Charcoal-grilled chicken in Gangnam, Seoul: Yanggyeok

Yanggyegok near Yangjae Station: location and interior

It had been ages since I’d craved tender grilled chicken this badly, so I visited Yanggyegok (양계옥) on Maljukgeori near Yangjae. [Hours 11:00–22:00] (Weekday break 14:30–16:00)

Walk straight for about three minutes from Exit 4 of Yangjae Station and you’ll spot it on the street just behind Mega Coffee.

The interior was seriously spacious, with loads of tables. We came for Saturday lunch, and diners ordering grilled items were shown to the seating on the right. The air-conditioning was lovely and cool. Chicken kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), spicy pork stir-fry, whole chicken soup, chicken stew, perilla chicken noodles, chilled chicken noodles, spicy chicken ramen, stir-fried chicken, flying-fish-roe cheese iron-plate fried rice, flying-fish-roe rice balls, kalguksu noodles, potato, rice cakes, ramen noodles, vegetable porridge, fried rice

Ordering charcoal-grilled salt and gochujang chicken galbi

We ordered salt chicken galbi (₩15,000) + gochujang chicken galbi (₩16,000) + the stir-fried chicken set meal (₩10,000) 🐷 Yanggyegok is a real chicken specialist, serving charcoal-grilled chicken galbi rather than the iron-plate kind, along with chicken stew and whole chicken soup.

The basic sides were seasoned sauce, maybe sriracha mayo?, wasabi mayo, a soy-sauce-flavored dip, pickled radish wraps, garlic, ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste), pickled chili peppers, flying fish roe, and perilla leaves. We brought kimchi and kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) from the self-serve bar.

The neatly maintained self-serve bar also had extra kimchi, kkakdugi, and chili peppers. There was a note saying the kimchi was spicy—and it really was spicy and delicious!

Salt chicken galbi (₩15,000) + gochujang chicken galbi (₩16,000)

It came with king oyster mushrooms stamped with Yanggyegok and shishito peppers, and wow, the presentation... It didn’t seem completely raw; I think it had been lightly cooked first! And there was complimentary chicken gomtang (rich chicken soup).

This chicken gomtang had so much chicken in it, and the broth was so rich it felt like a hangover cure. It was delicious hot, and delicious even once it cooled down ㅜㅜ

Grilling the staff-prepared charcoal chicken galbi

The staff separated the chicken bones like this and put it on the grill, so all we had to do was let it cook and eat comfortably. They put the seasoned chicken galbi on too and grilled it alongside.

They snipped it into bite-size pieces, moved it to the edge, and let it cook gently—drinking snacks ready. It looked like something between thigh meat and breast meat, but it was tender. Also, they had Kloud beer, which is really rare to see at a restaurant, so I ordered it immediately. As expected, Kloud is the beer ㅜㅜ

I was planning to drink only daytime soju because I’m trying to diet, but I fell for Kloud and immediately made somaek (soju-and-beer mix), haha. My sweetheart passed me the crispy skin bits—true love.

It was truly crisp outside and juicy inside; the chicken was so tender and delicious. The salt chicken galbi was a perfect match for the seasoned sauce!

The wasabi mayo had loads of wasabi, so its nose-tingling kick with flying fish roe was totally my style.

My first stir-fried chicken set meal

Next drinking snack: stir-fried chicken set meal (₩10,000). My sweetheart had drunk too much the night before and said they’d have spicy pork stir-fry as a hangover cure again^^ We asked whether we could order one serving of the meal-menu spicy pork stir-fry, then ordered it—but it was chicken! It wasn’t on the menu, but it was marked as a stir-fried chicken set meal, and since it was a meal menu, it came with rice too. The stir-fried chicken arrived, and I’d never seen this combination before in my life, but it was so tender and absolutely crazy... insanely good. The chicken pieces were seriously big, the thigh meat was so tender, and the balance with the skin was unreal ㅜㅜ I took one bite, then looked to have more—and my sweetheart had finished it all. That’s how genuinely delicious it was... It won over the appetite of my sweetheart, who usually isn’t food-obsessed...!

The seasoning wasn’t spicy at all; it was just like cafeteria-style chicken galbi, super delicious and tender, so it went brilliantly with rice. And then, the gochujang chicken galbi.

Because the seasoning burns easily, turn it quickly and often, then cook it around the edge—it’ll be just right.

The gochujang chicken galbi, coated in sweet seasoning, was perfectly seasoned, and I liked the gochujang more than the salt version! It’s tasty without any extra dip, but dunking it generously in wasabi mayo doubles the refreshing finish, haha. The complimentary chicken gomtang that came again with the stir-fried chicken set meal.

The chicken gomtang came free with the stir-fried chicken, and the broth was so rich that I mixed in rice right away, haha.

It was seasoned perfectly for mixing with rice, and topping it with delicious well-fermented kimchi and kkakdugi made the combination amazing ㅜㅜ Hangover cure.

Lunch and daytime drinks near Yangjae Station

Near Yangjae Station, it would be great for an easy lunch or daytime drinks with charcoal chicken galbi, chicken stew, or grilled chicken, and it would also work well for team dinners. The chicken was tender, and the stir-fried chicken was truly a special find!! It’s a Korean chicken-dish specialist near Yangjae Station and Dogok-dong.