Yangju charcoal soy chicken galbi near Lakewood CC: Seorak

There seem to be quite a few newly opened restaurants in Yangju these days. The place I visited this time is Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi Yangju Branch (설악막국수춘천닭갈비 양주점), a Yangju chicken galbi restaurant that newly opened in June.

Lakewood CC is right in front, so it is a nice spot for a meal before or after a round of golf,

and the dedicated parking lot right in front of the restaurant is quite spacious, which made visiting by car really easy. There are also large bakery cafés nearby, so it looked like a good place to head for a coffee after eating. The road in front of the restaurant is currently under construction, but I think access will be much easier once it is finished.

Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi Yangju Branch: hours and details

• 1F, 211 Mansong-ro, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–16:00
• Last order: 20:20
• Closed every Tuesday

What is the newly opened restaurant interior like?

As a newly opened Lakewood CC restaurant, Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi felt clean and pleasant overall the moment I stepped inside.

In particular, the vinegar, mustard, and other seasonings served with makguksu (buckwheat noodles) were neatly arranged in clean containers.

Even these small details were kept so tidy that I had an impression of cleanliness before the meal even began.

The menu and what I ordered

Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi Yangju Branch has charcoal-grilled chicken galbi, soy chicken galbi, cold-broth makguksu, spicy mixed makguksu, buckwheat pheasant dumplings, buckwheat kimchi dumplings, and buckwheat pancakes.

I ordered soy chicken galbi, buckwheat pheasant dumplings, and a small dessert portion of cold-broth makguksu.

Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi says it uses refrigerated domestic chicken thigh meat. One serving was 250 g and cost ₩16,000.

Soy chicken galbi grilled by the staff

The chicken galbi at Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi comes partially cooked, but the staff still put it over charcoal and grilled it themselves until it was ready to eat.

Unlike chicken galbi cooked on a griddle, charcoal-grilled chicken galbi needs constant turning, and sometimes you have to keep wondering when it is ready. Here, though, it was grilled by a professional, so all I had to do was wait comfortably. They grill it for you, so that is it!

The perfectly grilled chicken galbi was incredibly tender when I took a bite. The soy sauce marinade was neither too strong nor too salty, and the flavor had soaked right through the chicken, making it something I kept reaching for. The moist, tender texture unique to chicken thigh meat, plus that charcoal-grilled flavor, made me feel I chose the soy chicken galbi well. The rice cakes grilled alongside it were a treat too!

The rice cakes browned over the charcoal were so chewy that it was fun to eat one here and there between bites of chicken galbi.

Juicy buckwheat pheasant dumplings

I also ordered the buckwheat pheasant dumplings because I was curious. They were small dumplings rather than intimidatingly large ones, so they were easy to eat one at a time.

When I split one in half, it was generously filled. The filling was juicy the moment I took a bite, and it was lighter and more savory than I expected. The wrapper in particular felt different from a regular wheat-flour dumpling wrapper, and of course, I later learned it was made with buckwheat.

The dessert cold-broth makguksu I finished to the last drop

Makguksu is a must after chicken galbi, right? I ordered the small dessert cold-broth makguksu. But wow, “That is a river of broth!”

Honestly, I hesitated because I thought we would leave it unfinished, but my makguksu-loving partner would probably have regretted not ordering it, so we did. I did not even think I could eat it and only planned to taste the broth... But when I took a sip! This gentle pine-nut aroma suddenly came through. What is this? And then I ended up finishing every last drop of broth~~!!

When I checked later, the menu did say broth. The cold-broth makguksu uses pine-nut broth, so I definitely recommend trying it at least once. The pine-nut fragrance was wonderfully subtle, refreshing, and nutty!

Get the side dishes you need at the self-service bar

Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi Yangju Branch also has a neatly maintained self-service bar. Chili peppers, garlic, ssam vegetables for wrapping, shredded radish, and other sides that go well with chicken galbi are available.

Food tastes are important to me, of course, but the guest-use areas, such as the self-service bar and seasoning containers, were also neatly organized overall. It left a clean impression right to the end.

This was my first visit to Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi Yangju Branch. From the tender soy chicken galbi grilled over charcoal for us, to the juicy buckwheat pheasant dumplings and cold-broth makguksu whose gently fragrant pine-nut broth I finished to the last drop, I was satisfied with all three dishes. The wide parking lot in particular makes it seem like a good choice for anyone looking for a meal before or after a golf round. There are large bakery cafés nearby too, so it would make a nice course to follow chicken galbi and makguksu with a café stop. Next time, I want to try charcoal-grilled chicken galbi with spicy mixed makguksu instead of the soy chicken galbi!