searched for simple menus and ended up at Izawa, a gyukatsu specialist in Nam-gu, Ulsan.

Izawa Ulsan The Terrace Garden branch: location, hours and parking

Izawa Ulsan The Terrace Garden branch is on the 2nd floor of The Terrace Garden in Nam-gu, Ulsan, and it's open daily from 11:00 to 21:00 (last order 20:25) with no break time. It's tucked into the back of the 2nd floor, so I'd check the location first to find it easily.

• Hours: daily 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:25)
• Parking: The Terrace Garden underground parking lot
• Location: between Hyundai Department Store and New Core Outlet

No break time is a big plus! The parking lot was also spacious, which was convenient.

Izawa's atmosphere, and its "first gyukatsu in Korea" claim

Izawa is a gyukatsu brand that bills itself as "the first gyukatsu in Korea." Walking down the corridor of The Terrace Garden, I spotted lovely Japanese-style decor pieces, and a delicious smell was drifting out.

Is Izawa The Terrace Garden branch good for eating alone?

Both the seating and the trays at Izawa looked great for solo diners, and about three tables were actually solo customers. It's a busy area full of department stores but also next to residential neighborhoods, so I'd guess many students, office workers and people living alone eat solo here. And solo diners can feel awkward eating in a restaurant, right?

So is it uncomfortable for groups? No! When a group shares dishes, things like hygiene and portions can quietly become a worry, but Izawa serves everyone an individual tray, so you don't have to think about portions or hygiene. It felt clean and easy.

A clean restaurant, even though it serves fried food

When I sat down and looked around Izawa The Terrace Garden branch, my impression was "clean." It's a place that deals in oil, yet there were no traces of grease or splashed sauce, and despite plenty of small decorations, the whole place looked tidy, which I liked. The spacing between tables wasn't cramped either, which was another point I liked.

Izawa's menu and QR ordering

Izawa The Terrace Garden branch doesn't use a kiosk or table tablet; you order by QR code. It felt a little unfamiliar, but it was easy enough to use.

Besides gyukatsu and suteki-don (steak rice bowl), there were many other menus such as cheese katsu, mazesoba (brothless mixed noodles), ramen and buckwheat noodles. Some items come in a double (larger portion) size, and I also saw add-on menus.

What's in the gyukatsu C set, and how does it taste?

Izawa's C set comes with gyukatsu, mazesoba and a drink, and that's what we ordered. You grill the gyukatsu on a personal grill to your liking. Since it's already been fried once, it was crispy outside and tender inside, with plenty of juice, so it was moist.

Some places make mazesoba far too salty, but Izawa's was nicely seasoned and nutty. White rice also comes as a side, and it seemed to be refillable.

A tastier way to eat gyukatsu: Izawa's special fruit sauce

Izawa serves gyukatsu with a special sauce made from fruit. At other places I mostly ate gyukatsu with salt or wasabi, and the sauce was usually something like tonkatsu sauce? or soy sauce for dipping, as far as I remember, but Izawa gave us a special sauce, and they said it's a fruit sauce.

To my taste, this sauce was sweet and sour, cutting the oiliness of the gyukatsu, which can be a bit heavy, while bringing out its nutty flavor to the max.

Quite a few customers even late, after mealtime

It was past mealtime, and many places have early last orders, so I was worried. It was fairly late, but Izawa still had quite a few customers. It's a simple meal (by my standards 😁), but I ate it clean and tasty and left very happy. If you come to Nam-gu, Ulsan, give it a try~ And today again, my diet has failed..🏳️😂🏳️