Yangju Korean BBQ with handmade naengmyeon: Manpo Garden

Manpo Garden in Yangju: atmosphere from the entrance

I’ve been visiting the Yangju area often for work lately~~ Do you know Manpo Garden (만포가든), a great galbi spot in Yangju? It’s a barbecue restaurant that serves naengmyeon too, and they also have Korean beef. Today, on the way back from Yangju, I stopped by Manpo Garden—the place that serves naengmyeon—with my family for dinner~~

Manpo Garden, this Yangju galbi favorite that serves naengmyeon, feels rather upscale from the entrance! It feels like you’re walking into a hotel. The parking lot is huge, with plenty of space between cars—so nice!! The sky was pretty that day, and Manpo Garden was pretty too, haha.

Once you go inside, there’s a lobby-like space like this. NongHyup is on the left, and the restroom is straight ahead. Head to the right and you’ll find a very spacious dining area. We prefer sitting farther inside, so we went all the way in—and I noticed rooms along the side.

A spacious interior with private rooms and a self-serve corner

Is the interior concept a hotel? It’s decorated so nicely that it feels like eating at a hotel restaurant. I peeked into one of the rooms, and it was truly elegant and lovely. This would be a great place in Yangju for company dinners, lunch gatherings, and all kinds of get-togethers.

The self-serve corner is set up like this. It’s very clean and neatly organized, with fresh side dishes you can help yourself to.

I like it when cutlery comes individually wrapped, and of course Manpo Garden has it set up this way. It’s the place that gives you meat when you eat naengmyeon... no, no—gives you naengmyeon when you eat meat.! Their handmade Hamheung naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles in the Hamheung style) is exactly to my taste, and Mini-me’s too!

The basic spread, complete with yukhoe and yukjeon

Are those brass bowls for real? Seeing the neatly plated baek-kimchi (white kimchi), I knew this had to be a good restaurant!! It was quite a large table, but it filled right up~ This is how many basic side dishes there were. Do you know a barbecue place that gives you yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) and yukjeon (pan-fried beef slices)? That’s Manpo Garden~~ The salad is always fresh whenever I come, and it truly puts me in a good mood!!

The freshly dressed lettuce salad and chili pepper salad were so delicious that I got refills~~

I think this every time I come, but seeing the neatly plated baek-kimchi makes me feel so well looked after. Cutting and plating it this way actually takes quite a bit of work.

Marinated galbi, doenjang jjigae, and naengmyeon

The marinated galbi is always fresh, with a marinade that isn’t overpowering. A charcoal grill just the right size for our family was ready for us~

At Manpo Garden, a Yangju galbi favorite, they provide a tray where you can place the cooked meat like this. I’m very happy about this detail too. It saves you the trouble of constantly turning the meat over because you’re worried it might burn.

Today, we also ordered doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) for a change. My husband said it was so delicious, haha, that he ordered an extra bowl of rice even though he doesn’t usually eat much rice… It’s such a rice thief!!!

I think naengmyeon is what I’ve eaten most this year. So I don’t usually eat naengmyeon if it isn’t good, but the mul-naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth) and bibim-naengmyeon (spicy mixed cold noodles) at Manpo Garden are truly delicious. I could come here just for these.

Finishing with ice cream and bbeong-scream

We had meat, doenjang jjigae, rice, and naengmyeon, so now it was time for dessert. I really wanted an iced coffee, but first I had to eat ice cream^^

They keep very fresh meat stored here. I looked closely, wondering just how good it might be, and there wasn’t a single thing to fault—the color, the marbling, everything!! Next time, I should have fresh meat instead of marinated galbi! Now you all know, right?? Bbeong-scream!!!!!! Why, why, why is it so delicious??? Can puffed rice snacks be this good?? They say people eat puffed rice snacks when dieting, but these were so good I feel like I could eat a whole truckload.... I held myself back a lot today and ate three!!!

Of course, a barbecue restaurant’s meat should be delicious, right?? But that’s the baseline.. The meat should naturally be tasty, and if everything else is delicious too... if even the dessert is perfect... then I think it deserves real praise!!! That place is Manpo Garden, a Yangju galbi favorite.!!! Just don’t ask questions, don’t overthink it—go try it once~~~