Pyeongtaek lamb BBQ team dinner, shoulder rack & ribs: Hwaro Yangmi

I was sooooo craving savory lamb ribs for the first time in a while, so I searched for a lamb place near home and ended up at Hwaro Yangmi Pyeongtaek Court Branch (화로양미 평택법원점)! Some people can't eat lamb because of its particular smell, right? But I heard Hwaro Yangmi uses chilled Australian meat from 6-month-old young lamb, not frozen, so I went with higher expectations haha.

We ordered the Special Set for 2, which lets you try several cuts at once. Lamb loin, shoulder rack and seasoned mini ribs each tasted different, which made it fun to eat. And you really have to try the garlic butter here. I kept refilling the garlic lol.

Where is Hwaro Yangmi Pyeongtaek Court Branch, and how is parking?

Hwaro Yangmi Pyeongtaek Court Branch is tucked inside the restaurant alley in front of the Pyeongtaek Court, and there is a public parking lot right behind the building, so parking was easy. Some spots in Dongsak-dong are awkward for parking in the evening, but here it's no hassle to come by car.

Seating and chilled raw meat

The restaurant has a variety of tables, from 4-person seats to group seating. It looked good for a date for two, a family meal or a company dinner.

In the hallway you can see the chilled lamb yourself, not frozen meat, and with lamb the condition of the raw meat matters, right? Seeing chilled meat in use made me trust the place a bit more haha. If you book through Naver, they prepare your table setting in advance!!!

What's on the menu, and what to order first?

The menu is more varied than I expected: lamb loin, shoulder rack, French rack, lamb ribs and lamb skewers. Rather than eating just one thing, we wanted to compare several cuts, so we ordered the Special Set for 2!

It comes with lamb loin + shoulder rack + seasoned mini ribs! For first-timers, I think a set with several cuts like this is the way to go. It's reeeeally good, so definitely get this one!

Side dishes, sauces and the garlic butter

The basic side dishes are zha cai (pickled mustard stem) and myeongi namul (wild garlic-chive pickle), both great with lamb ribs. You know myeongi namul is the standard at premium meat restaurants, right? Lamb is savory and rich, so a bite of zha cai or myeongi namul now and then resets your mouth, and the combo works well.

There are also several sauces: cumin, wasabi, special soy sauce and salt. You can switch around depending on your mood that day, which I liked. But the sauce that stuck with me most was

the garlic butter! Hwaro Yangmi uniquely serves garlic butter with the meat as standard, and the butter sizzles on the grill while the garlic cooks. It's seriously good. I hadn't seen this combo at other lamb places, and since lamb itself is mild and tender, dipping it deep in the butter garlic, adding a little cumin and a touch of wasabi is pure heaven!!! lol

The garlic was so good that I kept refilling it. Gotta eat lots of garlic to become a human, haha... If you like lamb, definitely try this combo.

Lamb loin: the leanest first cut

The Special Set started with the leanest cut, the lamb loin. A staff member explained each cut and grilled everything for us from start to finish, so we just sat there chatting and eating lol.

They grill it quickly over high-heat charcoal, so the outside is well cooked while the juices stay inside, and it was much more tender than I expected. Dipping the loin deep into the garlic butter was especially delicious, sob. The butter flavor makes the mild meat taste much richer.

Shoulder rack: thick, cartoon-style meat

Next was the shoulder rack I'd been looking forward to! Hwaro Yangmi's shoulder rack has a moderate amount of fat mixed in compared with the loin, so the savory flavor was much stronger. It's big and thick, exactly like the giant meat in cartoons hahaha.

The staff grilled it crispy outside and juicy inside, and since it's meat attached to the rib bones, the texture was springier and chewier than the loin!

After they cut off all the meat, if quite a bit is left on the bone, they wrap the bone in tissue so you can hold it and gnaw it by hand. This is seriously good. I don't know why meat on the bone tastes so good, I nearly fainted while eagerly gnawing, sob. It's tasty wrapped in myeongi namul, and it also paired really well with the garlic butter.

Seasoned mini ribs: my favorite of the three

Last were the seasoned mini ribs! It was my first time trying this cut, and personally the seasoned mini ribs were the best of the three in the Special Set. They're fatty and very tender, but the membrane and muscle around the bone add a chewy texture too. It's not just soft, it has bite as well, so it was so good. The size is also just right for picking up and gnawing by hand haha.

Eating the plain raw cuts first and then finishing with the sweet-salty seasoned ribs was a great order too. The seasoning smell rises as they grill over charcoal, a scent that makes you hungry all over again, sob. There's a faint smoky flavor, and the sweet-salty seasoning soaks into the meat well, so it goes really well with drinks. I automatically thought of a Tsingtao lol.

Staff-grilled meat: why it works for company dinners

What I found convenient at Hwaro Yangmi is that experienced staff grill the meat for you! Lamb can turn tough or smell stronger if grilled badly, but they grill each cut to the right doneness, so you just eat it at its best. They explain the cuts and how to eat them too, so it looks easy even for first-time lamb eaters.

At company dinners, one person always has to keep watching the meat, right lol. Here the staff grill everything, so you can just talk, drink and eat, which made me think it's a decent company dinner spot in Dongsak-dong.

What I liked about Hwaro Yangmi Pyeongtaek Court Branch

What I liked most was that there was hardly any gamey smell! I don't hate lamb smell itself that much, but when the distinctive scent is too strong it gets a bit much. Maybe because Hwaro Yangmi uses chilled raw meat, the mild, tender taste came through first.

• The Special Set, which lets you eat several cuts at once
• Staff grilling everything
• The garlic butter combo

Overall I was very satisfied. The garlic butter especially sets it apart from other places, and I keep thinking about it lol.

Verdict: Pyeongtaek lamb at Hwaro Yangmi Pyeongtaek Court Branch

I'd recommend Hwaro Yangmi Pyeongtaek Court Branch to anyone looking for lamb ribs or a good lamb restaurant in Pyeongtaek. The chilled lamb made it easy to eat without worrying about gamey smell, and the lamb loin, shoulder rack and seasoned mini ribs all had different textures, so the Special Set was fun to eat.

The two things that stuck with me most were the mini ribs + garlic butter hahaha. Since staff grill the meat, I think it's great for dates and family meals, and also for people who hate the chaos of grilling at company dinners. When you want tender lamb without gamey smell in Dongsak-dong, Pyeongtaek, give Hwaro Yangmi Pyeongtaek Court Branch a try haha. Next time I'm planning to load up on garlic in the garlic butter again 🐏🤍