Siheung BBQ with a friend, then mountain café coffee: Bulhyangjip

Bulhyangjip Mulwang Lake Main Branch: basic info

• Business: Bulhyangjip Mulwang Lake Main Branch (불향집 물왕호수본점)
• Address: 1st floor, 46-2 Dongseo-ro 811beon-gil, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–20:30
• Group dining, takeout and reservations available
• Wi-Fi, separate men's and women's restrooms, baby chairs
• Wheelchair-accessible seating, pets allowed
• Alcohol and corkage allowed (free), parking available (free)
• Rooms for 8 to 22 people, group seating for up to 100
• Table seats, floor seats, terrace
• Local currency (paper, card, mobile), Zero Pay, easy-pay apps

Where is Bulhyangjip Mulwang Lake Main Branch, and is there parking?

Bulhyangjip Mulwang Lake Main Branch is a meat restaurant near Mulwang Reservoir in Siheung, tucked inside the Mulwang Lake traditional food village, with a big free parking lot behind the restaurant that fits about 30 cars. I went with a friend who loves meat as much as I do.

It's a charcoal pre-grill specialist with a 49-year tradition. By public transport, get off at the Mulwang Samgeori stop; on foot, get off at the Mulwang Samgeori bus stop and walk straight toward the food alley and you'll run into it. With no parking worries, it's a real wire-grill place where the charcoal aroma lives on.

Pets are allowed, but large dogs and aggressive breeds aren't, and vaccinations have to be confirmed.

Weekday visit: was there a wait, and what's the atmosphere like?

Weekends mean a wait by default at Bulhyangjip, but since it was a weekday we walked right in with no wait. The inside is really clean.

Looking out the big windows at the hill behind, I felt healed, like I'd made a little trip out of the city. There are private group rooms further in and baby chairs too, so it's a perfect spot for a family get-together.

As a wire-grill specialist, Bulhyangjip lets you watch the pre-grilling process right inside the restaurant. I heard it started at the foot of Gwanaksan, in front of Seoul National University, then moved to Siheung's traditional food village. Now I'm curious about that charcoal-grilled bulgogi.

We were shown to a seat with a view of the mountain path, and even though it's a meat restaurant, it feels like a café.

Bulhyangjip menu and weekday lunch set price

Bulhyangjip specializes in wire-grilled dishes carefully cooked over charcoal for a deep smoky flavor: charcoal pajeon bulgogi (pork bulgogi topped with scallions), charcoal gochujang bulgogi (spicy-sweet marinade) and charcoal pre-grilled pork belly, with plenty of sides to add.

The signature lunch set (점심한상) is sold on weekdays only and is ₩5,000 cheaper than ordering the items separately: bulgogi for 2 + bibim guksu + doenjang stew + rice for ₩41,800.

Once we ordered, the banchan (side dishes) were set out. The colorful Korean side dishes made in-house and the fresh wrap greens can be refilled at the self-serve bar.

My friend and I were both drawn to the steamed egg, so we ordered it separately.

Do you have to grill the charcoal pajeon bulgogi yourself?

Bulhyangjip's charcoal pajeon bulgogi arrives pre-grilled, so once it warms up on the grill you can eat it right away. When the grill was ready,

the pajeon bulgogi, full of smoky flavor, came out. It's already pre-grilled and only needs warming, which I love. I'm someone who hates it when you go out to eat at your leisure and end up frazzled from grilling meat, so I'm happy.

Classic soy-flavored pork bulgogi with sweet scallions can't possibly taste bad, and with the charcoal aroma on top, both the looks and the taste get a thumbs up. Lettuce, perilla leaves and garlic were all super sweet.

Country-grandma doenjang stew and mom's-touch steamed egg

The country-grandma doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) is made with traditionally aged homemade doenjang and simmered until spicy and rich, and the mom's-touch steamed egg was generous and silky soft. Not only the wire-grilled meat but the doenjang stew and steamed egg were delicious too, so I saved it as a place to revisit with my family.

Adding gochujang bulgogi and bibim guksu

Partway through the meal, I got curious about the gochujang bulgogi and also Bulhyangjip's signature bibim guksu, so we ordered them as extras.

The charcoal gochujang bulgogi, the basic charcoal bulgogi with a gochujang marinade added, was spicy and sweet and full of smoky flavor, and not greasy at all. It went wonderfully with the bibim guksu, and my friend and I were saying we'd have been in big trouble if we hadn't ordered it.

They call the bibim guksu the signature, and after one bite I got it. The noodles were chewy and good, but the vegetable broth fermented for 14 days is the magic. Sour, sweet, spicy! Even though I was full, I kept going back for spoonfuls.

Coffee at the mountain café after the meal

In front of Bulhyangjip there's a mountain café, so I pulled a coffee to my taste and spent a relaxed while listening to the wind before heading home.

Mountain behind the restaurant, Mulwang Lake in front! The atmosphere is good whenever you visit, so it's a top choice for a date, a family meal or a group get-together.