Gimhae Korean restaurant, 10-side bossam set at 5pm: Gaya Kkeutjip

Hi, it's Ajumi! After a trip to Shinsegae Department Store in Gimhae, I suddenly craved Korean food, so I headed to a full-spread Korean restaurant about 10 minutes away by car. I went at an early dinner hour, but the place was packed with locals. Let's start this Gimhae restaurant review-!

Location and parking at Gaya Kkeutjip

Gaya Kkeutjip (가야끝집) is at 6 Gaya-ro 181beon-gil, 1st floor, in Samgye-dong, Gimhae, and you can park for free in the Gaya parking lot right next door. It's within walking distance of Jangsinde Station Exit 2, and about 10 minutes by car from Yeonji Park, Gimhae Shinsegae and King Suro's Tomb in Gimhae, so it's easy to get to. From the outside it looks like a chain restaurant, but it isn't!

Easy parking is one of Gaya Kkeutjip's big plus points, so be sure to ask for the 1-hour parking voucher at the counter after your meal haha

Inside the restaurant and handy extras

The inside of Gaya Kkeutjip was spacious and comfortable. Seven ceiling air conditioners were running at full blast, and on this day there was a heatwave warning, I think? I was dripping with sweat, but it was really cool and pleasant inside. The tables are spaced widely apart, and it's a neat Korean restaurant in beige wood tones. Two people can sit comfortably, and it seems like the perfect place for a family gathering or a group get-together.

Hygiene supplies, small plates, soup bowls and more are stored on the side of each table, so it was easy to use. I can see why there were so many locals~~ I visited around 5pm on a weekday, an early dinner time, and lots of people in their 40s to 60s were eating. And the biggest plus of Gaya Kkeutjip is that there is no break time. It's good for a late lunch or an early dinner, no matter the time.

At the back of the restaurant there are high chairs for babies, and if there's a wait at peak time, you can wait comfortably in the indoor waiting area instead of standing outside in the heat.

The accurate origin labeling made me trust the food, and seeing the rice sacks piled next to the counter, you can just tell how many customers come here..

Gaya Kkeutjip menu and prices

<Set menus – order for 2 or more>

• Gochujang bulgogi set (spicy marinated pork) ₩18,000
• Kkeutjip steamed ray set ₩23,000
• Bossam set (boiled pork wraps) ₩20,000
• Oyster bossam set (seasonal menu) ₩23,000

<Extra menu>

• Gochujang bulgogi ₩15,000
• Tasting bossam ₩20,000
• Seasoned raw crab (full plate) ₩13,000
• Seasoned raw crab (half plate) ₩7,000
• Clay-oven perilla-oil handmade tofu, 4 pieces ₩4,000
• Clay-oven grilled flounder ₩8,000
• Clay-oven grilled mackerel (whole) ₩18,000
• Clay-oven grilled mackerel (half) ₩10,000
• Steamed ray (for 2) ₩35,000

You order on the tablet on the table and pay at the counter after your meal. Set menus need an order for 2 or more, so solo diners seemed to order the extra menu items as single dishes. The clay-oven grilled fish looks perfect for that~~ I ordered the hearty bossam set for two, and the set comes with a really lavish spread of side dishes, so let me introduce them right away haha

Bossam set for two: 10 side dishes

The bossam set for two at Gaya Kkeutjip arrived with 10 side dishes neatly laid out first. Ten sides!,, and there isn't a single one you'd want to skip: perilla-oil tofu, seasoned crab, perilla-seed kimchi stew, perilla lotus root salad, chwinamul (seasoned aster greens), japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), gopchang gim (crispy seaweed), young radish kimchi, radish kimchi and tofu salad. Pretty varied, right???!!!

On top of that, everything except the tofu and the seasoned crab could be refilled. Super generous.

Then came the seaweed soup, one grilled flounder and the bossam. With the bossam you also get wrap vegetables, steamed cabbage, ssamjang (wrap sauce), garlic, dried radish strips, bossam kimchi, and even a sauce for eating garlic bossam. It's not one of those "set meals" with a tiny bit of meat. It's basically a bossam specialty restaurant ;;;

The already big table was completely full. I don't think anyone would dislike Gaya Kkeutjip if you brought your elders, and it's just right for treating them to a warm Korean meal.

Free seaweed soup refills, rice in a regular bowl

The seaweed soup was loaded with beef and the savory depth was insane, and it had clearly simmered a long time because the seaweed was silky soft~ with a little exaggeration, you could swallow it without chewing^^ A seaweed soup winner! And you can even get free refills, so rice lovers could start by pouring rice into a bowl of it. + The rice at Gaya Kkeutjip comes in a regular rice bowl, not a stone pot. Stone-pot rice would have been even better 🥹🥹

Clay-oven grilled flounder is on the mildly seasoned side

The flounder was meatier than the flounder I usually see at grilled fish restaurants. It was about the size of an adult man's palm, so you could almost believe it's a mini halibut lol

Since it's grilled in a clay oven, it was clean-tasting, and the skin in particular was crispy and delicious. The seasoning wasn't salty, more on the mild side! I like salty grilled fish, so that was a slight letdown for me. But my husband, who came with me, said the mildness was actually good and picked it up with his hands to tear into it ^ㅇ^

Bossam with bossam kimchi, dried radish and garlic ssamjang

There were so many sides to go with the bossam that I tried it lots of different ways, and dipping it in bossam kimchi, dried radish strips and garlic ssamjang was seriously amazing~~!! The meat was tender with no gamey smell, and the ratio of fat to lean was perfect. The bossam pork was from the Netherlands and all the kimchi was domestic!

The kimchi also tasted fresh-made and cool, so a piece of meat with kimchi on warm white rice is pure bliss~~

The perilla-seed kimchi stew that came as a side dish wasn't salty and had a nutty flavor, and I enjoyed it. I think my mom would love it if I brought her.

The tofu grilled in perilla oil is good on its own, but eat it with the bossam kimchi and it instantly becomes dubu-kimchi (tofu with stir-fried kimchi). Add a piece of bossam on top and it becomes tofu-bossam-kimchi, that's how it works. It's handmade tofu, so it's firm and nutty, and I got a proper protein boost haha

Overall verdict = it's delicious

We even had coffee and maesil-cha (green plum tea) to finish the meal. I ate a hearty bossam set spread at Gaya Kkeutjip, and if it were near my home I'd go all the time. It's the kind of taste that shows why there are so many locals ㅠ_ㅠ~ None of the side dishes tasted of artificial seasoning, they had a healthy homemade flavor, the bossam portion was big, and even the seaweed soup that came with it was great. Nothing was bad at Gaya Kkeutjip. No-miss Gaya Kkeutjip ^^

Next time I have a family gathering in Gimhae, I'll definitely bring the elders here. I recommend it to anyone looking for a Korean restaurant in Samgye-dong, Gimhae, a Korean restaurant in Gimhae with group seating, or a good bossam set in Gimhae~