798 Hwa Ro Grill Hongdae • 798화로 홍대본점

Located less than 200m away from Hongdae Station Exit 7 is 798 Hwa Ro Grill Hongdae (798화로 홍대본점), a small restaurant that specialized in grilled meat. The restaurant has 24 seats available, mostly table of fours except 2 tables that sits only 2 person. Each table has its own smoke exhaust pipe which help get rid of that smoky smell that you usually find inside a meat grilling restaurant. 

I found this place when I was browsing Naver looking for a meat restaurant around Hongdae just because I was craving meat. Didn’t have anybody to go with that day so I tried searching for a more low-key place that’s not too crowded or loud. After looking at the pictures previous patrons of this place have uploaded online, the vibe of this restaurant seemed pretty chill so I decided to go and give the place a try. 

Their main menu consists of different cuts of Hanwoo (Korean Beef) with set menus available if you want to try a couple of different cuts. They also have a pretty solid of side menu that you can order to pair with your meat selections. 

Set C C세트 (400g) ₩59,000

Wet Aged Hanwoo Sirloin, Short Ribs, Chuck Flap Tail, Top Blade
한우숙성등심, 꽃갈비살, 살치살, 부채살

I ended up ordering Set C which consisted of 4 different cuts of meat: Wet Aged Hanwoo Sirloin, Ribs, Chuck Flap Tail, and Top Blade which were served from left to right in that order. If you were to order this set, I would suggest to eat the meat from right to left because that way, you’ll start with the more leaner cuts to the juicier ones. But if you like leaner cuts more, then you should start from left to right.

Wet Aged Hanwoo Sirloin 한우숙성등심 | 8.5/10

I personally prefer juicier meat so my most favorite cut out of the four was the Wet Aged Hanwoo Sirloin (한우숙성등심), which is the very left one on the plate. The meat was the most tender and juiciest out of all the cuts and I really enjoyed this one. 

Short Ribs 꽃갈비살 | 8/10

My second favorite was the Short Ribs (꽃갈비살). This was also tender and juicy, but not as juicy as the Wet Aged Hanwoo Sirloin. But it still tasted good though. 

The Chuck Flap Tail (살치살) was on the leaner side so it was just okay for me. The Top Blade (부채살) in particular, the texture was a little bit tough for my personal preference so I didn’t finished all of it. This cut was the one I enjoyed the least. 

Spicy Beef Ramyeon 소고기얼큰라면 ₩6,000 | 9/10

I also ordered the Spicy Beef Ramyeon because I was craving ramyeon that day and this ramyeon was actually better than what I expected. The broth was really flavorful with deep flavors and smokiness from the beef. And the toppings and portion were pretty generous. I did request a less spicy version (which just meant less red pepper powder) since I can’t really eat very spicy dish and the chef accommodated my request which I really appreciate. Definitely recommend this Beef Ramyeon if you ever come to this restaurant.

The place wasn’t too busy when I was there on a Wednesday night. There were maybe 3 or 4 other tables that were occupied other than mine so it wasn’t noisy inside the restaurant. There are photos of celebrities visiting the restaurant stuck up on the wall which led me to think that this place might be busier on the weekends. During my visit, there was only 1 staff working who assumed the server and chef role at the same time. But still, the service was pretty quick so it’s pretty impressive for a one man show. And oh, you have to grill the meat yourself at this restaurant. But all and all, for a random find, the food at this place was pretty good. 

 

798 Hwa Ro Grill Hongdae • 798화로 홍대본점

Address: 서울 마포구 와우산로29마길 6 반지층 b01호
Telephone: 0507-1362-0798
Hours: Everyday 17:00-23:00 (Last Order 22:30)

Instagram: @798grill_official

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Yukmian Yeonnam • 육미안 연남점

Yukmian Yeonnam (육미안 연남점) is a meat restaurant specialized in grilled beef ribs. Located on the second floor of a building in one of the alleys in Yeonnam-dong (연남동), the restaurant is also well-known for their yukhoe (육회) which uses grade 1++ Hanwoo beef.

I found this restaurant when I was searching Naver for a dinner spot to meet up with my friend at. Honestly, the pictures of the torched meat looked really delicious so I asked my friend to go and try this place with me. It was a weekday when we went for dinner and we immediately got a table as soon as we arrived. The interior of the restaurant is quite different than the usual traditional meat restaurant in Korea. It’s definitely more modern and simpler. There are about 26 seatings around the place and the place is pretty noisy with people talking quite loudly on different tables. 

Yukmian Salad 육미안 샐러드 ₩3,000 | 7/10

Fresh arugula, tomatoes, olives with shredded cheese.

The salad came with the signature beef ribs that we ordered. It’s a pretty straight forward side dish that goes well with the meat. 

Signature Beef Ribs 본갈비 (250g) ₩27,000 | 8.5/10

Yukmian’s signature beef ribs (2 servings minimum).
육미안 대표 '시그니처' 진갈비만을 사용 (2인분 이상 주문 가능).

So we ordered 2 servings of the signature beef ribs since 2 servings are the minimum. They served the thick cuts of meat on the plate, already grilled (or maybe half grilled). Then the server torched the meat again table side to get them to the right level of doneness. The sight of the torched meat was pretty mouthwatering. 

They also gave us this stone plate with wasabi, salt, and mustard on it to dip the meat into. The meat itself was as good as it looked. It’s thick, fresh and juicy and very satisfying. The three dippings were also great but I like the salt the best out of the three.  

