Pungryugak • 풍류각

Pungryugak (풍류각) is a Korean BBQ restaurant located near Hapjeong Station (합정역) that specializes in dry-aged 1++ Hanwoo meat. The restaurant has a clean, modern interior with plenty of seatings around the space. Each table is equipped with its own modern BBQ exhaust pipe that prevents smokes from filling up the room which is always a nice touch to a Korean BBQ restaurant. On the further end of the dining area, there are 2 private rooms that can accommodate 8 people in each room if you wish to have a more private dining experience. The restaurant also seems to have been visited by a number of celebrities and public figures, evident by the number of framed signatures they hung up on the wall of the restaurants. 

If you’re not familiar with Hanwoo, it is a breed of Korean cattle known for its high-quality, marbled beef. For that reason alone, it is usually compared to Japanese Wagyu (if Japan has Wagyu, Korea has Hanwoo). Hanwoo has their own grading system for their quality of the meat and the highest grade is called the 1++ or 투플러스 (투뿔) in Korean. 1++ grade Hanwoo usually has the highest marbling and tenderness and a higher price point compared to the lower tiers.

Just like a lot of newer restaurants in Seoul that just opened these past couple of years, Pungryugak uses the tabletop tablet ordering system. So all you have to do is browse the menu on the tablet, add the menu you want to order to the cart and press order. For this restaurant though, I don’t remember if they have language options. I came with my Korean friend and since we both can read Korean, I didn’t pay attention if they have option to change the language (you can always use Google Translate camera to read the menu if they don’t). Anyways, not long after we got seated, we placed our orders and the food came out soon after. 

Gochujang Beef Tartare (고추장육회) ₩15,000 | 8.5/10

The yukhoe (beef tartare) was nice and fresh. The temperature was also just right, not too cold or too warm. The gochujang (red pepper paste) sauce was a tad spicy for me but it’s a solid yukhoe.

Dry-Aged Hanwoo Beef Tounge (한우 우설) ₩29,000 | 9/10

20-Day Dry-Aged Beef Tounge
한우우설을 20일간 드라이에이징하여 쫀득하면서 아삭한 식감의 스페셜메뉴

The texture of the beef tongue was soft but still has that chewiness in the bite and it was juicy. Also there’s no meaty smell at all (sometimes there’s a certain smell in beef tongue if they don’t prepare or cook it properly).

Assorted 1++ Hanwoo Platter (투뿔한우모듬) ₩69,000 | 9/10

The Assorted 1++ Hanwoo Platter consists of the 1++ Hanwoo Kkotsal (top) and Dry-Aged 1++ Hanwoo Galbi (bottom).

Dry-Aged 1++ Hanwoo Galbi (Short Ribs) | 8.5/10

드라이에이징 투뿔한우갈비살 

The galbi was juicy, chewy but not tough at all. Galbi is usually a safe choice if you want a good, delicious meat for Korean BBQ and this one was no different. 

1++ Hanwoo Kkotsal (Chuck Flap Tail) | 9/10

투뿔 꽃살

The kkotsal has a very nice marbling. It was also the softest and juiciest out of all the cuts we ordered. Definitely my favorite cut of this meal.

After my first visit with my friend, I actually came back again a few days later with another friend. This time we ordered the Hanwoo Dry-Aged Beef Tounge (한우 우설) and 1++ Hanwoo Anchangsal (Outside Skirt) (투뿔 안창살). Didn’t take proper picture of the anchangsal but it was actually pretty good too. A 8.5/10 from me. This restaurant has officially made it to my ‘K-BBQ Restaurants in Hapjeong Area’ list. Definitely worth visiting if you want to get some high-quality Hanwoo.

 

Pungryugak • 풍류각

Address: 서울 마포구 월드컵로 33 1층
Telephone: 0507-1425-9279
Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00 - 02:00 (Break Time: 15:00 - 17:00) | Sat-Sun 11:00 - 02:00

Instagram: @pungryugak

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Bamvoo Bakery & Brewing • 밤부 베이커리 & 브루잉

Passed by Bamvoo Bakery & Brewing (밤부 베이커리 & 브루잉) one day at the end of one of my exploration session around Hapjeong (합정동) and decided to check the place out. The cafe is housed in a retro looking two-story house with a pretty spacious front yard that has a long communal table and smaller outdoor tables spread around the area.

The first floor of the cafe is decorated with marble countertops, rock stone coffee bar and bamboos lining up the wall, a nod to its name I assume. The seating area isn’t too big. It fits about 16 people or so and they have a section where you can sit in front of the window facing the front yard which is pretty nice.

On the second floor, there’s this interesting room that’s decorated with vintage teal wallpaper, furnitures, lamps and chandelier where they display their bakery items.

I just left a cafe before I stopped by this place so I didn’t dine in, but I did buy some of their croissants to go and ate them later that evening. And they were really good. Wouldn’t mind going back to this place to get some more of their croissant and maybe try their other pastries as well next time.

Note: Photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Bamvoo Bakery & Brewing • 밤부 베이커리 & 브루잉

Address: 서울 마포구 월드컵로5길 33-23
Telephone: 02-3144-0446
Hours: Everyday 11:00-22:30

Instagram: @bam_voo

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Namul Meogneun Gom • 나물먹는곰

I was introduced to Namul Meogneun Gom (나물먹는곰) by my friends, Soo Zee and Leigh, when I asked them to recommend a good Korean restaurant that serves great bibimbap in Seoul. This place was apparently their favorite, so of course I had to go and try their food.

