Chuseok family dinner, Gangnam Korean BBQ premium platter: Gungmin

For Chuseok, I wanted to treat my parents to some really good hanwoo (Korean beef), so I splurged a bit and visited a famous hanwoo restaurant near Samseong Station! It's already well known there — even my dad recognized the name, haha.

The marbling was gorgeous and the quality was excellent — this is Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, a hanwoo restaurant near Samseong Station that's even won a Presidential Award for its beef.

Where Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch is, and what the room feels like

Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch is across from Parnas, about a 10-minute walk down an alley from Samseong Station Exit 4.

Right from the entrance there were tons of certificates on display, haha. Not only a patent for their galbitang (short rib soup) recipe, but also a Model Restaurant certification, and even a Presidential Award from the National Hanwoo Evaluation!! Crazy!!

I already knew this place was pretty famous, and turns out plenty of well-known people have come through too, haha. The interior was clean, modern, and calm, and the spacious layout made it even nicer.

The menu and what four of us ordered

All the meat menu items at Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch are 1++ hanwoo...!!! And for 1++ hanwoo, the prices didn't feel outrageous. (Still... with four of us, it added up to a decent chunk of change, haha.)

Since we were treating our parents anyway, we went with the assorted set! (I loudly declared "today the daughter's paying!" lol)

• Premium Assorted set 95,000 x 2
• Hanwoo yukhoe 34,000
• Galbitang 16,000

The side dishes that come first

The basic side dishes seemed more generous than at other BBQ spots. White wood ear mushroom and minari (water celery) yukhoe came as standard sides — aren't both of those kind of pricey ingredients, haha? My expectations went way up just from the side dishes!

Starting with hanwoo yukhoe

We didn't realize minari yukhoe would come as a side dish, so we also ordered hanwoo yukhoe (raw beef tartare), lol. While the side-dish minari yukhoe was tangy and spicy, the hanwoo yukhoe had a rich umami flavor with a hint of garlic on a sweet base — genuinely delicious.

Plus, since it's autumn, the pear was so good too — mixing the yukhoe seasoning, egg yolk, and pear together made it incredibly soft with an explosion of umami!!

What cuts come in two Premium Assorted platters?

Ahh, finally the main event of the day!!! We ordered two sets, and the plating was so pretty that my parents were thrilled, haha. (So proud, so proud 😘)

In order: tenderloin / seolhwa sirloin / special sirloin / whole short rib. Is this what 1++ hanwoo color looks like?🥹🥹🥹 The color and marbling were on a totally different level from any beef I'd seen before! Alright, let's eat our way through it in order, haha.

01. Tenderloin

Just looking at the thickness of the tenderloin made it look delicious, lol. The staff grilled it perfectly from start to finish, and it was sliced nice and thick, which I loved. Of course, tenderloin's best trait is that tenderness!!

It was clean-tasting without being tough, and melted softly in one bite, ㅠㅠ. My parents took one bite and immediately started raving — "oh, this place is the real deal, so good" — praise after praise.

02. Seolhwa sirloin

Second up, seolhwa sirloin!! Honestly this was a cut I'd never even heard of before, but the marbling caught my eye right away, building anticipation before it even hit the grill, lol.

One bite and the juices burst out, with a rich, savory flavor that melted in my mouth, ㅠㅠ. Thanks to the marbling, it had a different kind of tenderness from the tenderloin, haha. I actually enjoyed it even more than the tenderloin!!

A bite before it's fully cooked, haha (this is really how beef should be eaten). The moment it hit my mouth, it broke apart so gently while the distinct hanwoo savoriness came through fully, ㅠㅠ.

03. Special sirloin

Next up, special sirloin! Visually it didn't look that different from the seolhwa sirloin, but once I tasted it, the chew was better than the seolhwa!

The texture was more springy without being tough — just the right amount of soft, haha. Sirloin cuts definitely had more of that distinct savory flavor than the tenderloin, and I loved that!

You can even see the meat grain in the photos, haha. Genuinely every single cut had such great meat quality, with that distinct sweetness good beef has, ㅠㅠ🤎.

04. Whole short rib

Can't believe we're already at the last cut... The portions were bigger than expected so I was already getting full by this point, but there's always room left for short rib, haha✌🏻.

And yeah, there's a reason people always rave about beef short rib. Even eating this while already full, it instantly became my favorite cut of the meal!! I'm not sure if they seasoned it lightly or what, but how is the texture this tender yet chewy, and the more you chew, the more the natural sweetness and savoriness of the meat just keeps coming??!?! It was so, so, so good 🥹.

They grilled it so well — slightly chewy, and the more you chewed, the more the sweetness, umami, and nuttiness kept building. Ahh, it was so, so good, lol🫶🏻.

The galbitang with a patented recipe

We'd already eaten plenty, but leaving without trying the patented galbitang (short rib soup) would've felt like a waste. I was curious since they hold an actual patent for their galbitang recipe — it came with about two big rib bones, and the broth was clear with a faint herbal medicine note!! Personally, I loved it 🫶🏻.

The rib meat came off the bone easily and tenderly, and with that herbal note in a clear broth, it was a great way to wrap up the meal after all that grilled meat!! (Would be perfect as a lunch menu too 👍🏻)

Is Gungmin Hanwoo House worth it for a family dinner?

• Want quality hanwoo near Samseong Station/Gangnam? Just go here, no question.
• The prices are reasonable for 1++ hanwoo
• The assorted set is great for trying multiple cuts at once — a solid 1++ hanwoo spot
• If you like galbitang with a clear yet deep, herbal-tinged broth, even more of a recommendation!!