Family-friendly chicken bar in Yongin: Gorae Byeoljang Suji set

Seongbok-dong chicken spot Gorae Byeoljang: the Gorae Byeoljang set, tried on repeat visits

Is there a place you're satisfied with every single time you visit? For me, that's Seongbok-dong's chicken spot Gorae Byeoljang (고래별장). Both kids and adults leave happy, which is probably why we keep coming back. "Gorae Byeoljang" sounds like it could be a drinking spot, but it's actually a great family-friendly place to bring kids.

Seongbok-dong's Gorae Byeoljang gets waiting lines if you show up late, and even inside the store we kept hearing delivery orders come in nonstop. Parking is also free at the building's lot, so it's easy to visit without any hassle.

Gorae Byeoljang Suji Branch: hours and location

• 경기 용인시 수지구 성복1로 80 1층 103호
• Mon–Sat 17:00–02:00 (last order 01:00)
• Sun 17:00–24:00 (last order 23:00)

If you write a receipt review, you get to choose one of chili shrimp, yuzu cream shrimp, or fries as a free extra — worth trying. We meant to do it too, but the portions of what we'd already ordered were so massive we couldn't manage it.

What's in the Gorae Byeoljang set?

One nice thing is that they have set menus, so ordering is easy. We went with the Gorae Byeoljang set. It comes with chicken, yukjeon, and tteokbokki — all of it delicious. Beyond the Gorae Byeoljang set, there's also the Gorae set, the Byeoljang set, and more to choose from depending on your taste, plus simple anju (drinking snacks) and soups. They even have fried rice — retort-pouch style, but still — which makes it a great spot to bring a kid who absolutely needs rice.

The complimentary popcorn is self-serve refill

Popcorn comes out as a complimentary starter, and we also ordered a zero-sugar cola.

You can help yourself to popcorn from the self-serve bar, and we ended up refilling at least once. It's freshly popped and crunchy, with that nutty, savory taste — really good.

Ordering chicken gets you pickled radish, a chicken sauce, and a spicy seasoned sauce. That soy sauce is spicy too, and it's really tasty.

Jeonju-style pork yukjeon, with scallion salad

Jeonju-style pork yukjeon (돼지육전, egg-battered pan-fried pork) — my husband's favorite menu item. It's pork yukjeon served together with a scallion salad (pajeori). The portion is generous and the combination feels well put together.

It's cooked right when you order, so you get it hot — pan-fried in egg batter, savory, and eating it with the spicy scallion salad is just perfect. Our kid can just have the yukjeon on its own, and it suited a kid's palate perfectly too.

The tteokbokki might be too spicy for kids

The tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes) here is also well made — the sauce has a slight curry note along with real spiciness. Our kid, who's just starting to handle a little spice, said this was too spicy, but for us adults it was just right. Really delicious. The portion is huge, too. If you like tteokbokki, this is a flavor that's easy for anyone to enjoy.

There's even fried sundae (blood sausage) piled on top like a topping, adding variety, and the rice cakes are the soft wheat-flour kind with plenty of fish cakes mixed in — very satisfying. I'm not great with spicy food myself, so it felt a bit too spicy for me, but I bet it would be amazing with beer. Honestly, everything on the menu here seems to pair well with alcohol. I wanted to try all the other dishes too.

"Eungdapra" Chicken: seasoning mild enough for kids

The "Eungdapra" chicken is a great value menu item. Basically everyone seems to order chicken no matter what, and if you're a family with kids, it's practically mandatory. The pieces are big, fried up generous and juicy. There's a reason so many delivery orders come in — it seems chicken delivery here is huge.

Chicken is best fresh out of the fryer. Dipping it into the accompanying sauces made it even better. The seasoned sauce isn't spicy so it's easy to enjoy, and the soy sauce has chili on top making it a bit spicy — which is also delicious, and dipping it deep into that sauce was so good.

Look at how much meat is packed in there. And there's zero dryness — it's juicy, with the juices practically flowing out, and the brine isn't spicy at all, so even little kids can eat it happily. The batter is especially thin yet crispy, so good, and it was still tasty the next day. There were three of us eating, but the portion was so big we packed the rest to go. The chicken is genuinely delicious, so you have to try it. Plus, the yukjeon and tteokbokki are great too.