Gangseo gyukatsu lunch with fried shrimp and karaage: Ichigyu

Ichigyu in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul is open 11:30–21:30, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00.

Do you all like gyukatsu (breaded fried beef cutlet)? Today I visited Ichigyu, a gyukatsu specialist near Balsan Station that's known as a real hotspot in the area. It's so good that a lot of couples in Magok list it as one of their date-course stops, so I decided to check it out for myself.

Where is Ichigyu Balsan Station Branch, and what is the space like?

Ichigyu is on the 2nd floor of a building just a 2-minute walk from Balsan Station on Line 5.

The whole place had an izakaya-style feel — very neat and tidy but also trendy.

There's quite a lot of table seating too, which apparently makes it a popular lunch-meeting spot for office workers near Balsan Station.

It really did have the kind of atmosphere where office workers could pop in for a quick, satisfying lunch.

There were some cute little figurines placed on one side of the restaurant.

Beyond that, I also spotted some delicious-looking meat on display. They said the meat used here is carefully selected, providing the quality most suited to good gyukatsu.

There were also baby chairs inside, so people visiting with young kids could dine comfortably.

Ichigyu's menu and the clay pot rice setup

I took a look at the menu and found a good variety — gyukatsu alongside steak-don and hamburg steak, among other options.

Before the main dish arrived, the rice came out first — served in a clay pot, which was an unusual touch. It looked incredibly appetizing just from the visuals alone.

Since this is a gyukatsu specialist, they gave each of us a personal grill as well. They lit a candle underneath to heat up the stone plate.

How do you grill gyukatsu on the personal butter grill?

Finally, the gyukatsu I ordered arrived. It looked incredibly delicious just from the sight of it.

You could just tell — crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Very appetizing.

Before putting the gyukatsu on the grill, we first added butter to the plate to build up that buttery flavor. Once the butter was nicely heated, I placed the gyukatsu pieces on one by one. Crispy on the outside but pink and rare-looking inside! As it cooked, the delicious smell hit me and I couldn't wait to try it.

It felt like a great setup for couples to slowly grill the meat piece by piece over a leisurely meal. That's probably part of why this place is considered a Balsan date-course favorite.

Gyukatsu with clay pot rice, chili sauce or wasabi: which pairing wins?

First, I tried putting the gyukatsu on top of the warm rice. Combined with the soft gyukatsu, the warm rice made for a really delicious bite.

Next, I dipped the gyukatsu lightly into the chili sauce, and the soft cutlet paired really well with it.

On top of that, I tried the gyukatsu with some spicy wasabi, which cut through the richness completely and gave it a cleaner, sharper taste.

Adding karaage and fried shrimp at Ichigyu

The gyukatsu was so good that I ended up also ordering karaage (Japanese fried chicken) along with fried shrimp.

The fried shrimp was plump and springy, with a good size to it — really letting the flavor come through. That springy texture was honestly a work of art.

The last dish, the chicken, delivered a perfect harmony of crispiness and softness. It was probably the single dish that best showed why this place is so famous for its fried food.

After eating at Ichigyu Balsan Station Branch today, I understood once again why this place is considered a top gyukatsu spot in Balsan. The flavor really comes through properly, and I can see why so many people love it.