Gwangjin short rib soup with 17-grain misugaru: Achasan Tong Galbitang

Hearty meat and a rich, clear broth — this is Achasan Tong Galbitang (아차산통갈비탕), a galbitang restaurant near Achasan Station.

• 397m from Achasan Station Exit 2
• Hours: Daily 11:00 - 21:00
• Break time: 15:30 - 17:00
• No parking
• Galbitang from ₩16,000

With the weather getting noticeably cooler, my partner and I heard about a galbitang restaurant that's supposed to be perfect for getting your energy back, so off we went :) This is my write-up on Achasan Tong Galbitang, where we properly enjoyed hearty, tender meat, a rich clear broth, and even dessert — barley candy and sweet misugaru (grain powder drink) ☺

Where is Achasan Tong Galbitang, and where can you park?

Achasan Tong Galbitang, the galbitang restaurant near Achasan Station, is fairly close to Exit 2. It's located in the direction leading up to Achasan mountain, so it seemed like a great spot to visit before or after hiking. There's no self-parking, but there's a public parking lot for the Guui 2-dong residential area right in front of the restaurant that I'd recommend, so keep that in mind.

Saturday noon at Achasan Tong Galbitang: full house and wait times

Here's the inside of Achasan Tong Galbitang. The interior wasn't huge, but it had a solid mix of 2-person and 4-person tables, and the atmosphere was clean and pleasant. We visited around noon on a Saturday and it was basically full! By the time we finished eating and left, there was already a wait forming. I'd recommend visiting a bit before peak time.

A self-service bar where you can grab extra side dishes on top of the basics. On either side there's more rice and dessert set out too.

Achasan Tong Galbitang menu and prices

This is the menu board at Achasan Tong Galbitang, the galbitang restaurant near Achasan Station. Broadly there's galbi-jjim (braised short ribs) and galbitang, and within galbitang there's the basic version, the special version, and the aromsatae galbitang loaded with meat. You can also add or remove toppings like glass noodles, scallion, or egg garnish — big plus 👍 You could order and pay entirely through the kiosk at the table, which was convenient.

Side dishes and self-bar napa kimchi

At Achasan Tong Galbitang, the galbitang restaurant near Achasan Station, they gave us peppers, onion with ssamjang (thick soybean-chili paste), and radish kimchi as the basic side dishes.

We got the rest of the side dishes ourselves from the self-bar, and personally the napa kimchi suited my taste more. Mix rice into the galbitang broth and drape a piece of kimchi on top 🤤

Aronsatae (beef shank) galbitang vs. special galbitang

At Achasan Tong Galbitang, the galbitang restaurant near Achasan Station, this is the aromsatae galbitang my partner ordered. It comes with three big, thick ribs and also has bean sprouts, which the other galbitang doesn't have. On top, a blanket of tender aromsatae (beef shank)~

Here's the rib after trimming it haha. Even without mixing in rice, the portion was next-level generous..!

At Achasan Tong Galbitang, the galbitang restaurant near Achasan Station, this is the special galbitang I ordered! The basic large galbitang comes with 2 ribs, but the special galbitang comes with 3 ribs. I wanted to eat filling, so I went with the special!

The ribs themselves are seriously huge 😮

Lots of meat on the bone, and it wasn't tough at all — soft and easy to pull apart!

How the broth and the short rib meat taste

Clear but deeply flavorful galbitang broth — hot and comforting, it felt restorative just to drink the broth alone.

Such a generously meaty galbitang haha. Apparently they remove the blood from the meat for 12 hours every day, remove the fat for 6 hours, and then simmer it for over an hour to cook it deliciously,

and maybe that's why it really had no gamey smell at all, while being tender, soft, and clean-tasting.

Dip it in the mustard-soy sauce and it's pure bliss ✨

You'd be sad without the glass noodles in a galbitang~ The portion of noodles was quite generous too, very satisfying haha.

After enjoying the meat and hot broth to our hearts' content, we mixed rice in haha. One of us went crazy for the glass noodles that came with it, and we ate happily with kimchi draped on top 😆

Dessert: barley candy and free 17-grain misugaru

At the self-bar there's a separate rice cooker so you can get extra rice, and next to it there was barley candy set out for dessert. Crunchy, sweet barley candy haha — a sweet Korean dessert that's kind of like clustered puffed cereal, and it was so, so, so good. If you write a review, they give you a whole bag as a service. Keep that in mind and go for it~!

Wow 👀 next to that, a 17-grain misugaru (grain powder drink) dispenser was spinning round and round. It keeps spinning so the grains don't settle..! Talk about attention to detail 🤦‍♀️ It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this place a misugaru specialist too haha, the balance of nuttiness, sweetness, and thickness was absolutely perfect ✨ Another great meal today 😋

Who should eat at Achasan Tong Galbitang?

Perfect for the noticeably cooler weather. A hot, rich meat broth with clean-tasting, tender ribs and no gamey smell, a generous and heartfelt bowl of galbitang. Plus sweet barley candy and cool, sweet misugaru. From the meal to dessert, Achasan Tong Galbitang, the galbitang restaurant near Achasan Station, is perfect — I'd recommend it before or after a hike, or for a weekend family meal :)