Weekend couple's set of marinated beef short rib at Daehwa Sutbul

I woke up craving beef on a weekend morning, so I dragged my husband along to Daehwa Sutbul Garden, a beef rib restaurant in Janggok-dong, and we had the Gyeongju-style marinated beef short rib set 😍 Let me show you what makes Daehwa Sutbul Garden so good 😘

Daehwa Sutbul Garden Siheung Janggok Branch — hours and parking

• Name: Daehwa Sutbul Garden Siheung Janggok Branch
• Address: 10 Janghyeonjanggok-ro, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Mon–Fri 15:00–23:00 (closed Tuesdays) / Sat–Sun 12:00–23:00, last order 22:00
• Parking: Janghyeon P1 public parking lot is closest

1️⃣ A free non-alcoholic beer for pregnant guests 2️⃣ A corkage-free coupon with Naver reservation 3️⃣ A free raw beef tartare coupon with Naver reservation — lots of perks, so make sure to check and claim them 😘

The storefront and hanok-style interior

The storefront has big displays of Daehwa Sutbul Garden's signature dishes — I couldn't help but look as I walked by 😆 Beef is always right, isn't it?

The inside has a somewhat old-fashioned feel — almost like a temple or a hanok 😆 Seating was mostly set up as 4-person tables, with a few group tables too.

What is Gyeongju-style tableside marinated beef short rib?

Right at the entrance I saw a sign for 'Gyeongju-style tableside marinated beef short rib.' Gyeongju-style? Do they eat it differently in Gyeongju?

For those wondering the same thing as me, there's a helpful explanation 😊 In short, it's about harmony and balance, giving a savory depth that's not overdone. They also use top-grade beef — apparently equivalent to Korean beef 1++ grade 🥰

Things worth reading before you order: 1️⃣ Set orders come with market-style kalguksu and bowl ice cream 2️⃣ ₩5,900 for a plate of raw beef tartare with a set 3️⃣ 10 sweet shrimp with receipt review participation 4️⃣ Tomato highball with notification sign-up. Wow!! So many great perks haha — definitely read through and grab them all 😋

Menu lineup

The menu is really well put together 😎 Beyond the set menu, there's a wide range of side dishes, extra menu items, and drinks too 😊

Basic side dishes and beef seaweed soup

These are the basic side dishes — clean and neatly served! Since beef is the main event, the side dishes were mostly vegetables, and each had a different seasoning, so it was fun to pick and choose 😋

If you run low on banchan (side dishes), you can refill them yourself at the self-service corner 😆

This is the seaweed soup that comes as a default. There was a lot of beef in it, and the broth had that unmistakable beef-and-seaweed-soup flavor — it was amazing. If I came with kids, I bet they'd polish off a whole bowl of this 🥰

Grilling the 500g marinated beef short rib set

Gyeongju-style tableside marinated beef short rib (500g), paired with house-made sausage, chicken gadonisal, kalguksu, and ice cream. Top-grade beef came out tossed in a garlic marinade. It had been a while since I'd had marinated short rib, so I was really curious about the flavor 😃

We put the marinated short rib, chicken gadonisal, and sausage onto the well-lit charcoal grill.

You all know how to grill marinated meat, right? Unlike pork belly where you flip it once or twice, marinated meat burns easily, so the key is to keep turning it often 😶‍🌫️

I brought over one piece. For the first bite, I wanted to taste the meat and marinade as they were, so I ate it without dipping into anything 😃 Right away I got that distinctive sweetness of marinated meat. If it's too sweet it gets cloying fast and you can't eat much, but true to a Janggok-dong rib favorite and true to Gyeongju style, the meat and marinade were perfectly balanced.

Wrapped in tortilla, the texture completely changes

Definitely try it with this tortilla you see here — it was my first time having beef with tortilla, and the moment it hit my mouth... I felt a totally new texture 😮 As it goes in, the tortilla wraps around the beef and fills your mouth with softness, and when you chew, the juices of the meat and marinade burst out... it's incredible 😎

The house-made sausage has a slight kick

This is the house-made sausage. It was a bit spicy — looked like there might be some chili mixed in. Eating it plain felt like it needed something, so I dipped it in the meat marinade — sweet and spicy 😆

The market-style kalguksu and bowl ice cream that come with the set

The kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) that comes with the set menu arrived 🍜 Since it's market-style, there's no seafood — just a broth simmered from various vegetables, finished with pepper, giving it a mildly spicy kick.

It'd be a shame to eat kalguksu without kimchi, right?

Just as we were finishing the kalguksu, the bowl ice cream arrived. I thought it'd just be the usual ice cream you get on the way out of a barbecue place, but I'd never seen dessert ice cream of this quality 😋 Ice cream + red bean + corn flakes + injeolmi (rice cake) powder? So nice to have dessert sorted in one go 😆

There was actually a spot near the entrance where they make the ice cream haha.

What we regretted going as a couple

Daehwa Sutbul Garden in Janggok-dong, Siheung, truly lives up to its reputation as a great rib restaurant — the quality beef and marinade are perfectly matched. And the kalguksu and ice cream that come with the set are a nice bonus. Since it was just the two of us, we were too full to order any side dishes, which was a shame ㅠㅠ😭 Next time I'll definitely come with a group and try the side menu too haha.