Gyodae lamb skewer lunch date, mala xiangguo mixed into rice: Hanseong

Where can you eat lamb skewers for lunch near Gyodae Station?

Hanseong Yang Kkochi Gyodae Branch 2 (한성양꼬치 교대2호점) is a lamb skewer restaurant near Gyodae Station that opens at noon, so you can grill skewers over charcoal at lunch. This day I headed to the Gyodae area to have a hearty meal with my girlfriend.

We both love Chinese food and eat it on dates a lot, but most lamb places open late in the evening, so they're awkward to pick for lunch. Then we found one near Gyodae that opens at 12:00 and lets you grill meat at midday. That's how we ended up at Hanseong Yang Kkochi Gyodae Branch 2.

Hanseong Yang Kkochi Gyodae Branch 2: location and atmosphere

The restaurant is at 63 Seocho-daero 50-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, about 200 meters from Gyodae Station Exit 14, so we got there quickly. The sign is big, so it's easy to find, and inside it was much roomier and more pleasant than I expected from outside.

The seats are comfy sofas, so we were relaxed the whole meal, and the tables are spaced generously, which made for a nice date mood. My biggest worry was the smell, but every seat has a vent that sucks the smoke away right away. Our clothes barely smelled when we left, which I really liked. The place is big, so it looked fine for company dinners too.

What did two people order?

We ordered easily on the tablet at each table: one serving of loin lamb skewers, one serving of regular lamb skewers, mala xiangguo (Sichuan mala stir-fry), a bowl of rice, and a cola.

They were running a Naver reservation review event, and the place listing shows a coupon for a cucumber salad if your first order after a Naver reservation is ₩70,000 or more. If you go, it's worth grabbing these.

Complimentary side dishes and sauces

After ordering, the side dishes arrive: stir-fried peanuts, pickled onions, and zha cai salad. They also gave us cumin for dipping the meat and a soy sauce with chili peppers.

How were the loin and regular lamb skewers?

The lamb had no gamey smell at all, and the loin skewers were a little thicker and more tender than the regular ones. The meat came out first after a short wait, the lean-to-fat ratio looked right, and it looked fresh.

You just stick the skewers on the machine and they rotate and grill by themselves, which is so convenient. The charcoal heat is strong, so they turned golden brown quickly.

I pulled the cooked meat off and dunked it generously in cumin, and it was really good, with none of that typical lamb smell. It was savory and juicy, and my girlfriend and I, who already love lamb skewers, really enjoyed them. The loin was a bit thicker and more tender than the regular cut, so it was satisfying to chew. Dipped in the chili soy sauce, it cut the grease completely, so you never get tired of it and keep going.

Why mix the mala xiangguo into rice

The mala xiangguo here is fairly well seasoned, so it's just right when mixed with rice. While we were eating the meat, the mala xiangguo and rice arrived; the bowl was big and packed with ingredients.

It comes stir-fried in a spicy mala sauce with plump shrimp, fuzhu (dried tofu skin), dried tofu, bok choy, bean sprouts, glass noodles, mushrooms and more. The shrimp were large and meaty, fun to peel and eat.

With the first bite, that spicy, numbing mala flavor hit hard, and it paired really well with the meat. I piled dried tofu, glass noodles and bean sprouts onto the rice and mixed it all up, and it was practically a rice thief (a dish so good you keep eating rice).

Is Hanseong Yang Kkochi worth it for a lunch date?

After two servings of meat plus the mala xiangguo and rice, we were completely stuffed. The meat and mala xiangguo were so good that I really wanted a drink, but it was lunch, so I held back. Next time I'm definitely having beer with it.

If you're on a date near Gyodae Station, or looking for a place to grill meat during the day, and you like lamb skewers at all, I'd say just go to Hanseong Yang Kkochi Gyodae Branch 2.