This is a direct translation; house in restaurant names within Korea is somewhat of a colloquialism for market, or go-to spot. You'll see this a lot when it comes to pork, beef, chicken, or savory food places.
The prices depend on market; ask the butcher accordingly, or simply pick out meats from the display case (price is clearly listed/stickered).
Mixing the meat allows for different flavor profiles to mesh with one another, creating a good balance. Order one meat, and you'll get tired of eating it; order just lean, and the lack of flavorful fat will leave you seeking something else.
Have some knowledge going in about cook times for each cut; it varies per cut, and can determine whether your piece turns out like shoe leather or butter.
Luckily, visual indicators are very easy to follow when grilling on charcoal like this spot offers.
Overview
A no-frills joint with unreal flavor and quality. Truly a hidden gem, in plain sight.
Make sure to use a translation app or have a plug if you can't speak or read Korean; no one speaks English here, and there is no English listed anywhere.
This restaurant is unique in that it's not really a restaurant in the traditional sense. The way it works is, you purchase your meat at the market (1F), pay, and then you go straight up the stairs to cook your meat (2F).
This whole-chicken stall is about 30 meters from the meat market if you seem lost; you can't miss itNext to the market is this bread stall; if you're still lost, just follow the bakery's aroma
You are not charged for cooking the meat, nor are you charged for any side dishes provided. There is a single family which owns the butcher shop (which operates as a meat market for customers) and the restaurant located directly above them. They make enough profit that they do not charge for this service.
You may however choose to purchase additional rice bowls, soups, or other things listed if you wish.
This is quite uncommon to see with a meat establishment, yet very common to see when it comes to seafood, especially more rural crab steaming stalls.
With that being said, let's get straight into the cooking.
The Side Dishes
You get onions, marinated sesame leaves, scallions, kimchi, leaves, and some garlic as sidesThe salt is mixed with sesame seeds; this is a large shard-like sea salt (domestic)The sesame oil presented is traditional and hand-pressed; it is very thick and has a strong aromaWe ordered some soy bean stew, which is commonplace when eating meat to cut through the oily texturesNothing crazy here but the thickness was very good; this was clearly stewed for many hours
Preparing to Cook the Meat
This is what we're looking at here; I guess the green plastic branch is for showThe assorted meats; you can see the burner in the back, yet to be filled with charcoalThe charcoal is heated slowly, to gain more heat throughoutA grate is placed over the charcoal as it heats up; this is a normal standard grate, nothing crazyQuick zoom of the charcoal
The Cuts
L to R: Flower ribeye filet, fan steak, skirt steak, rib, tender ribClean and almost no excess bloodThe flower ribeye filet is a very popular top-tier cut at many meat restaurantsThe coloration here is due to different refridgerators used to store each cut; it is fresh, same-day meatThe marbling is on point for some of these cuts; you can see how the fat just pops out
Cooking the Meat
If you take a quick glance back at the initial package of the meat, it suggests that you eat the flower ribeye filet first; after speaking with the waiter, an old grandmother, she suggested to work exactly opposite of this (bottom-up).
The reason being, to save the best for last. She said many people often take the packaging as the order to eat the meat in, when really, the butcher prepares it the opposite way. In reality, eat it any way you want; it was just cool to get some recommendation like this from a long-time employee.
Tender Ribs
First on the grill is the tender rib meat; this is considered tender as it is closer to the boneYou can see how much the color pops, and how scissored the actual meat texture isThis is how it looks when you're in the action; be careful to moderate the flipping accordinglyYou want a nice brown sear on the top side; that's a visual indication to turn it right overFlip a piece of meat towards you to monitor the inside; monitor the colorThe charcoal was hot as hell, and the meat cooked perfectly because of thisYou can see just a mere few seconds can change the color of the meat (compared to pic 1 above)This looks done; remember when you take it right off the grates, it's going to continue cooking a bitA more zoomed out and clear shotTop-down shot of a piece; the juice is literally dripping from it, indicating a top-tier biteUnrealThat blood drip is the sign of a can't-be-more-perfectly-cooked piece of meatDip that sucker in some sea salt, I can't believe the timing I got on this shotThis meat is too perfect, I had to throw it on a bowl of riceThat's a hitThe inside, as mentioned, continues to cook; that's perfection
Normal Ribs
You can see that, although tender, it is less tender than the other rib meatThrow these on the grates and wait; you can see it's cooking within 3 secondsThose grate marks tell you it's hot; flip it right overMonitor the color as always, and flip according to how you like your meat cooked (I like it medium rare)Cut the meat up when it's nearly done to get a very slight char on the endsYou can see this turns out a bit darker; that's how I like my traditional ribsStraight off the grates; you can see the juice coming together near the bottomLob some sea salt on it and enjoy
Fan Steak
Next up is the fan (thigh meat) steakThe marbling on this is divine, and should be cut horizontal to attribute the fat into the flavor profileYou can see how much more the fat cooks due to the heat; be careful when cooking high % marbled meatAs mentioned, cut it this way (horizontal) and balance the fatJust a few more seconds, then remove them from the gratesThat's a smash right thereThe charcoal is still roaring, you can see the flames pop up every now and thenAs the flames die down, it's time to remove the meatRoll them around for about 3-5 seconds, then removeA clear separation of meat and fat makes for a heavenly bite
Skirt Steak
This is my personal favorite for visuals; it just looks like how meat would be envisioned to meThis charcoal seared the meat within seconds, some of the hottest I've ever worked withSkirt steaks tend to curl when the heat is hot; make sure you watch the colors carefullyThese babies are just about doneCheck out that colorYou can see that the meat is so hot, the salt actually dissolves a bit and melts into the meat
Flower Ribeye Filet
The star of the show has arrivedThis is already looking greatThe fatty part cooks faster, so we turn that firstYou can already see parts of it crisping upThe main part of the filet followsJust let it sizzle for a second; this is a larger piece, so it'll take longer to cook, don't worry about itThe flames help char the fatty parts as the residue drips onto the charcoalJust a few seconds from completionYou can see by its natural bend while cutting that this meat is butteryWe cut it up to give it a final few secondsThrow a few of those in my rice bowlThat's unreal, look at that glorious juice drip on the bottomClean as a whistle
Summary
There's nothing really special to this place, and that's where it shines. There isn't some state-of-the-art technology they use to wet age the beef, there isn't some gimmick they rely on to attract customers.
This is literally a butcher shop with a restaurant above containing grills and some side dishes and soups, and that's exactly what a lot of people want. As Seoul's gastronomic landscape continues to shift towards more fusion-like food, and the BBQ scene follows suit by offering different "innovative" ways to grill meat, it becomes more difficult to find these spots.
The owner says they don't plan on adopting any new trends anytime soon, and that offering good quality product to customers with a transparent pricing system and no-frills service has done them well for three decades.
That's hard to argue with, and the meal speaks for itself. It may just be that the rainy day we ate this on poked my bias a bit, but you'd be hard-pressed to find something equivalent for this price range.
