Pudding egg custard and pick-your-own meat fridge, Yangju: Manpo

Galbi in Yangju: Manpo Garden

This is a place that hits all the marks — an upscale but not intimidating mood, delicious galbi, a varied spread of side dishes, and reasonable prices. It's a place kids love too, so we come here often for family meals. There are private rooms as well, so it'd be great for gatherings.

This is a barbecue spot that really delivers on side dishes! Even yukjeon (pan-fried beef) and yukhoe (beef tartare) come as part of the basic spread. Every side dish — spicy doenjang-seasoned vegetables, radish kimchi, white kimchi, macaroni potato salad, seasoned ginseng root — was one you'd keep reaching for.

We had a table full of food and a delicious family meal out.

Basic information

• Address: 28-37 Gomeok-ro 355beon-gil, 1st floor, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–22:00
• Naver Reservation available
• Private rooms available
• Parking available

Parking info

Parking is free. There's a lot right in front of the restaurant, and wide lots on the side and behind it too. You can visit without worrying about parking at all.

Good galbi, by definition, must first have excellent, consistently reliable meat; second, a seasoning that doesn't mask the meat's own flavor; and third, it must catch the smoky flavor of the charcoal fire. This is the standard of true galbi.

A restaurant with great atmosphere

The atmosphere is upscale and pleasant. It's close to Uijeongbu, so it's also a good pick for a special occasion for people visiting from Uijeongbu or Yangju.

It's a great mood for going with kids and for taking parents out too — really clean and tidy.

Menu and prices

• Handmade Korean pork galbi: ₩19,000
• Charcoal-grilled hanwoo bulgogi: ₩28,000
• Hanwoo sirloin: ₩42,000
• Pork belly, pork neck: ₩18,000
• Skirt meat, pork jowl: ₩21,000
• Pudding egg custard: ₩3,000
• Rice: ₩1,000

Besides what's on the menu, you can also buy and eat meat straight from the meat fridge.

We ordered three servings of galbi.

Side dishes that taste homemade

Every side dish was one you'd keep reaching for — you could probably finish a whole bowl of rice on these alone.

Yukjeon (pan-fried beef) and yukhoe (beef tartare) come out too.

There's also salad and a lightly dressed lettuce salad.

You can get refills of the side dishes at the self-serve bar.

Free naengmyeon

Naengmyeon (cold noodles) is free when you order meat!! You can choose between water naengmyeon and spicy mixed naengmyeon, and order freely anytime through the table tablet.

I ordered spicy mixed naengmyeon along with the meat right away. My husband ate the meat first and ordered water naengmyeon afterward. Being able to order whenever you feel like it was really nice.

Pudding egg custard

The moment you scoop a spoonful of the egg custard, you understand why the menu name includes 'pudding.' It really has the look and texture of pudding — incredibly soft.

It was so soft that it was perfect as a side dish for my kid too.

Handmade Korean pork galbi

Maybe because the sauce is made with plenty of fruit, the galbi seasoning is tasty without being too strong or spicy. That made it great for feeding my kid too, and she ate it happily.

This Yangju galbi spot apparently uses 100% real pork rib meat. The price was reasonable too — you get neat handmade side dishes and house-made naengmyeon on top, all for ₩19,000 per serving!

The seasoning is so good that the meat is delicious plain too. I'd recommend eating the meat as is, or with just a little onion sauce.

As we were nearly finished eating, my husband ordered water naengmyeon — he wanted to eat it topped with galbi.

Ppeongseukeurim

This generous Yangju galbi spot even gives you dessert for free. Ppeongseukeurim, which the kid loves, and coffee, which dad loves~

Soft-serve ice cream on top of a puffed rice cracker for dessert — it was delicious.

There were even iced cups set out so you could have iced coffee. That kind of thoughtfulness was touching~~