Jung-gu Korean restaurant for chicken feet: Gyeryugwan

Is blogger burnout coming for me... I've been getting lazy about posting again lately...! ㅠㅠㅠ It was one of those steadily rainy days.

I suddenly took a half-day off in the afternoon because I had to receive registered mail at the post office. It felt too wasteful to let the time slip away, so I headed to Gyeryugwan (계류관), a wood-fired chicken spot near Sindang Station that I had wanted to try.

Gyeryugwan's entrance and when I visited

Whenever I passed nearby, I could always catch the gentle smell of burning firewood. True to its reputation as a Sindang-dong Jungang Market favorite with a line, heaps of oak logs were piled in front of the entrance. The fire was blazing~~~ and seeing the chicken turn beautifully golden had my mouth watering like crazy.

Such a cute exterior!

Gyeryugwan, a hot Sindang-dong spot, has a two-hour time limit when it is full, so keep that in mind if you're visiting!

I arrived at around 4:30 p.m. on a weekday, practically an opening run, and thankfully there were plenty of seats. Afternoon half-days are loveㅠㅠ

Inside Gyeryugwan near Sindang Station

A neat, wood-toned interior. Is it color-coordinated with the firewood(?)

There were quite a few tables too, so it seems like a nice place for a Sindang Station gathering or date.

Gyeryugwan menu

The menu was seriously adorable too! Hahaha. Successful restaurants really do have a different kind of concept.

When you open the wooden menu, the dishes are drawn in a cute, easy-to-understand style, making it so convenient to choose. Better than a text-only menu—being able to see what each dish is like at a glance is the best!

Of course, there was also a big, easy-to-read menu posted on the wall haha.

Hahaha, after reading about the benefits of buckwheat filling one wall, there was no way I could skip the makguksu (buckwheat noodles)... So we thoroughly ordered sides too.

Oak wood-fired neungi mushroom chicken

₩23,000

Gyeryugwan's signature dish is this oak wood-fired neungi mushroom chicken!! It can sell out early once ingredients run out, so you absolutely have to order it first!

Look at that beautifully golden chicken, infused with the scent of oak charcoal..! The outside was crisp while the inside held onto all that juicy moisture, and the moment I took a bite, the clean flavor and subtle aroma of neungi mushroom filled my mouth.

Inside the chicken were generous sticky rice and whole garlic cloves. Top the moist, chewy rice with chicken meat and whole garlic, and it is honestly heavenly.

There were neungi mushrooms throughout too, so it felt like a real nourishing meal. Moist chicken and sticky rice are such a harmonious combo♥

With Gyeryugwan's oak wood-fired neungi mushroom chicken, you get these three sauces. The white sauce was so good, and this mystery jeotgal (salt-fermented seafood) popped in my mouth and was delicious too. Definitely try them together!

Should you definitely order the soupy chicken feet?

Soupy chicken feet ₩15,000

Gyeryugwan's hidden card: soupy chicken feet!! If you're a true chicken-feet lover, you absolutely have to order this!

For the very kind price of ₩15,000, it came generously packed with a thick, pleasantly spicy broth; tender bone-in chicken feet; rice cakes; fuzhu (tofu skin); bean sprouts; and egg.

The chicken feet were unbelievably tenderㅠㅠㅠ They had clearly been simmered for ages—the meat came right off the bones, and the seasoning had soaked in deeply.

I lightly dipped some of the sticky rice from the wood-fired chicken into that deliciously spicy, thick broth, and this place became heaven itself-★

Meat doenjang buckwheat noodles

₩13,000

I ordered the meat doenjang buckwheat noodles after seeing the buckwheat benefits on the wall! Hahaha, this is another must-order. It would have been a disaster if I hadn't ordered it. Since it is makguksu made with doenjang (fermented soybean paste), it had a distinctive flavor unlike the makguksu I had eaten before.

The buckwheat noodles were so springy, with a lovely sheen as I mixed them~~

The nutty meat topping, soft jammy egg, and earthy yet sweet-tangy sauce came together perfectly. It was the ideal pairing to cut through the richness of the wood-fired chicken!

The buckwheat noodles were genuinely springy and delicious, and the sauce on these doenjang buckwheat noodles was absolutely insane. Everything went so well with the wood-fired chicken.

Fried chicken gizzards with scallions

₩15,000

Lastly, fried chicken gizzards with scallions—a shame not to order as a beer snack.

It felt like chicken gizzards fried in a batter with scallions. The outside was crispy, while the inside retained that gizzard-specific crunchy-chewy texture. A dish worth trying with beer~

Today's full spread haha (minus the makguksu ㅠ)

We couldn't leave out beer, so we had a drink hehe. Gyeryugwan, the Sindang-dong hot spot I visited after taking a half-day off for the first time in ages! From the signature oak wood-fired chicken to addictive soupy chicken feet, distinctive and charming meat doenjang buckwheat noodles, and crispy fried chicken gizzards with scallions, the two of us really ate a lot. Hahahaha.

That wraps up my review of this Sindang Station favorite, where every single dish was completely satisfying! If you're looking for distinctive, delicious wood-fired chicken near Sindang-dong Jungang Market, or a good place for drinks with food, do stop by~~~