Gangnam Korean BBQ restaurant with ice-cold soju: Bongu Hwarro

Choosing a pork belly spot near Gangnam Station

Today I headed to Gangnam Station to smash some pork belly. There are sooo many pork belly places around Gangnam Station, so for an indecisive person like me, it was such a hard choice... I picked Bongu Hwarro based on the price and location!

Hours) Monday–Sunday, 11:00–23:30 Parking) Not available Restroom) Inside and clean

The uphill walk was a tiny bit tough, but it is only a short walk after coming out of Exit 11 at Gangnam Station.

I can't believe it has already been 20 years. For the 20th anniversary, added meat was 50% off, and Hangang ramen and soft-serve ice cream were free.

A table spread with marinated crab and the menu

First, this is how the table comes out. These days they barely give you side dishes, but there was even ham and marinated crab! Such a bargain. They give you lots of lettuce too.

I came for pork belly, so I considered beef brisket but went straight for pork belly!! Your first order has to match the number of people at the table.

The menu here is seriously varied. They have flower-cut pork belly and galbisal (beef short rib meat), plus beef too. Beef tongue was also available in limited quantities. Added meat is 50% off!!! So cheap. I should come often while this promotion is on.

There were lots of side dishes too. They had naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) and doenjang jjigae (soybean-paste stew), and I wanted doenjang sulbap, rice mixed into soybean-paste stew with alcohol, but I held back because I was focusing on pork belly first. They also had highballs, and the highball prices seemed really good compared with other places.

Soju being ₩6,000 is just unavoidable around Gangnam Station... hahaha. I was going to skip drinking because I've gained weight, but how can you resist pork belly with soju? Still, Cheongha costs the same as soju. A win for Cheongha drinkers, I think.

Beer too!! Then please lower the soju price a little... haha.

What was interesting was that they even had wine. And it was ₩5,000....!!!!! Wine goes well with pork belly too, but I went with soju this time!

Perfectly fatty pork belly and ice-cold soju

Our two-person pork belly order came out. For ₩15,000 per person, I think it was a good portion. It had just the right amount of fat. I love fatty meat, so I was very happy. The table spread was so good too, and if you wait, they bring out the brazier.

When we ordered soju, it was ice-cold soju!!!!! It looked like they crushed up some ice and served it that way. Grill, grill, with mushrooms. The brazier stays warm the whole time. Since the heat keeps going, the meat cooks nicely.

There were lots of seats, and the place felt really clean. It seems like a good spot for a company dinner. There seemed to be lots of group tables?? It got crowded later on.

Keeping it from getting rich with spicy sauce

Meat tastes best cut into big pieces, right? Yum yum. There were lots of sauces too—you could have it with wasabi or just salt. But the real kick here is the spicy sauce!!!! It is delicious dipped in the spicy sauce.

It was sooo good wrapped in lettuce. Of course I ordered a bowl of rice~~ And that spicy sauce I mentioned earlier kept it from feeling too rich.

More grill, grill with mushrooms, yum yum. I got hooked on the spicy sauce and kept eating it. I think you could add extra mushrooms too!!! It would be even better to come with friends and try more things togetherㅠ

We added more meat. If I had not been so full, I would have ordered moreㅠㅠ They gave us sooo much when we asked for extra lettuce!!!! They really do not hold back on the lettuce.

Even free Hangang ramen

The Hangang ramen was free too, so I made some as a palate cleanser. After pork belly, ramen is a must.

The instructions were clearly laid out too. You just press a button and it cooks by itself.

They also had ramen for cooking on a burner, so I tried making two kinds: one for the burner and one Hangang-style.

For the Hangang-style one, I tried adding what seemed like dried baby shrimp powder too. The burner one was yum yum with a little less broth. Since we ordered ramen, we added another bottle of soju too!! I really love that it comes ice-cold hahaha.

Sadly, I did not get to have the soft-serve ice creamㅠㅠㅠ I forgot... sob sob. I have to get it next time... The restroom being inside and clean was nice too. I definitely recommend this place for pork belly from now on!!! The price is such great value. Next time I need to finish with naengmyeon or doenjang jjigae too hahaha.