Korean BBQ in Songdo, Incheon for a rainy weekend with kids: Hanmaeum

Where to eat Korean BBQ with kids on a rainy weekend in Songdo

Hanmaeum Meat Restaurant Songdo Timespace branch (한마음정육식당) is a Songdo BBQ place with a play room where you can also grill your own meat, which makes it great for visiting with kids. When you have children, the biggest worry is what to eat, and once you've decided, where to go.

On weekends when you can't be bothered to do anything, the eating-out options just go round and round and end up limited, and when it rains a lot like these days, the places you can go are limited too. With kids you start to prefer places with a play room, so that's why we went to Hanmaeum Meat Restaurant Songdo Timespace branch today.

Hanmaeum Songdo Timespace: location and parking

The restaurant is in Building B of Songdo Timespace, and since there's plenty of parking space, it's very easy to get to. The main menu is made up of a whole pig, a half pig, a whole beef and a half beef.

When does Hanmaeum get busy on Sundays?

When we arrived around 5 p.m. on Sunday, customers were already starting to fill the place, and it seemed to be most crowded at 6–7 p.m., around the time we left.

What is the age limit for Hanmaeum's kids' play room?

Most kids in the play room were around preschool age, and there is an age limit. Older elementary school kids are allowed in principle, but I was told it's because they could get hurt when it's crowded with little ones.

My kids started playing in the play room even before we sat down. It's a space for kids, but not a space just for your own kid, so with young children I'd think of it as a "care kids' zone" where parents need to take part.

Hanmaeum menu and prices

Half pig set for ₩45,000: enough for 2 adults

The pork options are a whole pig at 1 kg for ₩79,000 and a half pig for ₩45,000, and the pricing wasn't bad. For 2 adults, a half pig seems like a good order, and samgyeopsal (pork belly), moksal (pork neck), ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly) and hangjeongsal (pork jowl) each have their own single menu too.

If single cuts are ₩17,000 per 180 g, ordering the half pig is more reasonable.

Half beef set for ₩47,000 when dining with kids

Half a cow is ₩47,000 and a whole cow ₩82,000, which I thought was very reasonable for beef. Beef cooks quickly, so people visiting with kids often prefer it.

Side dishes and drinks

They also have usamgyeop (beef belly) and hanwoo yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), and the sides include kids' seaweed soup, steamed rice and steamed egg with flying fish roe. They work as a finish after the meat, and they're good for people who can't give up rice even while eating meat.

If it's a company-dinner kind of mood, drinks are a must while eating meat, and Hanmaeum has a wide variety, with soju starting at ₩5,000.

Hanmaeum's basic table setting: doenjang soup and jjolmyeon

The basic table setting includes lettuce wraps, perilla leaves, peppers, garlic and ssamjang (wrap sauce) that go well with the meat, plus a variety of side dishes.

The included doenjang (fermented soybean paste) soup was also spicy and tasty, so with an extra bowl of rice you can easily polish off a whole meal.

There's also jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles), with chewy noodles, bean sprouts, scallions and a sweet-and-sour sauce that work well together.

How was the meat? Pork belly was my top pick

The meat was in good condition, and it's nice to be able to try each cut evenly. Still, my personal top pick is the samgyeopsal, and my husband likes hangjeongsal too, so if we ordered more, we'd add hangjeongsal or samgyeopsal.

Why we chose a BBQ restaurant with a play room over grilling at home

Grilling meat at home on a rainy day means poor ventilation and cleaning up afterward, which often ends up more stressful. Eating out like this, grilling meat easily and tasty, without having to put videos on for the kids, I just love this play room restaurant, Hanmaeum.

You can take your time eating wrap after wrap with the meat, and it's good for family gatherings with kids too. The meat is tasty, and I'd really recommend Hanmaeum Meat Restaurant Songdo Timespace branch to anyone looking for a restaurant with a large kids' zone, which is rare in Songdo.