Sindang Station Korean restaurant for dakgaejang: Gyeryugwan

Gyeryugwan, the barbecue chicken spot in Sindang Station's Jungang Market. This was way better than any other oak-fired chicken I've had elsewhere. Even the breast meat was moist and tender, and the nutty mushroom and glutinous rice stuffing inside tasted properly good too.

We were debating where to go for the two of us when my friend mentioned this was her favorite fired chicken place, so we went!

What two people ordered at Gyeryugwan, and what it cost

This place is known for its oak-fired nutty mushroom whole chicken. We had the oak-fired nutty mushroom chicken for ₩23,000, dakgaejang for ₩13,000, Dadaepo 9 Gold makgeolli for ₩12,000, Gyeryugwan makgeolli plus honeycomb for ₩6,000+₩5,000, and Horangi makgeolli for ₩6,000. Photos of everything we ate are all in this post!!!!!!!!!

Gyeryugwan, this oak-fired barbecue chicken place near Sindang Station in Seoul, is open from 4pm to 11pm.

The fired chicken was spinning nonstop, no downtime at all.

Not some mystery wood — this is real oak firewood.

Is there a wait at Gyeryugwan on a weekday evening? Seating inside

Gyeryugwan near Sindang Station apparently gets quite a wait in the evenings. Luckily we went on a weekday evening and got in with no wait at all. A table opened up right as we arrived — lucky timing.

A photo of the interior tables at Gyeryugwan, this well-known oak-fired barbecue chicken spot near Sindang Station.

This is the seating layout you see right in front of you as soon as you walk in.

There's more seating space on the left side too, so the restaurant isn't cramped at all — it's actually pretty spacious. You can sit comfortably even with a larger group.

We were supposed to sit at a two-top, but luckily enough tables had cleared out that we got to sit comfortably at a four-top instead of a two-top. Seems like during busy hours seating is strictly managed though.....

Side dishes and dipping sauces at Gyeryugwan

Kimchi came out along with radish kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) too. Tangy, and there was nothing to complain about with the kimchi at all — it was great. A Korean restaurant is only truly good if the kimchi is done right. Everything else can be amazing, but if the kimchi's good, that's basically all that matters.

All the sauces were tasty too, and the red flying fish roe sauce in the top left, with its little pop of texture, went really well with the chicken.

Gyeryugwan menu and prices

The menu board at Gyeryugwan, this fired chicken restaurant near Sindang Station.

Looking at people's reviews here, apparently there's not a single bad dish — everything's supposed to be good. And at other tables I saw people eating a lot of tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork/chicken) and dakbal makguksu (chicken feet buckwheat noodles). Gyeryugwan's makguksu (buckwheat noodles) is also apparently great, and people say they always order it along with the chicken.

You can click on the menu photos to enlarge them, mentioned that above too. We ended up drinking three different kinds of makgeolli here, and I bet the assorted chicken jeon (savory pancake) would go great with makgeolli too.

Horangi makgeolli, 6,000 won

This one seemed to pair best with the barbecue chicken. Horangi makgeolli really is the best. I always start off with this one.

Dakgaejang, 13,000 won

Bracken fern, glass noodles, seasoned vegetables, egg, chicken, scallions — the amount of ingredients packed in was huge.

The broth was refreshingly spicy. Not an artificial spiciness, but a natural, delicious kind of heat.

The glass noodles were the flat kind.

There was so much chicken in there we couldn't even finish it, we got too full. It was so good that if we hadn't ordered the fired chicken too, I probably would've just eaten two bowls of rice with this alone.

Oak-fired chicken with neungi mushroom, 23,000 won

Stuffed inside with rice, garlic, and nutty mushroom — a genuinely healthy and delicious barbecue chicken.

With fired whole chicken, if it's grilled carelessly one side often ends up burnt and genuinely bitter and unpleasant, but this was cooked so well — plump, and both the skin and the meat inside were delicious.

That glossy brown color — the real charm of fired chicken that only comes out when it's grilled properly.

Completely different level from those electric-roasted chickens sold out of food trucks — the fat was rendered out entirely, so it was clean and light. Now I understand why this oak-fired chicken from Gyeryugwan near Sindang Station is so famous.

And even the breast and the drier cuts weren't dry at all — soft. So it was really easy to eat.

The rice packed inside was also cooked perfectly, and it was great to eat together with the chicken.

And since it's rice steamed with nutty mushroom mixed in, there was a mushroom aroma to it too — genuinely a happy kind of delicious.

The smoking was done so well that even the chicken skin was tasty. The drumstick meat was nice and substantial too, yeah.

I figured if that much fat rendered out it would taste bland and boring, but no — it turned out this clean and light instead. Up until now, oak-fired barbecue I had in Gangnam was my number one, but now this oak-fired barbecue chicken from Gyeryugwan near Sindang is number one.

Eating the steamed rice together with the spicy flying fish roe sauce was delicious.

Dadaepo 9 Gold makgeolli, 12,000 won

How to put it — rather than sweetness, it had that distinct bittersweet, sour taste unique to raw makgeolli, and it left a heavy lingering feeling on the tongue.

Turns out ginkgo nuts were in the ingredients list. There was a savory, slightly musty aroma to it, and that's probably why.

Overall it was mild and plain, tasted like old-school makgeolli, and was decent enough to drink.

Gyeryugwan makgeolli with honeycomb, 6,000 + 5,000 won

Makgeolli served in a kettle like this — this one's ₩6,000.

And they give you a piece of honeycomb like this. You put it in the makgeolli, crush it up, and drink it mixed with the honey. The gentle sweetness mixing into the makgeolli made it great to finish the meal with. Had a great time at Gyeryugwan, the oak-fired barbecue chicken spot in the Sindang Station Jungang Market food alley~