Pork galbi with kids-loved pudding egg custard, Uijeongbu: Manpo Galbi

In the Uijeongbu new town area there's Manpo Galbi, a place that gives you free house-made Hamhung naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) when you order meat. I went to Manpo Galbi's Yangju main branch once and was so satisfied that I'm planning to go back this weekend — and since there happens to be a Manpo Galbi Uijeongbu Main Branch nearby, I stopped by.

Hours: daily 11:00–23:00 / Parking: available / Baby chair: available

Location and parking at Manpo Galbi Uijeongbu Main Branch

Located in the new town area, Manpo Galbi Uijeongbu Main Branch is a 7-minute walk from Exit 2 of Uijeongbu Station (light rail) and a 3-minute walk from Uijeongbu Health Center. There was room for about 3 cars on the street right in front of the restaurant, and about 4 more in a dedicated lot behind the building. Parking was a bit tighter than I expected, but since the place is easy to reach by public transit and there's street parking in the alley, I didn't think it'd be a big worry.

The hall had about 16 four-person tables and there was a separate room too, so the space felt quite spacious.

What we ordered: handon fresh galbi

I recently visited Manpo Galbi's Yangju main branch too, and since it's a chain, the menus are similar, but there were differences in the lunch special lineup and main menu prices. Like the Yangju branch, Manpo Galbi Uijeongbu Main Branch is also known as a popular spot for pork galbi in Uijeongbu. So we ordered the handon (Korean pork) fresh galbi. (All the pork galbi here is Korean pork!!!)

The basic table setting, yukhoe, and sweet-and-sour oyster mushrooms

The basic table setting was neatly arranged. All the side dishes came in ceramic bowls set on a hexagonal tray, which made me feel well taken care of. Manpo Galbi Uijeongbu Main Branch also serves sweet-and-sour oyster mushrooms as a basic side dish — this was a dish I used to love when it showed up in school lunches. A taste that brought back memories 👏🏻

The yukhoe (Korean-style beef tartare) served as a basic side dish — the meat was fresh and chewy with a rich, savory flavor, so I really enjoyed it. Coming as a basic side dish didn't make the quality feel lower at all!

Fresh king galbi from just the 4th rib, grilled over charcoal

The handon fresh galbi can only be ordered in units of 2 servings, and it's said to be fresh king galbi made using only the 4th rib — out of ribs 1 through 4, the one with the best marbling and texture.

They grill it well on both sides over clean charcoal. Kimchi and garlic were brought out in a mess tin without us even having to ask, so we could grill and eat comfortably!

The heat was strong so the meat cooked quickly. That meant the juices got locked in, giving us meat that was crisp outside and tender inside!

Taking a bite of the well-cooked meat, it was full of smoky charcoal aroma and nutty, savory flavor. The meat was fresh with no off smell, and tender enough that the kids ate it well too.

This rib was flipped continuously and cooked with care so it wouldn't burn, and it turned out deliciously cooked. You know meat tastes better when you tear it off the bone, right!

Adding a serving of handmade seasoned galbi

The portions were bigger than expected, so the fresh galbi alone filled us up fairly well, but since Manpo Galbi is a place that gives free house-made Hamhung naengmyeon, we ordered one more serving of handmade seasoned galbi to eat together with the noodles.

Using 100% rib meat and Manpo Galbi's own handmade seasoning to bring out the natural flavor of pork galbi — authentic handmade seasoned galbi! Nicely grilled, right 🙂

Free Hamhung naengmyeon: bibim or mul?

The free naengmyeon can be chosen between bibim (spicy mixed) and mul (cold broth) styles. Manpo Galbi makes everything from the noodles to the broth in-house, so having noodles with this much care put into them for free feels really appealing. We ordered one bowl each of bibim naengmyeon and mul naengmyeon.

The spiciness was stronger than the tanginess, which really cut through the greasiness after eating meat! The noodles weren't tough — pleasantly chewy yet soft.

I'm firmly on team bibim naengmyeon normally, but while looking up reviews of Manpo Galbi Uijeongbu Main Branch, I saw a lot of people saying the mul naengmyeon was delicious, so I tried it — and it really was good 🌈 The broth had a deep beef flavor and the savoriness was incredible.

If you're wrapping it up with the meat, I highly recommend the mul naengmyeon!

Pudding egg custard the kids finished off two bowls of

The kids said they wouldn't eat rice or egg custard, but hoping they'd eat at least something more, I ordered a pudding egg custard too — and just from the photo, can you already sense how jiggly and soft it looks?

It wasn't salty, had a clean flavor, and was truly melt-in-your-mouth soft, so the kids who'd said they wouldn't eat anything finished it in no time and asked for another one — so we ordered a second, ate every last bit, and left. If you're visiting with kids, I recommend this pudding egg custard too!

If you're looking for a good restaurant in Uijeongbu, near Uijeongbu Station, or a great pork galbi spot in Uijeongbu, how about giving Manpo Galbi Uijeongbu Main Branch a try?