Snow Crab Innards Fried Rice 대게내장볶음밥 ₩11,000 | 8/10

Fried rice mixed with snow crab innards.
대게내장으로 범벅된 볶음밥.

To complete our meal, we ordered the Snow Crab Innards Fried Rice to make sure we’re full. The fried rice was rich and tasty and definitely didn’t taste like an ordinary fried rice that I commonly found at other meat restaurants. I think the snow crab innards gave the dish an edge over other fried rice out there. 

Overall, I think this place is pretty good spot to go to if you want to have some meat without having to grill them yourself. There are lots of good reviews about their yukhoe as well which make me curious to try it (maybe for my next visit). Noise level at this place is pretty high so you might have to shout a bit when talking to your companions if you come during their busy hours. I also happened to pass by this place a couple of times after my visit during the weekends and the line was pretty crazy (didn’t know that this spot is that popular). So if you want to avoid the line, I’d recommend you to go on a weekday or maybe make reservation first if you’re going on a weekend. 

 

Yukmian Yeonnam • 육미안 연남점

Address: 서울 마포구 동교로38길 5 2층
Telephone: 02-332-3430
Hours:
Mon-Thrs 12:00-22:00 (Break Time 14:30-16:00. Last Order 21:55)
Friday 12:00-23:00 (Break Time 14:30-16:00. Last Order 22:55)
Saturday 12:00-23:00 (Last Order 22:55)
Sunday 12:00-22:00 (Last Order 21:55)

Instagram: @yookmian_yeonnam

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Hanmiok Cheongdam • 한미옥 청담동

One of the Korean dish that went viral on social media last year was Hanmiok’s Chadol Gujeolpan (차돌구절판) because of its unique presentation that undoubtedly makes a good content for travelers who were visiting Seoul. And so last spring, I went to Hanmiok Cheongdam (한미옥 청담동) with @munchandsnap.jkt to try it out.

We arrived at the restaurant at 4:30 pm to avoid the dinner rush, but apparently there were 7 other groups who have the same idea as us so we still had to wait in line for our table. We put our name and phone number on the machine for the waiting list and waited around for an hour before we finally got seated at our table.

When the server came, we ordered the medium Chadol Gujeolpan (차돌구절판 中) for us to share. Now what exactly is a Chadol Gujeolpan? Gujeolpan (구절판) itself is the traditional Korean Platter of Nine Delicacies that is plated in nine divided sections in an octagon shape or the plate itself. Hanmiok’s version of this is served with Korean beef brisket (the chadolbaegi) on a black pan.

10 minutes after we placed our order, the server came back with our food and started setting up to cook the Chadol Gujeolpan. The first two ingredients were the Korean beef brisket or the chadolbaegi (차돌백이) and water parsley (미나리) that were already placed on the pan. They cooked these first before adding more ingredients to the pan.

The next six ingredients were (see photo below in clockwise direction) kimchi (김치), bean sprouts (콩나물), bracken (고사리), scallops (관자), octopus (문어), and buckwheat pancakes (메밀전병) in the middle.

After the beef brisket and water parsley were cooked, they used the oil from the beef to cook the scallops, octopus and buckwheat pancakes before adding the kimchi, bracken, and bean sprouts in.

And lastly, after all of that were cooked and neatly placed in a circle, the server pour egg (계란) from a golden aluminum teapot into the middle part of the pan to complete the ninth ingredient of the dish. The egg is then cooked with a blowtorch until it’s done with a silky smooth finish.

Chadol Gujeolpan (차돌구절판 中) ₩59,000 | 9/10

Chadolbaegi (차돌백이), Water Parsley (미나리), Kimchi (김치), Bean Sprouts (콩나물), Bracken (고사리), Scallops (관자), Octopus (문어), Buckwheat Pancakes (메밀전병), Egg (계란).

I have to say I love this kind of food. The ingredients themselves are not fancy, but each components are well-seasoned and the flavor of everything works together. For me, the best way to eat this dish is to mix up the ingredients in every bite because each combinations gave me a different flavor profile. So mix two, three, or four things in a bite. Or if your mouth could fit everything, the whole 9 things in a spoon (although that might be a bit too much honestly). But one thing that I would recommend is to at least mix one meat with one veggies and the egg. You’ll get that nice juicy bite where the meat is balanced out by the acid from the veggies and everything kind of just bursts in your mouth. So satisfying.

The portion of the medium Chadol Gujeolpan (차돌구절판 中) is more than enough for two people. Although I did order a bowl of rice just because I wanted to have the dish with rice and me and my friend were fully stuffed at the end of the meal.

Service was okay at this place. The servers weren’t the friendliest, but they weren’t rude either. The food came out pretty quickly though. But overall, the meal was really satisfying and I really like it.

If you want to come to this place, be prepared for the possibility of waiting for your table. It helps if you have a Korean phone number since you can input them into the machine and you can walk around the area while waiting (they’ll call/message you when you’re table is ready). But if you don’t have a Korean phone number, you’ll have to wait around the store at least when your turn is near.

Will I come back again to this place? I already did actually. Went back in the fall with a different group of friends, although my second visit was to their Yeouido location and the food was as good as this location.

 

Hanmiok Cheongdam • 한미옥 청담동

Address: 서울 강남구 선릉로 822 지하 1층
Telephone: 02-545-4622
Hours: Monday-Friday 11:00-22:00 (Break Time: 14:30-17:00) | Saturday & Sunday 12:00-22:00 (Break Time: 15:00-17:00)

Instagram: @hanmiok0616

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