Hongdae's best Korean raw beef tartare and grilled intestine @ 홍대맛집 육대곱 (육회 vs 곱창)

I remembered when I came to Korea 3 years back in 2014, I went to INFINITE Woo-hyun's family restaurant. It was a barbeque restaurant. I didn't know what to order so I asked Woo-hyun's mother, who happened to be in the restaurant serving customers, to recommend me their signature barbeque. She recommended a set barbeque with pork, intestine and mushrooms. It was the best grilled intestine I have even eaten.  I have been looking for the same type of intestine that I ate at Woo-hyun's family restaurant all these years but I couldn't find, because their menu changed and had closed down since.

So, coming to this restaurant was another hunt for the intestine that I've fallen in love with. However, it wasn't the same.

Hongdae is a really happening area in Seoul where lots of youngsters and working adults like to hangout during weekend or after work. They have tons of sight-seeing/attractions (불거리) and delicious tempting food (먹거리)!

This is a popular restaurant at Hongdae called 육대곱 (육회 vs 곱창). It is actually a well known 홍대맛집, a famous restaurant in Hongdae. They offer a lot of different intestines and beef for you to choose from. I've chose the assorted grills which includes all the intestines and beef. Other than their main grilled dishes, apparently people are also very fond of their raw beef tartare which I have been wanting to try!

One set of assorted grills 모듬구이 costed 17,000won and the raw beef tartare 육회 was 19,000won. Trying the raw beef tartare was one of the best decision I have made in life! I think Korea's raw beef tartare just conquered the number one spot of my favourite raw food list. It was definitely intimidating yet exciting to give raw beef a try. Yes, it is all raw. From marinated raw beef to raw egg yolk. There is only one way to eat it. Eat both together! You can either break the egg yolk and stir it with the raw beef or dip the raw beef into the egg yolk.

Personally, I felt like they should have given 2 egg yolks to go with this 200g raw beef as it wasn't enough for me. The raw beef however was so so so soft and it literally blew my mind. The raw beef is actually Korea's best beef, called the Hanwoo 한우. I think eating Korean beef raw is really a good way to taste its freshness and texture. Thumbs up to this magnificent dish!

So here is the assorted intestine and beef. It was served raw on a huge stone pot and the waiters will grill it for you. It was a huge amount for 2 person. Love the potatoes and mushrooms in this. It was not the main star of the dish but definitely made it better! It took quite some time for the meat to cook so be patient~

I am not a big fan of chewy stuff because my jaw gets so tired while eating. Raw octopus is one of the chewy food that is nice to eat for a few bites but you tend to get tired of chewing it after a few bites. Same goes to these intestines. However, the intestines are so flavourful after grilling, you know why Koreans come here just to eat their grilled intestines!

The soup that came with the grilled intestine was so delicious. I think they boiled it with beef bone, hence the aromatic taste. They have white radish in it, making the soup taste sweet and flavourful.

You might be a bit bored to be eating these intestines on their own. Fret not! They also serve you with a few different sauces. The waiter knew I was dining there for the first time so he explained the taste of each and every sauce. I couldn't remember all of them but I personally liked the one that tasted like Thai chilli. It adds so much flavour to the grilled intestines.

Unfortunately, the ventilation in the restaurant wasn't working well as it tends gets a bit "foggy" and smoky inside the restaurant with all the smoke coming from the cooking tables. It gets quite warm inside too.

So here is how to go to 육대곱!

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 서교동 338-1 1층

Phone: 070-8654-4474

Operating hours: 12pm - 3am (Everyday)

2017.10.26 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NAVER Corp.