Gangseo restaurant for sirloin gyukatsu and steak textures: Ichigyu

While looking for somewhere to eat around Balsan Station, I visited Ichigyu Balsan Station Branch this time for gyukatsu.

Gyukatsu is served with a crisp-fried exterior, while you grill the meat inside to your preferred doneness yourself, so it is a little different from regular donkatsu (Japanese pork cutlet) in the fun of eating it.

That day, I ordered sirloin gyukatsu, sirloin steki, karaage (Japanese fried chicken), and fried shrimp as well.

Ichigyu near Balsan Station

Ichigyu Balsan Station Branch is at Unit 211, 269-15 Gonghang-daero, Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

It was in a convenient spot for a meal appointment near Balsan Station, and worth keeping an eye on if you like Japanese food. I went for gyukatsu this time, but the menu had steki as well as gyukatsu, so it was easy to choose according to your taste.

• Sirloin gyukatsu ₩19,500
• Sirloin steki ₩19,500
• Karaage & fried shrimp

How do you grill gyukatsu?

The gyukatsu arrives medium rare, and you can grill it on your personal tabletop grill to suit your taste.

The restaurant suggested placing one piece on the grill at a time for about 7–8 seconds. There was Ichigyu's special sauce, wasabi, chili sauce, and salt, so it was fun changing up the sauces as I ate.

Apparently, if you use the Isigny butter in about three portions, you can enjoy its buttery aroma a little at a time.

Sirloin gyukatsu

The first dish I ordered was the sirloin gyukatsu. It was ₩19,500.

Since it was gyukatsu made with sirloin, I ordered it expecting the rich, nutty flavor of the meat itself.

The exterior of the gyukatsu comes cooked, but the meat is not fully cooked through, so you can grill it as much as you like at the table.

That is one of the pleasures of eating gyukatsu, right? You can cook it only lightly and eat it tender, or cook it a little more for a cleaner taste, so even with the same meat, each person's experience differs.

Ichigyu's special sauce, served alongside it, is said to feature a garlicky aroma and tartness, and the flavor direction changed quite a lot compared with eating the meat alone. Adding it to the rich sirloin felt like it cut through the heaviness, making it nice for dipping every now and then.

I ordered sirloin steki too

The second dish was sirloin steki. It was the same price as the gyukatsu, ₩19,500.

Although both use the same sirloin, they are prepared differently, so it was fun setting the two dishes side by side and trying them together.

While gyukatsu is defined by its crisp breading and the grill-it-yourself style, steki is closer to enjoying the meat itself in a lighter, simpler way.

So when I ordered both like this, I could compare how the texture and overall eating experience differed despite the same cut of sirloin.

Personally, I liked ordering the gyukatsu and steki together and alternating between them more than having just one dish.

Karaage and fried shrimp

I thought it might feel a little lacking if I ordered only meat dishes, so I added karaage and fried shrimp too. Their crisp fried exterior made them good to alternate with the gyukatsu, and the different texture from the meat dishes made the meal a little more varied.

If you are going with someone trying gyukatsu for the first time, adding one of these sides could be a good idea too.

A gyukatsu meal at Balsan Station

For something a little different at Balsan Station, I ordered gyukatsu along with steki and tried sirloin prepared two ways. The difference between crisp-breaded gyukatsu and the lighter steki made it less monotonous than eating only one dish.

With karaage and fried shrimp alongside, it turned into an evening where I could try more things than expected. On a day when you are choosing a meal around Balsan Station and craving something a little different from usual, gyukatsu could be a good choice.