Maebong Station Korean BBQ that won over a picky partner: Woosang

My partner is famous for being picky, and when it comes to meat they are seriously strict. If we pay good money and the food is bad, they grumble and sulk all day. After a while they suggested a beef date to cheer ourselves up, so I went on a frantic search for a classy charcoal grill good for anniversaries or special days, and found something amazing at Maebong Station. It is a corkage-free beef place near Yangjae Stream: Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch (우상화로구이).

Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch: location, hours and parking

Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch is at 26 Nonhyeon-ro 34-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 1st floor, a 5-minute walk from Maebong Station Exit 4. Weekdays it is open 11:00–22:00 (break time 15:00–17:00, last order 21:00); Saturdays and public holidays 17:00–22:00 (last order 21:00); closed every Sunday. Parking fits about 5 cars.

The exterior has a classy Japanese yakiniku (grilled meat) vibe and stands out at a glance from far away. So clean and stylish, and the premium charcoal grill energy is crazy.

Inside Woosang Hwarogui: good for dates and work dinners?

The inside was much classier and cleaner than I expected, with generously spaced tables and a great atmosphere. There are rooms, and the outside tables can be curtained off, so you can eat in private.

Being corkage-free, it seems perfect for wedding invitation gatherings, dates and get-togethers, and thanks to the upscale mood, for wine gatherings or company dinners too.

Woosang Hwarogui menu: what we ordered

The menu has single beef items and set menus. They also open for lunch on weekdays with a lunch special, so it could be a good lunch spot for office workers too.

Today we ordered the house signature and ultimate pick, the Sang assorted platter. You get a variety of quality cuts, so no agonizing, this was clearly it.

• Sang assorted platter (상 모듬한판)
• Doenjang sotbap (된장술밥, soybean paste rice stew)
• Egg yolk soy rice (노른자간장밥)

Side dishes and the three dipping sauces

The basic setting is neat right from the side dishes. From pickles that go well with meat to the sauces and tableware neatly prepared on the table, you can feel the attention to detail.

Pickled celery, white kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi, cucumber-pepper doenjang salad, sarada (Korean-style salad), pickled chili strips and garlic scape pickles, plus three sauces: Maldon salt, fresh wasabi and shiitake wasabi. All of it went well with the meat, and every single one tasted good.

How to grill the Sang assorted platter, in order

The staff kindly explained that you grill chamjinsal → angeomisal → gadak galbisal, with the first two medium-rare and the gadak cut medium-well. The platter arrived glowing and was overwhelming from the first look, with wonderful marbling. The different cuts were plated beautifully, each in its own section.

How do you eat the pile of scallions?

The scallion pile (daepa deomi) comes with the Sang assorted set, and an extra one is ₩2,000. You knock the scallion tower down, mix it with the sauce underneath and eat it like pajeori (scallion salad).

The charcoal was lit and the heat was seriously strong, the ideal setup for cooking meat at its tastiest.

What does chamjinsal taste like?

Chamjinsal is a rare cut next to the sirloin at the top of the ribs, known for its bright red meat and snowflake-like marbling. It was the first thing we grilled from the platter, medium-rare.

The marbling was honestly a work of art, and the juices bubbled up the moment it hit the grill.

For the first bite I just dipped it in a little salt. It melted in my mouth before I could even chew, and my partner and I both said it was crazy.

We tried it with the scallion pile and with a little wasabi on mustard leaf kimchi, and every time a piece disappeared I nearly cried, it was such a waste to see it go, T_T. Seriously... so, so delicious.

What cut of beef is angeomisal?

Angeomisal is a special cut, only 600g per cow, tender with a rich meaty aroma. They say you can taste the flavor of tenderloin and sirloin at once.

We grilled the angeomisal medium-rare on the same grill. As it cooked, its distinctive meaty aroma started to get strong.

The deep, rich aroma was very appealing. The more you chew, the more the nutty flavor bursts out, a classy taste of a different kind from the chamjinsal, and it got a thumbs-up from me.

Egg yolk soy rice topped with angeomisal

Egg yolk soy rice is one of the best side dishes at Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch. You pop the plump yolk, add the special soy sauce and mix it up, and it's done.

The nutty yolk and the sweet-salty soy sauce are delicious on their own, but when I topped it with a piece of well-grilled angeomisal, my partner and I almost fainted.

What is doenjang sulbap?

Doenjang sotbap is a stone-pot dish of rice simmered in rich, savory doenjang broth, packed with zucchini, tofu and chadolbaegi (thinly sliced beef brisket). We ordered it to go with the meal before grilling the last cut, gadak galbisal.

It came bubbling in the pot, and the moment we tasted the broth, my partner and I nearly ordered another bottle of soju. Seriously... I barely held it together. It warmed us up and filled us up, perfect as both a drinking snack and a way to finish the meal.

Gadak galbisal, best grilled medium-well

Gadak galbisal is Woosang Hwarogui's signature rib cut: the meat from the beef rib cut off the bone in long strips. We grilled it last in the Sang assorted platter.

Unlike the earlier cuts, we grilled the gadak galbisal medium-well, cooked a bit longer.

It was chewy with a real bite, a springy texture different from the earlier cuts. It was good with salt, but with a bit of shiitake wasabi on top it made a perfect finale with no chance of getting tired of it.

The surprisingly sweet tomato skewer garnish

The garnishes were shishito peppers, king oyster mushrooms, corn, garlic and a tomato skewer. The tomato, maybe a stevia tomato, tasted extremely sweet once fully grilled!!!! If I weren't so full, I'd have refilled another vegetable platter!!!!

Excellent ice cream with olive oil, salt and pepper for dessert?

Dessert at Woosang Hwarogui Maebong Station was Excellent ice cream (a vanilla ice cream brand), and if you ask for olive oil, salt and pepper, they sprinkle them on generously right in front of you. They asked about dessert as we were finishing, and even though I was full I felt I had to have dessert, so I asked, and out came the Excellent. Wait, my partner and I had just been saying we wanted Excellent the other day;;; The grinder looked really nice too and I want it.

Pepper and olive oil on ice cream? I took a bite half in doubt, and the fragrance of the olive oil wrapped around the sweet vanilla, with the saltiness of the salt and the kick of the pepper popping up here and there. It went beyond the textbook sweet-and-salty and tasted amazing! A witty dessert that was perfect to the end.

Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch, I just love it, honestly. Celery pickle heart S2

Verdict: the Maebong Station beef grill that won over a picky partner

Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch was the perfect place to grill high-quality, wonderfully marbled beef over charcoal yourself in a classy, clean setting. Even while eating, my partner said it was the best beef place we'd been to lately, and we talked about it all day, haha.

If you're looking for a corkage-free restaurant in Gangnam, a Maebong Station spot for a company dinner or a date, or a beef charcoal grill with taste, quality and atmosphere all together, I recommend giving Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch a visit!