Namul Meogneun Gom (나물먹는곰), which means bear eating greens, was housed in a traditional hanok in Hongdae area. The entrance of the restaurant led to an open courtyard with outdoor seatings and you enter the hanok through one of the sliding doors for the indoor seatings. The restaurant has that homey vibe that made me feel like I’m visiting someone’s house to have a meal.

After I got seated and ordered, they brought the banchan out. I got to try five different things and they were all excellent. Plus, the serving portion was really generous. I honestly could just eat all these with a bowl of rice and call it a full meal.

I was also craving seafood pancake (해물파전) that day and since they had it on the menu, I ordered one. Their seafood pancake was also great. Plenty of seafood and green onions toppings, not too thick and really crispy.

Then came the main dish, the Namul Gom Bibimbap (나물곰비빔밥). Everything on the stone bowl was really well-seasoned. After I added the gojuchang and mixed it all together, it tasted even better. Their gochujang sauce was also really good. Overall, it was a really great meal and I was stuffed by the time I’m done. Now I know why Soo Zee and Leigh like this place.

Update: This location of Namul Meogneun Gom has now closed. They have moved to another location not too far from this location and renamed their restaurant to Baek Sae Sik Dang (백세식당). They are still keeping the bibimbap menu so if you want to try it, you can go to the new location which comes up as Namul Meogneun Gom Guk Bap Jib (나물먹는곰국밥집) on Naver map. See below for new location’s information.

 

Namul Meogneun Gom Guk Bap Jib • 나물먹는곰국밥집

Address: 서울 마포구 성지3길 67
Telephone: 02-337-0704
Hours: Everyday 11:30~21:00

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Okdongsik Seogyo • 옥동식 서교점

Okdongsik (옥동식) is a small restaurant in Seogyo-dong (서교동) that sells amazing 돼지국밥 (dwaeji gukbap/pork and rice soup). The place only accommodates 10 seatings and the only main menu they have is their 돼지국밥. And when a restaurant only have one main dish on their menu, you know it’s going to be good. I first found out about this place when I was searching online for a place that sells 국밥 (guk-bap/rice soup) during one autumn afternoon. The weather was a bit chilly so I was craving something hearty and warm and gukbap immediately came to mind.

After seeing Okdongsik (옥동식) appeared on one of the search results, I decided to try this place out because apparently the restaurant has been on the Michelin Guide list since 2018. Hours later, I was one of the ten patrons who were sitting inside the small restaurant tasting their delicious dwaeji gukbap. The gukbap has clear broth that tasted light, clean yet flavorful and comforting. The sliced meat was super tender and the portion was pretty generous. While people usually mix the red pepper paste into the broth when eating gukbap, Okdongsik actually recommend against it. Instead of mixing the red pepper into the broth, they encourage people to taste the broth as is and put the red pepper paste on top of the meat without mixing it with the broth. So I took a spoonful of rice and soup, put a piece of meat on top of it, then put the red pepper paste on top of the meat. It was a satisfying spoonful of gukbap. I like it.

Overall, as a fan of gukbap, it was a really good meal for me. Would definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for a good pork gukbap restaurant. Oh, and also, they only serve 100 bowls a day so come early just in case they run out.

“With his take on dwaeji-gukbap, Chef Ok Dong-sik has managed to singlehandedly change any preconceptions the local diners previously had about the hearty pork and rice soup dish Koreans hold near and dear to their hearts. Think bacon-thin slices of silky tender pork meat piled on a bed of rice, all submerged in his trademark consommé-like clear broth. The 'extra large' portion comes with double the amount of meat. The space is limited and only 100 bowls of gukbap are sold daily so get here early.” —Michelin Guide

Note: Photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Okdongsik Seogyo • 옥동식

Address: 서울 마포구 양화로7길 44-10
Telephone: 010-5571-9915
Hours: Monday-Friday 11:00-22:00, Break Time 15:00-17:00 | Saturday-Sunday 11:00-21:00

Instagram: @okdongsik

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Mapo Mandu Hapjeong • 마포만두 합정점

Mapo Mandu (마포만두) is probably my most favorite bunsik place that I discovered during the time I first moved to Korea. The first time I tried their galbi mandu (갈비만두), I remember thinking that it was the best galbi mandu (갈비만두) I’ve ever had. The meat filling is so juicy and the size is just perfect for one mouthful bite. Another great thing that I discovered from this place is their cheese ramyeon (치즈라면) which is really good. I don’t know what kind of cheese and ingredients they put in the ramyeon broth, but it’s so satisfyingly good (especially if you eat it on a cold day). Apart from the galbi mandu and cheese ramyeon that I always order during my visit, they do have other menu options for you to choose from if you think those two are not fulfilling enough (I usually just opted for 2 portions of mandu and 1 cheese ramyeon if I’m feeling particularly hungry).

Anyway, Mapo Mandu has earned a permanent spot on my must-eat list every time I’m in Seoul. No Seoul trip is complete without at least a visit to Mapo Mandu. And having been recommending and taking a lot of my friends to this place on different occasions, I can say that all of them liked the food too. So if you’re looking for a bunsik place or a late night snack, I’d definitely recommend this place. And oh, they have multiple locations so you can check whichever location is closest to you.

 

Mapo Mandu Hapjeong • 마포만두 합정점

Address: 서울 마포구 양화로7길 12
Telephone: 02-333-9842
Hours: Open 24 Hours

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