Yangju galbi restaurant with a self-service side bar: Manpo Garden

I went to Manpo Garden, a place famous as a galbi restaurant in Yangju, and had an overall satisfying meal, so let me introduce it in detail!

Manpo Garden location, hours and parking

📍Location: 28-37 Godeok-ro 355beon-gil, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, 1st floor

⏰Hours: 11:00-22:00 (daily)

🚘Parking: available⭕️

Manpo Garden has a parking lot right in front of the restaurant, so it's convenient to park!

What is Manpo Garden like inside, and are there private rooms?

Walking inside, it was overall spacious and neatly arranged!

It looked like a good space for dining with several people, so it seemed nice for family outings or gatherings too, haha. And since there's a private room, that's a nice option if you want to eat quietly!

What comes with the lunch special handmade galbi set?

Manpo Garden's menu is centered on galbi with various meat dishes and rice dishes! It's great for when you want a proper meat meal, but it also looked good for a simple lunch, haha.

This time I ordered the lunch special hand-made galbi set! It comes with pork galbi, naengmyeon, and doenjang sulbap.

Banchan that includes yukhoe and yukjeon

There were a variety of side dishes prepared!

Along with the basic banchan, yukhoe (beef tartare), yukjeon (pan-fried beef), salad and more came together, so it was more fun than just eating meat alone.

It felt a bit unusual to be able to enjoy yukhoe and yukjeon together at a meat restaurant, haha.

The spread was made up of quite a variety, so the table looked full even in food photos!

How does the self-service side bar work?

There was also a self-service bar set up on one side of the restaurant, haha.

It was convenient to be able to grab side dishes yourself when you needed more, or wanted to try something extra during the meal.

Pork galbi seasoning and texture at Manpo Garden

The pork galbi's seasoning wasn't overpowering — it blended just the right amount when eaten with the meat!

With the smoky char and the seasoning flavor added, it went well with rice, and pairing it with wraps or side dishes changed the taste little by little.

The outside had a slightly grilled, chewy feel from the seasoning, and the inside was soft, not tough, when chewed, haha.

Instead of feeling dry or stiff, it had a good amount of springiness!

Especially eating it warm and fresh, you could really feel the juiciness still left in it.

It went well with rice too! The seasoning suited the rice so well that I kept reaching for another bite of galbi with a little rice, haha.

What kind of dish is doenjang sulbap?

Doenjang sulbap came with the rice already mixed in, which felt different from eating doenjang stew with rice on the side!

Inside the doenjang sulbap there were also plenty of fillings like enoki mushrooms and tofu, haha.

The warm, savory flavor of the doenjang sulbap was really filling!

Finishing the meal with bibim naengmyeon

The bibim naengmyeon's seasoning wasn't heavy or thick — it had just the right balance of sweet and tangy, and it felt like it cleaned up the palate after eating meat.

The noodles in the bibim naengmyeon had a springy yet chewy texture that made it enjoyable to eat, haha.

Since it came together with the pork galbi as part of the lunch special hand-made galbi set, it was great as a finishing dish after eating meat!

Dessert coffee and ppeong-seukeurim at Manpo Garden

For dessert I also tried coffee and ppeong-seukeurim! Ppeong-seukeurim is, just as the name suggests, a dessert of ice cream on top of ppeongtwigi (puffed rice cracker).

The crispy rice cracker with cold, soft ice cream added on top was nice and light to eat after the meal, haha.

After eating my fill of meat, naengmyeon, and doenjang sulbap, finishing with sweet ice cream felt like a meal that was properly taken care of right to the end!