[Seoul] Delicious Marinated Chicken at Yoogane Dak Galbi (유가네 닭갈비)

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Originally not on our to-eat list, we stumbled across Yoogane on our last day in Seoul while finishing up last-minute shopping in Myeongdong. Back then, we just wanted to grab a quick lunch and tried something authentically Korean that we hadn’t already eaten. At that time, we didn’t realize that Yoogane is actually one of the famous Korean chicken galbi (grilled dish) brands in Korea. It has even expanded overseas to China, Singapore and Indonesia!

Yoogane’s signture dish is their marinated dak galbi (닭갈비, 8500 won per person), which came in a huge pan filled with tender chicken meat marinated in their secret spicy sauce, along with some rice cakes and fresh vegetables. Equally popular was the marinated dak galbi fried rice (닭갈비 철판볶음밥, 6000 won per person) that combined two of my favorites – fried rice and marinated chicken! Two in one dish, double the taste!

Kev and I went with the marinated dak galbi fried rice and mozzarella cheese as an add-on side dish (16000 won in total for 2 person) to get that rich cheezy flavor from the gooey, melting cheese!

While we are waiting for the dish to be prepared, we headed towards the self service bar to get our fill of pickled radish, kimchi, soup and salad.

Metal spoons and chopsticks were hidden in the drawer at the side of the table. Pretty much everything was self-service here! Once we had all the side dishes, we put on the apron and waited for the server to bring the rest of the food to the table.

Without much of a wait, our server arrived and immediately dumped the marinated chicken onto the huge pan in front of us. The experienced server pan-grilled the chicken and some chopped green onions for us until it’s well done.

Then, she mixed in rice, seaweed and house-made chili paste, and coated the rice evenly with the slightly charred sauce.

rice, seaweed and chili paste in one dish and mozzarella cheese in another

Lastly, added in all the mozzarella cheese and waited for it to melt!

Ooooh, look at that cheese turning stringy! Let’s dig in!

The chicken was perfectly marinated to pick up the sweet-spicy flavor. To be honest, the level of spiciness was less than moderate – it was more sweet than spicy actually. It’s hard to go wrong with the combination of rice, seaweed and cheese. Overall, I loved the food, but it was not the most amazing and unique meal we had in Seoul. I felt that I could easily replicate the dish at home. If we happen to come back next time, I will go for the signature marinated dak galbi instead 🙂

About Yoogane (Myeongdong 2nd branch) 유가네 (명동2호점)

Address: 66-6 Chungmuro 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul (서울 중구 충무로2가 66-6)
Hours: 10:00~01:00
Website: http://www.yoogane.co.kr/

How to get to Yoogane (Myeongdong 2nd branch)?

Get off the subway at line 4 Myeongdong station exit 8. Turn on your left. Walk past the first intersection and the restaurant will be on your left.