dak bulgogi – Korean BBQ chicken
We often go out to dak galbi chicken restaurants but for some reason I had never tried dak bulgogi until this week. Both dishes are made with chicken cooked at the table but they are cooked differently.
닭갈비 dak galbi is chicken pieces stir-fried with vegetables (cabbage, carrot, onion, sweet potato) in a red spicy sauce on a hot plate. 닭 (dak – chicken) 갈비 (ribs) You can add other ingredients if you like such as (떡 deok) rice cakes, cheese, or noodles. And after this you can order fried rice which is cooked in front of you on the same hot plate.
닭불고기 dak bulgogi is slightly spicy and sweet marinated chicken grilled on hot coals at the table. 닭 (dak – chicken) 불고기 (bulgogi – barbecued meat). These restaurants also serve pork and pork skin. The chicken is eaten in the same way as other BBQ meats – wrapped up in lettuce or a sesame leaf with slices of raw garlic, onion, and chili, and washed down with beer and soju of course. It was reasonably priced too -15,000 won for a serving for two people. I heard this is a popular place to go but it was quiet when we were there as it was around 3pm before the evening rush. So the waiter was able to come over and turn and cut the meat for us. (Usually customers have to do this themselves) Great food. But one thing to watch – I burned my knee under the table on the hot plate. I didn’t realise it would be hot under there too! I thought it would have a cover on it or something. Duh!
this particular restaurant has now closed but there are chains of dak bulgogi all around Seoul
Hello there! I am planning to go to Seoul next month and have been researching quite a bit on it when I happened to stumble upon your blog! Your blog has been really helpful in planning my itinerary. And reading it just makes me want to be in Korea now! Keke.
I was wondering if you could help me with a few questions:
1) Where is this dak bulgogi restaurant? Seen similar restaurants in kdramas so often and I think I should head down to one too!
2) I also read your post on Bukaksan and was wondering what time and day is good to visit the place? Can I register on the spot or have to register beforehand online?
I would really appreciate your help!
Thank you so much for reading this!
Hello. I’m glad to hear my blog has been some help to you!
Well there are lots of chicken restaurants around Seoul, so you are sure to stumble over them wherever you go. But I don’t think dak bulgoki restaurants are quite as common as chicken and beer restaurants or dak galbi. I’ve put a map up on the post to show directions to this particular restaurant that we went to – exit 2 or 4 from Shinchon station on line 2, go straight and then turn to the right. This is a cute studenty area to potter around in – very busy in the evenings. I hope you find and enjoy it.
As for Bukaksan, I think the most important thing to remember is that you MUST take ID with you. When we were there a group of (Korean) walkers were turned away for not having ID. (They are very strict about that so don’t forget to take your passport). We just turned up on the day without booking in advance (but I was with my Korean husband). According to the website they say to fill in the form online and book a week in advance – so maybe that would be best? This time of year will be great as it’s nice and cool but on the other hand it will also be popular because of the good weather so I would try to avoid the weekend if at all possible!
Hope this helps and have a great time.
I just walked by this restaurant at the weekend and it’s no longer there. It’s a chain so I suppose it’s just moved somewhere else. too bad.