Gimhae date-night Korean BBQ, pork belly on a mini brazier: Godansu

Where is Godansu Gimhae Yulha?

Godansu Gimhae Yulha is a Korean BBQ restaurant at 100 Gwandong-ro, 1st floor, on the main road by Yulha Cafe Street in Gimhae. I was out on the cafe street on a lovely autumn-breeze day when I spotted that Godansu, the famous BBQ spot in Changwon and Jinhae, had opened a branch in Yulha.

It was evening, and the pretty purple glow caught my eye from far away. The restaurant sits right on the main road, and there's a large private parking lot directly across from it, so there's no parking stress.

What's the atmosphere like? Is it good for a date?

Inside, it's spacious and comfortable with a hip interior, very much a new BBQ place for Yulha Cafe Street. The interior was the first thing I noticed as soon as I walked in.

It's a clean, wood-toned space, and even though it's a BBQ restaurant, the exhaust hood looked stylish, and the lighting level passes the date-spot test.

In one corner, Godansu's meat was happily aging in an aging fridge.

What we ordered and the basic table setting

At Godansu Gimhae Yulha, we ordered 3 servings of pork belly (130g each, ₩13,000 per serving).

After ordering, the basic table setting arrived, neatly laid out.

We soothed our stomachs with konjac and chawanmushi (Japanese-style steamed egg). The handmade sauces are another big draw at Godansu Gimhae Yulha, and these five are provided:

• Kelp salt
• Spinach basil pesto
• Galchi sokjeot (salted cutlassfish guts) with sancho pepper
• Sriracha sauce
• Salted squid (ojingeo jeotgal)

The charcoal is coming in! Charcoal is the life of BBQ, right? They use domestic hardwood charcoal, so the heat was great.

Our pork belly arrived, and the meat, aged in Godansu's own way, had such a good color and looked so fresh that you could check the freshness with your eyes alone.

Does Godansu Gimhae Yulha grill the meat for you?

Yes. Staff grill the meat for you in a one-on-one grilling service, and that's what makes this place so appealing.

When you're out with a friend, on a date, or at a group dinner, if one person has to be in charge of grilling, you worry about burning the meat and the conversation keeps getting interrupted, right? With the one-on-one grilling service at Godansu Gimhae Yulha, we could relax and just focus on talking while we ate.

While we chatted, the staff grilled the pork belly to a lovely golden brown.

Which sauce goes best with the pork belly?

The first bite of Godansu pork belly has to be with salt! Dipped in the kelp salt set out on our individual small plates, the meat was full of juice and wonderfully nutty.

Dipped in basil pesto, it was wrapped in a fragrant basil aroma, and it paired nicely with the pork belly too.

Cooked meat goes into a small brazier

At Godansu Gimhae Yulha, once the meat was grilled enough, the staff put it into a small brazier so it wouldn't burn any more. I really liked this too. If you leave good meat on the charcoal, it burns or turns tough, but moving it to the small brazier let us enjoy it warm to the very end, without it going cold.

Grilled green onion with salted squid

They grill green onions (spring onions) as a garnish, and eating them with salted squid and pork belly was a whole new taste: the fragrant scallion plus the salty kick of the jeotgal. With so many sauces, you can eat it in lots of different ways, so there's no time to get bored. It felt fresh.

Overall verdict on Godansu Gimhae Yulha

The pork belly at Godansu Gimhae Yulha was crispy outside and juicy inside, and very nutty. Dipping it in the kelp salt gave the best flavor. Pairing it with a variety of sauces is what makes this place special.

With its clean atmosphere and grilling service, Godansu Yulha in Gimhae is a great BBQ spot for dates, get-togethers with friends, and family meals. The side dishes are made by hand, so you can taste Godansu's own character, and the one-on-one grilling service made for a really pleasant meal.