Buchun Gamjatang

I ended up here for lunch because my first choice was closed for maintenance. I then decided to try Kobawoo House, which I’ve been wanted to go to for a long time — oops, packed to the rafters. So I literally turned the corner to see what was there, and I saw a sign in Korean with a happy little pig. There in the corner, in small romaja, was the name: «Buchun Gamjatang.»
After some Unilocal and, after that, Wikipedia research, I threw caution to the wind and went in. Less than a third of the tables were occupied, and the hostess/​waitress looked like she was wondering if I’d wandered into the wrong place. Nevertheless, she was friendly and helpful. It seems like they don’t serve alcohol anymore, despite the fact that it’s on their menu. Dang. Anyway, I think she was indicating some more mainstream options like bibimbap, but I asked for the gamjatang, and after warning me that it’s 1) spicy (that’s fine), and 2) pork (that’s more that find), she brought me that.
Gamjatang is a soup made from big hunks of pork spine slowly simmered in a spicy broth. The soup also had napa cabbage, a hunk of potato, and a big pile of fresh perilla leaves on top. It’s served with a few banchan — daikon kimchi, what looked like potato salad, some sort of konnyaku-​like muk, and a cold sliced pancake that was delicious. The purplish rice looked like it was cooked with a few azuki beans (pat) for color. As for the gamjatang, it was a pain the derrière to eat, and the other waitress could sense my confusion in dealing with the mass of twisted, superheated vertebrae as I pulled them from the cauldron of red broth into the metal bowl. It’s quite a conundrum figuring out where everything should go: Once the spine hunk is cooled enough to start pulling it apart, should I eat the meat I’m pulling off with the rice? On its own? Should it return it to the broth? I did some of each at some point.
The soup is tasty. It’s not so spicy as to be intolerably hot, though it’s definitely something I’d prefer in winter. The restaurant’s warm interior didn’t help, and some cold beer definitely would be a plus with gamjatang. And I made a total mess of myself, but I liked it. I just wish the vertebrae could have been cut into easier-​to-​use pieces rather than the strange jigsaw pieces they served.
The waitresses were very nice, which I really appreciated. So often, non-​Koreans can be given gruff treatment in these very authentic joints, but the ladies here seemed genuinely pleased I came. And I was genuinely pleased I came, too.

Just tried out this place. Pretty disappointed by the pork bone soup. The soup was plain and there was barely meat on the bone. And I have had way better pork slice cold dish at other place. As a new restaurant they really need to improve something.

I came here several times when it first opened and then didn’t come back for a while. And then I went two weeks ago. And again the week after!
Although there seems to be less meat than before, the gamjatang broth and the bossam have definitely improved. And I can really appreciate the free bossam :)
The medium gamjatang (+free medium bossam) can feed 2 – 3 people. The large combo can feed 3 – 4.

C’MON GUYS. THIS PLACE IS THE SHIAT. I probably never went to gamja gol after this place opened. How can it get any better? You pay $ 30 for a medium gamja jungol and you get free bossam (ALOT OF IT TOO!) and also get the kimchi boggeump bap or soojae bi after you eat the gamja tang. It is meant for 2 people, I belive. but honestly I feel like it can probably even feed up 4 people … !!!

Best gamja tang in ktown!!! Their fried rice at the end is the best. And the bo ssam is great too~!

Great flavorful Gamjatang and Chung Gook Jang! Chung Gook Jang tastes way better after adding some salt, it looks like they serve it with low sodium, so the flavor was not as robust. I like it better than Olympic Cheonggukjang but i didn’t try to add salt there though

Came back again today! Had the medium gamjatang for $ 30 (plenty for 2 – 3 people) and if you pay cash– the pork platter (busam) is free! They also make the Kim chi fried rice for you at the end. Service is excellent, food delicious, and price low!

This is hands down my favorite gamjatang restaurant in K-​Town. They have huge servings and the broth is very flavorful. You definitely need to get their bossam cause it’s amazing! Also, they have a wide variety of banchan!
BUT, the best part about this place is the fried rice at the end. You will need to save some soup because that’s what’s gonna give it the flavor.
Give this place a try cause it will definitely become one of your favorite gamjatang spots and you will get your money’s worth.

My first time trying this pork bone soup, I love the soup base but it’s not enough to bring me back again. Not bad to give it a try.

