Galbitang you eat with your hands near Hoegi Station: Hoegi Wang

With this weirdly summer-like weather, I came out to get my strength back haha. Today's mission: galbitang (beef short rib soup)!! I figured "galbitang's pretty much all the same, right?" But the moment the food arrived, that thought disappeared instantly. Wait, why are the ribs THIS big? A place where your eyes go to the size of the rib bone before you even notice the broth. Today I visited a Hoegi Station favorite: Hoegi Wang Galbitang.

Where is Hoegi Wang Galbitang and what kind of restaurant is it?

Hoegi Wang Galbitang is a galbitang specialty restaurant on the first floor of 54 Imun-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, right between Hoegi Station and Kyung Hee University. Above the sign it says Since 1979.

The sign was big enough that I spotted it from far away. Looking up, I saw the Since 1979 lettering too. It didn't feel like a newly opened galbitang place — more like a restaurant that's kept pushing one dish steadily for decades. The line printed under the sign was fun too.

When you're tired of hangover soup and sick of sundae soup, try galbitang for once.

Honestly, I relate. You eat guk-bap (soup with rice) day after day, and then suddenly one day you just crave a hot bowl of soup with a big chunk of rib in it.

This is what the entrance looks like. The door said OPEN 11:00 / closes 21:00, and takeout was also available. The inside looked quite a bit bigger than it did from outside.

Inside Hoegi Wang Galbitang: seating and tablet ordering

Inside Hoegi Wang Galbitang, the tables are spaced generously and there's group seating too. Orders are placed via tablet at each table.

Once inside, the table spacing wasn't cramped at all and it looked clean. It felt fine for a solo lunch and just as fine for a group. The signage mentioned group seating was available, and I did see tables set up for larger groups. When you're looking for somewhere to eat near Hoegi Station or Kyung Hee University, a place like this is quietly convenient.

Like a lot of restaurants these days, you order from a tablet at the table. Once you order, there's only one job left: wait and see how big those ribs really are. Lol.

Side dishes, the self-serve corner and unlimited rice

The basic side dishes at Hoegi Wang Galbitang are diced radish kimchi, onion, chili peppers, and ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste). The self-serve corner has extra side dishes, rice, and barley gangjeong (sweet crunchy barley snack), and rice refills are unlimited.

Basic side dishes: diced radish kimchi, onion, chili peppers, ssamjang. A galbitang restaurant honestly doesn't need a huge spread of banchan (side dishes). If the radish kimchi alone is good, you just keep the cycle going — spoon of soup, bite of kimchi, spoon of rice.

There were sauces and seasonings ready on the table too. You can eat the meat plain or dip it lightly, but I tried it plain first — you've got to taste the meat itself first.

Over on one side there's a self-serve corner. You can grab extra side dishes, and the thing that immediately caught my eye was the barley gangjeong. Running into barley gangjeong at a galbitang restaurant felt a bit unexpected, but after the meal, popping one in my mouth was actually a nice little treat.

Near the rice, there's an even more welcome sign: unlimited rice refills! There's nothing worse than still having galbitang broth left and running out of rice first. Here, you don't have to worry about that.

The window seats were clean too. It felt fine to eat there solo, and the whole space was bright, which I liked. If you're driving, it'd be worth checking with the restaurant about parking before you go. And then, moments later... the star of the show finally appeared.

Fortifying wang galbitang, 18,000 won, with ribs above the bowl

The fortifying wang galbitang (₩18,000) is a clear-broth dish with a huge beef short rib in it. The rib bone isn't the size that fits neatly inside the bowl — it rises right up above the broth.

I actually laughed when I first saw it. "Wait, I ordered galbitang, right? Not braised short ribs?" The bone was standing up over the broth so confidently. Photos might not fully convey the scale, but seeing it in person, this is not a size that sits politely inside the bowl.

This is the fortifying wang galbitang! A big chunk of rib sitting right there in a clear broth. Don't picture a galbitang with just a few small pieces of meat floating around and calling it done. This is the kind of galbitang you're meant to pick up bone and all and tear into.

