Balsan Station lamb skewer restaurant for a coworker reunion: Hwarodam

I recently met up with some former coworkers for dinner after a long while, and we ended up at Hwarodam Yang Kkochi. We were looking for a good spot to gather in Magok after work, and landed here — lamb loin skewers, guo bao rou, fried eggplant, and a round of yeonmaek. Let me show you around :)

Hwarodam Yang Kkochi Magok: location and opening hours

• Address: 2nd floor, 207-209, Queens Park 10, 66 Magokjungang 6-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Closed every Sunday, Mon-Fri 11:30-22:50, Sat 14:00-22:50

How to walk there from Balsan Station exit 9

Hwarodam Yang Kkochi is on the 2nd floor of the Queens Park 10 building, about 5 minutes from exit 9 of Balsan Station.

The charcoal pit at the entrance: skewers arrive pre-grilled

The first thing I noticed walking in was the charcoal pit near the entrance. That's where they pre-grill the lamb before bringing it to your table, so all we had to do was finish it off a bit more at the table. Lamb skewers usually take a while to grill, so having them come out half-done was really convenient.

Is Hwarodam Yang Kkochi Magok good for a Magok group dinner? The divided seating

Walking in, I noticed a lot of reservation signs on the tables. The dividers between seats were quite tall, so the next table over wasn't distracting at all, and it was easy for us to chat among ourselves. It seemed like a solid choice for a group dinner in Magok with several people.

Hwarodam menu and what our table ordered

Hwarodam had a wide range of lamb dishes, from skewers to lamb ribs to lamb rib-eye cuts. We went with lamb loin skewers (2 servings), guo bao rou, and savory fried eggplant.

Side dishes and dipping sauces

We got cumin salt, the house sauce, and chive flower sauce to eat with the lamb. The banchan (side dishes) were white kimchi and pickled ssamjang stem, good to mix in between bites of meat.

Yeonmaek: Yantai gaoliangju mixed with beer

We also ordered Yantai gaoliangju and beer and mixed them into yeonmaek. It paired really well with the lamb skewers.

How thick are the lamb loin skewers?

After a short wait, the lamb loin skewers came out, pre-grilled on the entrance charcoal pit. Each piece of meat was really thick — it immediately reminded me of Igane Yang Kkochi.

We finished grilling them a bit more at the table, to our liking.

I put one piece on my own plate, and you can see just how thick it was at a glance.

I honestly thought pieces this thick might turn out tough, but they were soft and juicy all the way through. I tried each of the sauces, and my favorite combination was topping the meat with the chive flower sauce.

Guo bao rou: sweet and sour fried pork

Next came the guo bao rou, drizzled with a sweet and tangy sauce.

The batter here wasn't too thick, and the inside was chewy, so I kept reaching for more. It was a nice bite to have between rounds of lamb, and it went well with the yeonmaek too.

Savory fried eggplant at Hwarodam

And something that surprisingly suited my taste well was the savory fried eggplant. The outside was crisp while the eggplant inside cooked up soft, so the difference in texture really stood out. The sauce was salty with a subtle sweetness, and onions and carrots were mixed in too. The eggplant was cooked moist and tender, and I enjoyed it just as much as the guo bao rou.

Final verdict on Hwarodam Yang Kkochi Magok

Visiting this Magok restaurant with former coworkers after a long time apart, the lamb loin skewers were what I enjoyed most — thick yet tender — and the guo bao rou and savory fried eggplant were both solid too. I also liked that the booth dividers between tables made it easy to talk just among ourselves. There were a lot of reservation signs up from the moment we walked in, so if you're looking for a spot for a Magok group dinner or lamb near Balsan Station, this one's worth keeping in mind :)