I love their Gamjatang here. The bones have lots of meat and they are very tasty. The meat will just fall off the bones. It is a lot of food though. I wish they have smaller portion if you only have 2 people. This is one of my favorite places to eat Gamjatang

Buchun bbyudagui gamjatang. I tried this new place just because it was new and had to see how it was. But meh– my wife and I ordered medium gamjajungol and I had hard time eating because there was barely any meat to eat. Bbyudagui means bone so probably I can’t complain– they did mention it in their business name now didn’t they. We were lucky it wasn’t all potatoes (gamja) in the soup.
The soup was meh– not so bad not so good. I could probably make better soup myself. Nothing special about bokeumbab (fried rice), too. I would’ve been happier if I had steam rice as the pot came because I was really hungry burning too much calories looking for meat.
Oh and the sauce… It just sucks xD
Sorry if I hurt your feeling, chef. But you have lotta things to improve.
My advice– no place has better gamjatang than gamjagol at normandie and Olympic. I once ordered gamjatang for delivery from jangchoondong jokbal and still was better soup and more meat than this place. I can hardly find any reason I should suggest buchun gamjatang to anyone: X

First time having gamjatang and I loved it.
Service was slow and it took forever to get an extra cup for water but the food was good. Definitely a hole in the wall type joint so if you aren’t into that kind of style (la) don’t come. If you don’t mind hole in the walls, you won’t regret it.

Small parking lot but luckily there was 1 open. Came around 1130am and this place was packed on a Tuesday. I got the medium gamjatang and Free bossam for paying in cash. I have to say it’s better than gamja gol. It actually has meat on the bone and it was pretty tasty. I took a star out because there was only 3 waitresses to cover about 20 tables. –_​-​:;;. Waited 30 mins to get some side dishes and water.
Medium got me and my gf full. We couldn’t eat the bossam so we took it togo. I guess medium can feed 3 unless your a fatass like me.
At the end of the meal u can either ask for bokkeumbap or sujebi

i thought i’d never come back
this was originally my beloved gui ilbunji
my favorite gogi spot that unexpectedly closed down
and shattered my heart into a million pieces when i drove up and saw the dreaded
«9.99 AYCE» banner flapping sadly in the wind
(with kbbq, you know things are headed downhill or owners have changed when a bomb
spot suddenly starts advertising super cheap AYCE specials)
at first, it seems like somewhat of an interesting/​good deal
order gamja tang and get bossam for free (if you pay cash) or $ 5 (credit card)
but i’m also wary when it comes to deals that seem too good to be true (ahem, too cheap)
we ordered two large gamja tangs which came with two bossams and two spicy naengmyuns
our first gamja tang was weak
barely any meat on the bones
the bossam was ok
(the kimchi and pickled radish were fresh though)
banchan was whatevers
naengmyun was just spicy, not very tasty
our second gamja tang was much better
way more meat
but i still felt like flavor-​wise, gamja gol has them beat by a long shot
service was also mediocre
minus a star because i think there
was a massive amount of MSG in the soup
i’ve never felt so lethargic, bloated and sick after eating something
we ate at 4PM and i didn’t eat again until 2PM the next day (and i ate a salad) —
again, this is unheard of for me (unless i’m actually sick. and even then, i eat!)
even after drinking gallons of water with lemon to detox, it took almost 24 hours
for me to get rid of that heavy, gross feeling
don’t think i’ll be back

Order the medium gamja tang ($ 26)and pay with cash then you will get free bossam! Bossam is Korean pork with kimchi. I wish there were more potatoes and better parts of the meat where it’s not all bones. Service is decent, thank God for those clicky things in Korean restaurants!
They can make Korean fried rice with tour leftover soup. Wish they could add an egg.
This restaurant is in borderline ktown and they have free parking!

A HUGE pot of gamjatang + an order of bossam + fried rice or sujebi for $ 28??? How can you not? When I first heard about this deal, I was a bit weary to try it cause it sounded too good to be true. But it’s true, and it’s too good in the best way!
The flavor was on point for the gamjatang and the portion was monstrous. The soup had a nice, rich flavor and lots of fall-​off-​the-​bone tender meat on the pork bone. There were also big chunks of potato in there and I loved how they didn’t skimp on the perilla leaf/​seeds. The bossam was also a big portion considering the fact that it’s something you get for free for ordering the medium gamjatang. It came with all the proper sides to make your ssam (wrap): spicy radish, kimchi, napa cabbage, jalepeno, garlic, ssamjang. The meat was a bit on the tougher side but, still good.
We barely made a dent in the gamjatang and had to take everything, including the fried rice at the end, to-​go. This meal could have easily fed 3 – 4 people. I would recommend to go early for dinner, especially on a weeknight as it started to get super busy. The service was great, but again that might depend on how busy it gets.

The gamjatang was good. The bones had a good amount of meat on them and the rice that they mixed for us was a delicious and a lot of food! The free bossam was even better! Everything was great. I hope they have this promo for a long time!

