Ansan butcher shop: boneless dakbal 1kg and galbitang to-go

Recording the taste of a meal, the scenery of a step.

My mom loves spicy food, especially boneless dakbal (spicy chicken feet). So this time I headed to Morakmorak Home & Cook, a butcher shop in the basement of Star Plaza in Seongpo-dong, Ansan, to pick up some delicious dakbal to bring her.

I only went in for the dakbal, but ended up also buying galbitang (short rib soup) to eat with my partner — and seeing the meat being trimmed at the butcher counter made me think I really need to buy some meat next time too.

Located in the basement of Star Plaza in Seongpo-dong

Star Plaza is the building with the Woori Bank branch, so it was fairly easy to find even on a first visit.

Just go in through the front entrance and take the escalator down to the basement food floor.

Parking matters when you're driving in to shop, and I was glad to see 4 hours free — plenty of time to browse without rushing.

An Ansan butcher shop with everything from meat to ready meals

Morakmorak Home & Cook felt a bit different from your typical butcher shop.

Alongside the butcher counter, there was a whole range of products meant for easy cooking at home.

The upside is you can pick up dakbal along with galbitang, dak-galbi (spicy stir-fried chicken), jeyuk-bokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork), and galbi-jjim (braised short ribs) — great for a full meal or side dishes.

So it's worth a look not just for people hunting for an Ansan butcher shop, but also anyone searching for Ansan meal kits or takeaway food.

What really caught my eye was watching the staff trim the meat right there in the store. Seeing the vivid color and marbling of the sliced cuts, I came for dakbal this time, but next time I'd love to try their Ansan hanwoo (Korean beef) or cuts for grilling.

During holidays like Chuseok when the whole family gathers, there's often meat or hanwoo gifts to prepare — I'm keeping this place in mind as a spot to buy Chuseok meat this year.

Spicy boneless dakbal for mom

The first thing I picked up was the boneless dakbal my mom loves. I got the 1kg pack for ₩25,000; the store also had a 400g pack for ₩9,900.

Back home, I put it in a pot and added cheongyang chili peppers, red chili, and chives.

As it started bubbling away, the spicy aroma rising up was enough to make my mouth water just from watching.

No need to pick around bones, so it's easy to eat, and the chewy dakbal with the spicy sauce was great — good as a side with rice, or as late-night food or a drinking snack.

I bought it for my spicy-food-loving mom, and I'm glad I got a generous amount.

If you're searching for good food in Seongpo-dong or looking for Ansan dakbal to take home and cook comfortably, this is worth checking out.

Galbitang shared with my partner

What my partner and I picked up for ourselves was the galbitang, ₩12,000. According to the store's sign, it's made with broth simmered from hanwoo bones, along with short ribs, brisket, radish, green onion, whole garlic, whole ginger, and whole peppercorns.

Making galbitang from scratch at home takes real effort — soaking out the blood, simmering the broth for hours — so bringing home a packaged version and heating it up hot felt easy and still made for a hearty meal.

If you're after Ansan galbitang to enjoy comfortably at home on days when going out to eat feels like too much, this kind of packaged option is a solid choice.

Saving with Daon and Onnuri gift certificates

Morakmorak Home & Cook also accepts Ansan's local currency Daon and Onnuri gift certificates, according to the signage. If you regularly use local currency, it's worth using it here when stocking up on meat, side dishes, or ready meals.

This time I bought dakbal for my mom and galbitang for my partner and me, but honestly it's a place that left me looking forward to the next visit even more.

The meat being trimmed in front of me looked so good that I want to try samgyeopsal, pork neck, or Ansan hanwoo next time. If you want to stock up on everything from meat to dakbal, galbitang, and other easy home meals in one trip, keep Morakmorak Home & Cook in mind — the Ansan butcher shop in the basement of Star Plaza in Seongpo-dong. I'm planning to visit again myself, especially when it's time to prepare meat for Chuseok.