Gwanggyo Japanese restaurant steki rice bowl with a kid: Gyuen-dang

Weekend lunch at Gyuen-dang Gwanggyo during an Avenue France outing

Gyuen-dang Avenue France Gwanggyo Branch is a Japanese restaurant on the basement floor of Avenue France in Gwanggyo. I took my kid out on a weekend date to Avenue France, and that day there happened to be a kids' event and several hands-on programs going on, so there was more to see than usual. But food comes first — we arrived right at lunchtime, so we decided to eat before checking out the event.

Looking for something easy to eat with a kid, we walked into Gyuen-dang Gwanggyo, a Gwanggyo lunch spot known for gyukatsu. After a filling meal, we took our time wandering around Avenue France. There was also a free caricature event, so we joined in — getting to keep the finished drawing left us with a small souvenir from our date.

Parking and how to find Gyuen-dang at Avenue France Gwanggyo

We parked in section D25 of Avenue France Gwanggyo's underground parking lot. Walking up from where I parked toward the storefront, Gyuen-dang came right into view, so even on my first visit I found it without wandering around.

If you're coming from the main road, just look for the red brick building with the large Gyuen-dang sign in Chinese characters. The exterior is quite distinctive, so checking a photo beforehand makes it easier to spot. It made for a good Gwanggyo lunch spot while shopping or running errands inside Avenue France.

What is the restaurant like inside?

Walking in, there were more customers than I expected. Some were already eating, and staff kept moving busily between tables. Gyuen-dang Gwanggyo is decorated with wood-tone tables and warm orange lighting, and the walls carry large lettering that gives off that distinctive Japanese restaurant feel. If you're looking for Japanese food near Gwanggyo Jungang Station and want something like gyukatsu, the interior fits well. Since it was a busy hour it wasn't quiet, but not uncomfortable enough to bother us during the meal.

Gyuen-dang gyukatsu prices and what to order

Looking at the menu, Gyuen-dang doesn't only serve gyukatsu. Tenderloin gyukatsu was ₩24,000, sirloin gyukatsu was ₩19,000.

My daughter and I each ordered according to our own taste. Having some range of choices when looking for Japanese food near Gwanggyo Jungang Station made things easier for me visiting with a kid.

How to grill gyukatsu slice by slice on the tabletop grill

When the gyukatsu arrived, the first thing that caught my eye was the thick cross-section of meat. The outside had a golden breaded coating, but the inside still looked pink — it's served this way so you cook it yourself at the table.

You just place as much as you want to eat on the personal grill in front of you. The instructions said to put about two slices at a time on the heated grill plate and add Isigny butter, or pair it with wasabi, salt, and house sauce.

If you're looking for gyukatsu near Ajou University and want something different from the usual pork cutlet, this whole process is part of the fun. We also grilled just enough to eat right away rather than piling everything on at once.

Cooking one side, then flipping and grilling to your preferred doneness, meant we could eat it exactly to taste. We dipped some pieces just in sauce and others with a touch of wasabi, tasting the same cut of gyukatsu in slightly different ways each time.

Steki rice bowl and the whole fried mushroom with egg yolk

I ordered the steki (steak) rice bowl.

The rice carried a smoky, savory aroma, topped generously with browned, grilled meat, and edged with a heap of finely chopped chives — it looked pretty filling from the start.

At first I wondered what the round thing sitting in the middle was — turned out to be a whole mushroom, fried whole. Inside the crispy coating was that distinctly moist mushroom texture, which was a nice thing to alternate with when I'd been eating nothing but meat. The meat was cut into bite-size pieces, which made it easy to share with my kid too. The slightly sweet, salty seasoning soaked naturally into the rice, so it tasted seasoned even without adding much extra sauce, and it still had that char-grilled meat flavor.

Why the steki rice bowl works best when dining with a kid

Breaking the egg yolk that came with it and mixing it in made the flavor a bit softer. Mixing in the chives too added more aroma and texture than eating just the meat and rice. A touch of wasabi cut through the richness, which suited adult palates well too. Unlike gyukatsu, which you have to grill piece by piece on the tabletop grill, this dish is ready to eat right away — that was the difference. When visiting with a kid and needing to match eating pace, I found the steki rice bowl the more convenient dish.

After lunch: weekend events and free caricatures at Avenue France

After lunch, we properly explored Avenue France. Since it was the weekend, several booths were set up and lots of families were out, giving the whole place a lively, bustling feel.

We also got a free caricature done. Watching the drawing come together bit by bit while my kid sat there was a fun change of pace. We even took a photo holding the finished caricature.

If you're spending the weekend at Avenue France and looking for gyukatsu near Ajou University, Gyuen-dang Gwanggyo was fun for the personal tabletop grilling, one slice at a time.