Mapo Korean restaurant for royal galbi and naengmyeon: Ok Galbi

I visited Ok Galbi (옥갈비), a galbi-specialty restaurant in Hapjeong, with my boyfriend, who loves every galbi dish imaginable—LA galbi, galbi-tang, galbi-jjim, you name it. It had only recently been revamped from its former Korean dining concept, and I remembered its beef galbi-jjim from a previous visit as easily one of the top three I’d ever had.

Ok Galbi near Hapjeong Station: location and practical info

Ok Galbi is just over a three-minute walk from Exit 3 of Hapjeong Station. There is no parking, so you’ll need to use a nearby paid lot; the Hapjeong Youth Housing parking lot is the closest.

A cozy wood-toned interior and Tableling

The interior is neat and modern. The ivory-and-wood décor gives it such a cozy feel,

and there is a Tableling waitlist service by the entrance. There was no wait when we arrived, so we went straight in.

Each seat has a basket for your belongings, plus blankets too—such a thoughtful touch.

Ordering Ok Galbi-tang and Ok Galbi-jjim

As a galbi specialist, its main dishes naturally all feature galbi. They also sell a broad range of drinks—soju, beer, traditional liquor, wine, and highballs—so they seemed great to pair with the food. We ordered one signature Ok Galbi-tang and one Ok Galbi-jjim.

• Ok Galbi-tang ₩15,000
• Ok Galbi-jjim ₩29,000

You order by QR code. Do join the gift event too—every entry wins! We got fifth place and received a Coke.

The Ok Galbi-tang arrived as a tidy full set. The ttukbaegi (earthenware pot) of galbi-tang was piled high with egg garnish, with a bowl of rice, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), and other basic sides.

The generously portioned Ok Galbi-jjim came bubbling away in a large ttukbaegi, absolutely loaded with galbi. Careful, it’s hot!

Tasting naengmyeon with an order of galbi-jjim

Order the galbi-jjim and they give you a tasting portion of naengmyeon (cold noodles). Cool mul naengmyeon and tangy bibim naengmyeon~~ Mix it well, top it with a piece of meat, and eat them together—so good! The portion was bigger than I expected, too.

Ok Galbi-tang with royal-size galbi ribs

The galbi-tang contains two huge royal-size rib bones. There is just the right amount of meat clinging to them, making them wonderfully satisfying to chew and pull apart.

My boyfriend, who was clearly raised very delicately, said he couldn’t hold a bone and gnaw on it, so he meticulously cut every bit of meat off with scissors;;

Ok Galbi-jjim infused with deep soy-sauce seasoning

The Ok Galbi-jjim was seriously abundant. Unlike the galbi-jjim I usually know, it used the same huge rib bones as the galbi-tang.

The seasoning had soaked in deeply, so it was excellent with rice. I’m a hands-on kind of girl, so I used both hands and got right in there hahaha. Pulling meat from the bone is half the fun, right?

One bite of plump galbi meat dipped deeply in the sauce! There was a nice mix of royal-size ribs and bite-size galbi pieces, so I pulled mine apart while my boyfriend elegantly cut his with scissors hahaha. It was a generous amount—just right for a meal.

The soy-sauce-based galbi-jjim seasoning leaned a little salty, making it great with alcohol or rice. Perfect drinking food. For someone like me who loves savory-salty flavors, 👌

It was generously filled with mushrooms, jumbo garlic cloves, chili peppers, jujubes, and more, giving the seasoning a clean yet deep, rich flavor.

The chewy rice-cake add-on had absorbed the sauce so well that I kept reaching for it hahaha. It totally tasted like soy-sauce tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), except not spicy?

Ok Galbi, the Hapjeong galbi-specialty restaurant, served us such a carefully prepared meal. Its cozy space would be lovely for a date, and the relaxed atmosphere also makes it seem like a good place for a casual drink or a gathering. Ok Galbi-tang is the lunch signature and Ok Galbi-jjim the dinner signature, so it seems suited to a lunch meal or a post-work date or company dinner in the evening. Another filling meal well enjoyed today~~^^