Masan Korean restaurant for a solo ₩9,900 short rib dinner: Gohyang

Can you eat braised short ribs solo in Masan, Changwon?

At Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch (고향소갈비찜 마산양덕점) in Yangdeok-dong, Masan, Changwon, one serving of galbijjim (braised short ribs) comes with doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and rice for ₩9,900. Braised short ribs for a solo meal at under ₩10,000 is rare, and that's the biggest draw here.

I don't know if other solo diners feel the same, but when I eat alone I don't think "I'll boldly spend big on something expensive and delicious." It's more like, because I'm alone, I really want to eat well and get full on a good-value, affordable meal. With my beloved parents, my girlfriend or friends, I'd stretch a little, since those occasions don't come often, and eat something pricey and have a good time. Alone, filling my stomach is enough, and if it's good value too, that's the best.

But prices keep rising, and even a solo meal isn't cheap anymore. Unless a place is really cheap, you're looking at around ₩10,000, and for something more like a proper dish you'd need to pay up to ₩15,000 alone. Solo meals usually make you think of pork cutlets, katsu, noodles or gukbap (rice soup), but you've rarely seen galbijjim as a solo meal, right? Galbijjim takes a lot of effort and beef prices are mostly high, so it counts as an expensive dish. Yet Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch in Masan, Changwon, which I'm introducing today, lets you eat galbijjim plus doenjang jjigae and rice, all for ₩9,900, and get full and happy. You can go trusting the value alone~ :)

Location and parking of Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch

Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch is on the first floor of the shop building in front of Useong Apartments in Yangdeok-dong, Masan-hoewon-gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam. For parking, just use the lot behind the Sangga-dong building of Useong Apartments.

It's a place for richly seasoned galbijjim and deeply flavored short rib soup (galbitang). Right across from the restaurant is Top Mart Seokjeon branch, so it's nice for grocery shopping after your meal. Nearby you'll also find the Gyeongnam Bank head office building, Lotte Himart, LG Electronics Best Shop, Seokjeon Market and the Masan Employment and Welfare Center. As I said above, Gohyang is famous as a top value restaurant. Let me explain that properly now.

This is the exterior of Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch. Top Mart is across the street, and if you look up to the right you'll see the tall Gyeongnam Bank head office building, so if you find these two landmarks you'll get there easily.

It's a restaurant that has appeared on terrestrial TV, including KBS 2TV's Saengsaeng Jeongbo and MBC's Live Tonight (Saengbangsong Oneul Jeonyeok). That makes me look forward to it even more.

What are the interior and self-serve bar like?

Inside Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch there are about 8 tables, and they're fairly widely spaced, so it's comfortable to eat alone. At the self-serve bar in front of the kitchen you can take as much of the basic side dishes as you like, such as bean sprouts, kimchi, kkakdugi (radish kimchi) and fish cake.

The dining space is a moderate size. Definitely not cramped, and not huge either, just right. The kitchen is at the very back.

Tip for eating galbijjim deliciously

The restaurant has a tip posted for eating it deliciously. To sum up: cut the meat off the ribs into bite-size pieces, then mix bean sprouts, seaweed flakes, meat and sauce into your rice. If you finish the meat and add potato noodles (gamja sari) too, it's perfect. ><

• Galbijjim, 1 serving: ₩9,900
• Potato noodle add-on: ₩2,000
• Hanu-handon tteokgalbi (beef and pork rib patty): ₩7,000

The value is crazy, so I ordered extra.

What comes in the ₩9,900 galbijjim set?

One serving of the ₩9,900 galbijjim at Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch comes with braised short ribs, doenjang jjigae and rice, plus four side dishes. I added a tteokgalbi patty, which made it a generous spread even for a solo meal.

The red-sauced galbijjim, the nicely grilled tteokgalbi and the bubbling doenjang jjigae all look delicious. And four neat side dishes too. I'll eat it all happily.

Is there enough meat in the signature galbijjim?

The signature galbijjim at Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch is just ₩9,900, yet the sauce is tasty and there's surprisingly plenty of beef in it. You can really eat until you're happily full.

And if you add potato noodles on top, you're so satisfied that there's nothing more to say. Most people eating galbijjim add the potato noodles too.

The extra hanu-handon tteokgalbi

The ₩7,000 hanu-handon tteokgalbi was good too. That day I'd been out working on my blog all day, so I decided to treat myself and order a lot. I don't normally like tteokgalbi that much, but I ate it well at Gohyang.

Will I come back to Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch for a solo meal?

I recommend Gohyang Sogalbijjim Masan Yangdeok Branch as a solo meal spot in Masan, Changwon, since you can eat galbijjim, doenjang jjigae and rice alone for ₩9,900. No other explanation needed. Just look at what I ate for ₩9,900 and you'll feel it. I'm 200% coming back~ :)