Yangju Go-eup galbi restaurant where rooms fill up fast: Manpo Garden

A Yangju Goeup restaurant review: Manpo Garden gives you free handmade Hamhung naengmyeon

I went out to eat with my family on a weekend evening at 'Manpo Garden' in Yangju. I heard that if you order galbi, they give you free naengmyeon (cold noodles) too, so I booked half excited, half curious — and I left super satisfied because the place was huge and the free naengmyeon was so good. Let me give you my honest review right away!

Where is Manpo Garden in Go-eup-dong, Yangju?

Manpo Garden is at 28-37 Godeok-ro 355beon-gil, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, and it's open daily from 11:00 to 22:00. Worth noting: free handmade Hamhung naengmyeon, Yangju local currency accepted, and baby chairs available.

Parking is available both in front of and behind the restaurant, and it's spacious enough that it never felt cramped.

Apparently the name Manpo (滿布) itself means "to give generously and fill up." They say they only use top-grade hanwoo beef that's been through the livestock cooperative's traceability system, and 100% real pork galbi.

Weekend evening at Manpo Garden: private rooms full even with a 3-day-ahead booking

Walking into Manpo Garden, the checkout counter and a row of private rooms were on the left. Heading into the center, there were tables lined up on both sides, and the restaurant was pretty spacious all the way to the back.

Maybe because it was a weekend evening, there were a lot of people. I'd booked 3 days in advance but was told all the rooms were already taken. I wished I'd called to book even earlier.

Even with so many people, it never felt stuffy — the tables were so wide that side dishes on the opposite side were out of reach, but that also meant plenty of room to sit comfortably without feeling cramped.

Checking the country-of-origin labels, both the pork galbi and beef were domestic. The rice was domestic too.

Manpo Garden menu and prices

Handmade Korean pork galbi is 250g for ₩19,000, beef brisket doenjang stew is ₩6,000, rice is ₩1,000, and the handmade Hamhung naengmyeon is free. As soon as we sat down where we were seated, we ordered right away through the tablet. We ordered the meat, doenjang stew, and rice first, and once the meat arrived and we started grilling, we ordered the naengmyeon too.

Besides the galbi and doenjang stew I ordered, the menu was really varied — charcoal-grilled hanwoo bulgogi ₩28,000, hanwoo sirloin++ 150g ₩42,000, pork belly/pork neck 200g ₩18,000, beef brisket doenjang sulbap ₩8,000, galbitang ₩14,000, and yukhoe bibimbap ₩15,000. There's also a lunch special — the handmade galbi set (pork galbi 250g + naengmyeon + doenjang sulbap) for ₩19,000 — so if you're visiting for lunch, keep that in mind!

At the entrance there was a fridge full of refrigerated meat like this — apparently you can also buy this meat to take home.

Manpo Garden's set table: 8 side dishes plus yukhoe and yukjeon

Since I'd booked in advance, all these side dishes were already set out as the default spread when we got there. Every single one was delicious — personally, the soy-marinated pickles and the spicy radish salad went so well with the meat that my chopsticks kept going back for more.

There were already 8 side dishes, and on top of that they brought out yukhoe (raw beef tartare) and yukjeon (pan-fried beef).

And once the onions to eat alongside the meat arrived, that was it.

You thought that was all? At the self-service bar you can grab extra side dishes, and you'll need to get your own lettuce, ssamjang (dipping sauce), and garlic there. (These aren't part of the default table setting!)

The cups were right next to the tablet order screen, so they were easy to grab.

The aprons are in the second drawer under the table.

How the handmade pork galbi for three and the brisket doenjang stew tasted

Not long after ordering, they brought out the galbi.

I had to grill it myself, but it wasn't hard at all, and I could ask staff through the tablet to swap out the grill plate — they were coming by often enough that it was easy to make the request.

It had been a while since I'd had galbi grilled over charcoal, so I grilled it with a bit of nervous excitement.

While the meat was cooking, I ate the yukjeon and yukhoe and tried the various side dishes — all delicious!

I grilled the galbi, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and had a bite — it was really good. Grilling it over charcoal really infused that smoky flavor, and the right amount of fat rendered off so it wasn't greasy at all.

The beef brisket doenjang stew was slightly spicy and paired well with the meat — really tasty.

Free Hamhung naengmyeon at Manpo Garden: spicy mixed and chilled broth

This is the spicy mixed naengmyeon (bibim-naengmyeon) I ordered. I ordered it early so I could eat it alongside the meat, and I'm glad I did — it went so well together.

The plain water naengmyeon was also refreshing and tasted great. For a free dish, the portion was definitely bigger than the dessert naengmyeon at other galbi restaurants, so it was filling enough to eat as a full serving.

Dessert at Manpo Garden: iced coffee and puffed-rice ice cream

We were pretty full, but I noticed a cup of ice sitting in the freezer for making iced coffee. You take it and pour the coffee over it yourself.

They'd also set up ice cream served on puffed rice cakes like this. Even though I was full, it felt like a shame to leave without trying it, so I had a bit of ice cream too, haha.

Verdict: book a private room before a weekend visit to Manpo Garden

Honestly I went in without high expectations, but the galbi and side dishes were all so good that I was genuinely surprised!! No wonder there were so many people there, haha. I went with my parents and they were so satisfied that we're already planning to come back!

If you're looking for a great galbi restaurant in Yangju, head to Manpo Garden, haha. Oh, and if you're visiting on the weekend and want to eat somewhere quieter, I'd recommend booking a private room well in advance!