Gangnam Korean BBQ: beef brisket wrapped in sushi rice, Bongu Hwarro

I had a dinner appointment near Gangnam Station, so I visited Bongu Hwarro again after a while!

What is Bongu Hwarro in Gangnam like inside?

Bongu Hwarro is a Gangnam Station spot known for pork belly and beef brisket! It's also a Blue Ribbon-listed restaurant, haha!

The space is dim but softly lit, so the mood is nice — good for a blind date too. With brick interiors, a charcoal grill at every table for cooking meat, and big hoods installed on the ceiling. Wine bottles lined up along one side gave it a subtly stylish feel too. The seating spacing wasn't cramped either, so it seemed fine for eating with friends or coming with a larger group.

20th anniversary event: half-price meat refills and free Hangang ramyeon

At the entrance, a big sign announced the 20th anniversary event — 50% off additional meat orders plus one free Hangang ramyeon per person. Since I was already there for meat, it caught my eye as a good excuse to order more.

Woosamgyeop beef brisket wrapped in sushi rice

There are quite a few menu items, but I started with beef brisket! Of course I ordered soju too, haha. It comes as slush soju, which is nice!

The beef brisket I ordered arrived. The meat quality was really good and it was well seasoned, haha. I grilled it right away — it's sliced thin, so it cooks fast the moment it hits the charcoal.

Grilled to a nice golden brown, it had a great savory flavor, and dipping it in the scallion salad and sauce was pure bliss! Eating it with the side dishes cut the greasiness too. If you like thin-cut meat, this is the kind you keep picking up without any guilt. I also ordered sushi rice and wrapped the meat with it, haha.

Adding beef rib meat at Bongu Hwarro

We finished it all in no time, so I added beef rib meat too!

The beef rib meat is thicker than the brisket, so it really changed things up. One bite in, and you could feel the richer meaty flavor. After grilling the outside golden brown, alternating bites between it and the brisket made for an even more delicious meal thanks to the two different textures.

Finishing with spicy jar scissor-cut naengmyeon and woobap

After eating a fair amount of meat, it's time for dessert. Bongu Hwarro's naengmyeon (cold noodles) is also great. I ordered the spicy jar scissor-cut naengmyeon too.

This menu lets you enjoy both mul-naengmyeon (cold noodle soup) and bibim-naengmyeon (spicy mixed cold noodles) at once, so after the meat, the spicy kick paired with the refreshing cold noodles cleaned my palate nicely.

Meat and naengmyeon really never fail as a combo. I also ordered woobap (beef rice) alongside — a great dish to have when you're craving rice in the middle of eating meat. The savory flavor with radish shreds and flying fish roe added fun texture, and it was filling eaten together with the meat.

Why we boiled the Hangang ramyeon twice

At the end, I even had the Hangang ramyeon that came with the event. I really love Hangang ramyeon, and maybe because you cook it yourself, it somehow tasted even better after all that meat! Even though I was already stuffed, there was still room for ramyeon. 😂 And they gave us barley shrimp powder to add, which makes it taste like shrimp ramen. So yes, we ended up boiling it twice.

And the very last thing was ice cream to finish. Coming back after a while and eating meat, rice, naengmyeon, ramyeon, and finally ice cream really felt like a satisfying feast. Truly a Gangnam Station favorite..👍🏻

Next visit: pork belly and kkot-samgyeopsal at Bongu Hwarro

I didn't come this time for Gangnam Station pork belly, but with such a varied menu, I found myself wanting to try the pork belly or flower pork belly next time. If you're looking for a Gangnam Station BBQ restaurant to try a variety of dishes and take care of a full meal at once, this place was worth stopping by. Especially with the 20th anniversary event running now, I'd recommend giving it a visit if you're in Gangnam Station🤍