Watching it bubble away just made it worse. Seeing this at lunchtime would make even someone who wasn't hungry suddenly starving.

What does the spicy galbitang taste like?

The spicy galbitang (₩16,000) takes that signature rich galbitang broth and adds some heat to it. It comes with a generous amount of bean sprouts, and glass noodles can be added.

And then the spicy galbitang!! I tried lifting the rib and... it just kept coming. Lol. This isn't a matter of picking up a few pieces of meat with chopsticks — there's real fun in lifting an entire rib bone whole.

Once I pulled the meat out from under the spicy broth, there was quite a lot of it still attached. Good news for photos too — this dish looks great even sitting still, haha.

As you mix in the seasoning, the broth slowly turns red. Spicy here doesn't just mean hot for the sake of it — it's more like that signature rich galbitang broth with some heat layered on top. If you'd had a few drinks the night before, this broth would definitely be calling your name.

A big rib standing tall in the middle of the broth :) It's been a while since I took this many photos while eating galbitang. It's the kind of dish that makes you photograph it before you even take a bite.

Time to properly lift the bone on the wang galbitang. It's huge!! I realized the name "wang (king) galbitang" wasn't just for show. There's a fairly thick layer of meat wrapped around the rib bone.

The spicy galbitang also comes with plenty of bean sprouts. Dipping the crunchy sprouts in the spicy broth brings the texture alive, and it's a lot less rich than eating meat non-stop. For anyone who loves glass noodles, the menu shows you can add those too.

Pulling the short rib apart by hand

The wang galbi at Hoegi Wang Galbitang is hard to eat with just a spoon, so you end up grabbing it with your hands. It's braised so thoroughly that the meat came off the bone smoothly with just a bit of pressure.

Alright, time for the wang galbitang breakdown operation. I gave up on eating this politely with a spoon. At this size, you've just got to grab it with your hands, haha.

With a little pressure, the meat comes right off the bone. Since it's braised so thoroughly, it wasn't a tough, tug-of-war kind of pull — the meat separated smoothly.

There's still meat tucked inside the rib, so there's fun in hunting through the gaps between bones for more. This is the point where everyone goes quiet. When two people are seriously tearing into ribs, the table suddenly falls silent. People naturally go quiet when they're eating something good... *chomp*... *chomp*... haha.

And eventually, the bone was fully stripped. I had one bowl of galbitang, but somehow it felt like I'd taken apart a whole small rib. Meat, then broth, then rice mixed in — it made for a seriously filling meal.

Hoegi Wang Galbitang menu and prices

Prices at Hoegi Wang Galbitang: spicy galbitang ₩16,000, fortifying wang galbitang ₩18,000. There's also the original galbitang at ₩16,000, arongsatae (shank) galbitang at ₩19,000, and braised short ribs.

• Spicy galbitang ₩16,000
• Fortifying wang galbitang ₩18,000
• Original galbitang ₩16,000
• Arongsatae (shank) galbitang ₩19,000
• Braised beef short ribs also sold
• One order per person required / unlimited rice refills

And there's a line that immediately caught my eye: one order per person required / unlimited rice refills. If you love galbitang broth, finishing with just one bowl of rice isn't easy, so this policy was very welcome.

Is Hoegi Wang Galbitang worth a visit?

Galbitang isn't exactly a dish that looks flashy in photos to begin with. But at Hoegi Wang Galbitang, the sheer size of the ribs alone makes for a good photo. The wang galbitang would suit anyone who likes a clear yet rich broth, and since I personally love a spicier broth, I also thoroughly enjoyed the spicy galbitang.

I especially loved how much meat was still attached when you lifted the rib bone, and with the bean sprouts and glass noodles on top, I left the meal quite full. If you're near Hoegi Station craving something hot and a little different from the usual guk-bap, this is worth a stop when you're looking for a Hoegi Station favorite. Next time, I'd like to try the arongsatae galbitang too.

Walking out after finishing everything, I had just one thought: "Now that was a proper lunch, haha."