Songpa gopchang restaurant, 1-hour wait for a 220g portion: Jinseong

A place I went to because I fell in love with the original Garak Market branch, a one-hour wait, and then... the portion was way too small. Here's my honest review of Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch.

Where is Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch, and what are its hours?

• Address: 19 Olympic-ro 32-gil, 1F, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Reservations: Walk-in only (waiting expected)
• Location: Bangi food alley, 10-minute walk from Jamsil Station
• Hours: Mon-Thu 16:00-23:00 (last order 22:00) / Fri 16:00-24:00 (last order 23:00) / Sat 13:00-24:00 (last order 23:00) / Sun 15:00-24:00 (last order 23:00)
• No parking available

How long is the wait for gopchang in the Bangi-dong food alley?

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch only takes walk-in waits, and I had to write my name down and wait a full hour before I could even get in. I have such good memories of eating amazingly well at the Garak Market original branch, so when I got a craving for gopchang (beef small intestine), I thought I'd try the Bangi branch too. Sure enough, it's clearly known as a Bangi-dong hotspot, because the wait was so long.

There are actually quite a few beef gopchang places in Bangi-dong, so I thought there wouldn't be a wait... ㅠㅠ Hmm... but honestly, considering how long I waited, the whole meal from sitting down to leaving took less than an hour, and to be honest it was a pretty disappointing visit.

What's on the menu at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang? No combo platter

The menu at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch had just three items: gopchang, daechang, and makchang. I asked if they had a combo platter, and

We don't sell combo platters here.

was the flat answer I got.

So we had no choice but to order one portion of gopchang and one portion of daechang separately. While we were waiting, they told us to come in, then took it back and said it wasn't our turn yet, which was a bit upsetting — overall I kept getting the feeling the service wasn't great.

Was that really 220g? Portion size and value at Jinseong

The gopchang portion was listed as 220g, but what arrived on the plate was just a single row. I was pretty surprised looking at the amount. Is this really right ㅠㅠ? Even accounting for it being partially cooked already, the portion felt way too stingy.

After eating, I wasn't full at all, which was really disappointing. The taste itself was good, but the portion size dragged my satisfaction down a lot. (Though they did tell me this was actually good value for the price... ^^)

Garak Market original vs. Bangi branch: the marinated garlic is missing

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch serves three kinds of kimchi, which I noticed they also sell separately.

But back when I ate at the Garak Market original branch, they served soy-marinated garlic alongside the meat, and here there was none of that. That garlic was so good... it was a shame it was missing.

Is Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang in Songpa worth the wait?

The gopchang itself at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch definitely tasted good. But maybe my expectations were just too high after thinking back to the Garak Market original branch? This is a place you have to endure a wait to get into, and it was hard to feel that the payoff matched that. I actually know a gopchang place in Gunja that I really love, with generous portions.

In my next post, I'll go eat in Gunja and bring back a review! For now, let's just drink some soju...!!