A large pork bone stew for $ 35.99 for 3 to 4 people is what we got for lunch. It’s packed here during weekday lunch time. The great thing is the portion in comparison to the price. Along with the stew, a plate of bossam, which is a boiled pork dish with veggies. Remember to ask the server to prepare fried rice after with the leftover soup. So leave room for that in your stomach!
However, service is not consistent among the customers. Some tables are tended more than others. Just remember to be persistent and ask for what you need.
Parking is crowded at times so look around for street parking. There is a small lot though.

This place is a joke! I didnt even know Gui Ilbunjee was gone! With that said, this new restaurant is located where Gui Ilbunjee was. It’s a small plaza with a couple restaurants and other shops. To add, it is surprisingly busy.
I wasnt really expecting anything from this place from the moment I heard that my dad said he ‘heard’ the advertisement in the Korean radio station. I have this weird & strong belief that whenever my parents hear the ad from the radio, its just a sign that I should avoid. However, he still wanted to go and try so what the heck, I decided to dine here.
After handing over my car to a valet, I walked in the restaurant and it was somewhat busy. I noticed more than 90% of customers were all elders, mostly men. I went in and waited to get seated. I made eye contact with two of the workers and they just ignored me. I kept waiting and the lady who saw me told other young guy server to seat us then he ignored it again and sat us after he was done with whatever the hell he was doing. Lets just say it took about 5 minutes to get seated.
After looking at the menu, we decided to get the medium size Gamjatang (Pork Neck Soup). We waited and waited but no one came to take our order. I rang the bell and still no reply. After ringing the bell a couple times, finally that lady comes and takes our order. We got our side dishes right after we placed our order and shortly after we got our Gamjatang. She put it under the stove that was already installed in our table and she turned it on really high. It started to boiling after 5 minutes or so and the gas turned off its own. Rang the bell, this girl server comes
and says dont shut it off until it boils. I was like WTF I didnt it turned off its own and she just put the gas back on and left.
Everything started to get worse and worse from at that point. We were eating the soup and noticed it was a large portion for a medium size. But all the big bones had BARELY ANY MEAT. I am not exaggerating but really, it hardly had any meat to eat! I still remember it clearly when I went to Gamjagol, it had so much meat and it was just neverending. Here? Just the opposite. I looked all around each piece of bone I had in my bowl and there were seriously no meat to eat, HAH!
They offer fried rice or soojebi which is like flour. They bring the dough out at your table and flatten a little piece of flour dough and put it directly into your soup. My dad wanted to try that so we asked for it. This guy server who I asked for Soojebi seriously didnt give a damn. He looked like he was annoyed and pissed. WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO YOU?! Put on a smile, can you? Geez. Go home if you dont want to work, its that freaking simple!
So that lady came to do that soojebi thing and I asked her I wanted to take the rest of the Gamjatang home because we barely ate any. She said OK and she put the gogi in this togo box and not giving me the soup. I asked why are you not giving me the soup. Im not just going to dig in the meat. This dish is a soup. I need my soup Mrs! Then she says it in very rude way, you said you wanted soojebi I need to put it into your leftover soup. Um, yeah OK that makes sense then WHY DID YOU BRING A BIG BOWL OF SOUP/​BROTH WITH YOU? IS THAT JUST FOR YOUR EXERCISE? Then she says nonsense and she is like OK, Ill pack your soup or something, in very very annoyed/​arrogant way. Then it doesnt end there. She drops those silicon heat resistant thing into my pot of soup. HAHAHAHA. I got really really mad at her. She says, what do I do now? I didnt say anything then shes like, I will just togo you a new set of soup. HA, I laugh.
Then she puts the dough in the pot of soup thats not even boiling. You are supposed to put it when its boiling, thats what Soojebi really is. My dad asked about it, then she says something like it doesnt matter, the soup will boil soon. OK MRS. She had the worst attitude and she seemed like shew as seriously about to argue with us.
You know what, after all this shit happened, we didt even feel like we ate something. My dad usually doesnt say anything about a restaurant having bad customer service but he said so much stuff tonight about this horrible place. He said he wouldnt 1. come back 2. recommend to anyone 3. trust the ad heard on the Korean radio.
I dont know how anyone can say their food is good because its seriously below average. The bones had no meat to eat, side dishes looked old and dry. Their bossam was dry too. I will stick to Gamjagol or Hamjipark for my Gamjatang cravings. EVEN IF they had good food here, I still wouldnt come back because of customer service. Not ONE OF THEM was professional.

Pretty delicious gamja tang. Better than gamjagol for sure. I think it could use more perilla leaves and perilla seed powder but thats just my preference. The broth is flavorful and they give u all lot of bone meat.
They are having a promotion. Order the medium gamja tang to share and get free bossam!
Also u have the option of fried rice or sujaebi at the end!