Yangju Korean BBQ family dinner with a stroller: Manpo Galbi

A spacious place for galbi with family in Yangju

Honestly, galbi is so delicious whether it is a holiday or an ordinary day that it might be the meat dish I think of right after samgyeopsal! This time, I visited at dinnertime to spend some quality time with my family, and we had such a delicious meal!

Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch is open from 11:00 to 22:00, and above all, I was happy with both the meat and the interior. The whole building is Manpo Galbi, so even big extended families come here often. Not a cramped popular spot—a spacious one!

Can you bring a stroller inside?

Honestly, I never imagined there would come a day when I would ask whether a restaurant allows strollers every time I go out to eat. But now that I am always out and about with my baby, whether I can bring in the stroller is so important :) I really, really love places that are large and roomy enough for strollers.

A full table with side dishes and yukjeon

Every single side dish was delicious too! They look appetizing at a glance, right? Not one was overly salty or strongly seasoned—everything was just so good!

With yukjeon (pan-fried battered beef) served like this, I especially found myself thinking about having a drink :) Delicious side dishes, yukjeon, and meat...!

What do the fresh Korean pork ribs taste like?

First up were the fresh Korean pork ribs! Manpo Galbi's fresh Korean pork ribs are said to be king-sized ribs made from the fourth rib section and aged for 3 days. Since there is no marinade, it is a dish where you can taste the clean flavor of the pork itself.

Personally, just in terms of taste, the marinated ribs were more my style haha. The fresh ribs were definitely light and clean, but after eating them for a while, I felt a little tired of them. Still, I think the fresh ribs would be great for anyone keeping up their protein while working out or dieting these days. You can eat the meat itself without a sweet marinade, so it is a good choice when you want a hearty, meat-focused meal while dining out!

Why the marinated ribs suited me better

I work out and try to get enough protein too, so in that sense I liked the fresh ribs. Then came the marinated ribs! As expected, if we are talking taste alone, the marinated ribs were a little more my style haha.

Moving from fresh ribs to marinated ribs, they were clearly sweet with lots of savory depth, and the meat felt a little more tender too. Maybe because the marinade uses fruit, the marinated ribs suited my palate better than the fresh ribs. Fresh ribs are for enjoying the clean, natural flavor of the meat, while marinated ribs let you enjoy that sweet marinade too!

To sum up my preferences after trying both: if you want protein while working out, or like meat that is not sweet and has a clean flavor → fresh Korean pork ribs

We ordered all sorts of things, including mul-naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles in broth) and gyeranjjim (steamed egg)... haha. We ate so well and enjoyed every bit of it :)

In the end, we were sad to stop, so our strategy was to order more marinated ribs!

Fresh ribs or marinated ribs—which should you eat first?

If you think galbi has to be sweet and tender, then I recommend the marinated ribs :) I was the latter, haha.

And if you order both, I recommend eating them in the order of fresh ribs → marinated ribs. If you start with marinated ribs, the sweetness can linger in your mouth and make the clean flavor of the fresh ribs seem relatively bland. Going from fresh ribs to marinated ribs, I could clearly taste the difference between the two, and I got to end with the sweet marinated ribs I love, so this order was personally the best for me :)

My favorite part was the ice cream—it was completely sweet, but it did not taste like cheap ice cream, so I enjoyed it even more! I ate so well :) I want to go again.