What's one unique culture of the South Koreans that the world doesn't practise? It's the way they do their barbecue. Finding a good barbecue spot in the heart of Seoul is pretty easy as night life is common. One of the hidden BBQ spots is at Kyungsung Yangkkochi Yeouido, a restaurant far from the public eye as it is located in the basement corner of Manhattan21 Livingtel. It's nearby a row of famous chicken shops and we discovered it because of a persistent, friendly promoter who successfully won our hearts to check out his restaurant.
Summary of Kyungsung Yangkkochi Yeouido
Prices here depend on whether you are buying a la carte or course menu. It's pretty hefty compared to the BBQ we've had in Busan, 1 pax costs about 64,000 KRW (S$75.00) and 2 pax can go up to 168,000 Won ($205.88). In addition, we had a hard time trying to call for the service crew and we also had to cook the meat ourselves. This is a different treatment we've got compared to the BBQ place in Busan, where the service staff took time to cook for us and even introduced the various cuts.
Ambience: 7/10
Service: 5/10
Food: 7/10
Price: 7/10
Cuisine: Barbecue, Korean
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| Warming our hands with the burning charcoal in winter |
Restaurant Ambience
Ambience at Kyungsung Yangkkochi Yeouido is dark and rowdy - the walls are made of bricks and it pretty much looks like an underground society with pipes hanging down from the ceiling to suck all the smoke away. Korean music is being played and I couldn't help but notice that the place is made up mostly of tourists.
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| Walls decorated with signatures of korean celebrities |
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| Partitions separate the space into various sections |
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| Our dining table kakis |
Main menu
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| Course Menu |
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Makgeolli
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Korean Side Dishes (Banchan)
Spicy rice cake (Tteokbokki: 떡볶이)
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| Korean Tteokbokki (Korean rice cake) |
Nappa Cabbage (Baechu Kimchi)
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| Nappa Cabbage (Baechu Kimchi) |
Made of salted cabbages with leaves coated from a mixture of hot red pepper flakes, onion, garlic, ginger, green onions, and optional fish sauce, shrimp, or oysters (or soy sauce, for vegetarians) and Asian chives.
Ddangkong Jorim (Soy Braised Peanuts)
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| Sweet, sticky and savoury |
This braised peanut dish (ddang-kong jorim, 땅콩조림) is sweet, sticky, savory, and nutty with a pleasant chewy texture.
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| Perilla leaf and lettuce |
One thing to note is that Koreans love to wrap their meat with perilla leaf or lettuce. I don't really fancy perilla leaves because of the strong minty taste, but it does help to deter the oily, greasy effects of the bbq meat.
Sliced Ribeye
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| Sliced Ribeye |
The cuts were pretty premium, but presentation was a mess! Tender and mildly sweet.
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| Sliced Ribeye |
Pork Belly on Grill (Samgyeopsal)
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| Pork Belly on Grill |
Cooking the pork belly with its own fat is a healthier choice. Juicy and tender!
Thick Cut Sirloin Steak (Deungsim)
Pork Belly (another version)
Cooking the meat on our own
Hot Pot Bulgogi
The broth was aromatic and had a decent flavour from the onions, spring onions, bulgogi beef and sesame. It feels really nice to drink on a cold day!
Bin-Dae-Dduk (Vegetable Pancakes with Mung Bean Flour)
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| Deep-fried |
For those who doesn't fancy vegetables, trying the Bin-dae-dduk would not be as disgusting as the flour musks the flavour of veggies.
Kyungsung yangg Gochi
20, Gukhoe-daero 74-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu Manhattan21 Livingtel, Seoul 07238 South Korea
Tel: +82 2-761-2678
Reviewed by digitaldistrictgirl
on
9:00:00 AM
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