Korea’s Queued-Up Popular Dish: A Hamburger Patty Made with Korean Beef

Text & Photos byLittle Dot Paine

I saw Jie Xika post about this place the other day, which reminded me that I actually ate here back in April. I really liked the restaurant when I visited, but there were just too many Seoul restaurant articles from April that hadn’t been covered yet, so I couldn’t write about it at the time. Now, I’d like to recommend it.

While preparing for the trip, during my search for Korean beef restaurants, I unexpectedly discovered that this place makes hamburger patties using Korean beef — quite special, and also very popular. On weekends, there's even a paper queue form (that you have to fill out) placed at the entrance. Weekdays offer more affordable set meals, so I’d recommend visiting for lunch on a weekday if you want a better deal.

The Fukuoka Hamburger Steak shop isn’t on the first floor, but on the upper floor instead. If you hadn’t planned to eat here, you’d really have a hard time noticing it.

The shop is on the third floor (or second floor??)

The roadside sign is also quite important — you might just spot it as you walk by.

My first visit was on a Sunday. Since I was alone, I didn’t have to wait (there’s a seat reserved for solo diners), but it looked like others had to wait. After going in, I realized the weekday prices were better, so I left and came back during a weekday.

On Sunday, the place was fully seated, leaving only one seat for me. But today, on Monday, it was relatively empty — only about 50% full.

There’s an instructional placemat on how to eat the hamburger steak.

Fukuoka Hamburger emphasizes that it’s made with 100% Korean beef.

Let’s check out the menu~

You can click on the above menu photos to view the original images enlarged — the prices are clear.

The most recommended dish here is the “Banga Umma Jjim Jjip S” for 11,900 KRW. But if you come on a weekday, the “Nonggak Yeok 1 District Menu” for 8,400 KRW includes the Banga Jjim Jjip egg hamburger and rice. The “Gungji Pa 1 District Menu” for 10,900 KRW includes the Banga Umma Garlic Jjim Jjip egg garlic hamburger — it’s the same as the above but with garlic chips, plus rice and a drink. So I went with the Gungji Pa 1 District Menu for 10,900 KRW.

The solo seat has a view of the street outside — the part where your hand touches the chopsticks has heat insulation, so you won’t burn your hands. There’s also an apron (shown in the photo above, folded and placed with the wet wipes).

Make sure you definitely wear the apron.

They start by serving small side dishes and a drink.

The drink I ordered turned out to be canned — I had thought it would be from a drink machine.

You can get refills on the side dishes. The rice is served beautifully and tastes great too.

The main dish arrives — the aroma is amazing~~~ It’s topped with a generous amount of garlic chips.

The 110g Korean beef hamburger patty, with egg yolk mixed with cheese, is placed on a hot iron plate. The iron plate is super hot at first, cooking the egg to a semi-runny state while the cheese gradually melts — though it cools down over time, so you’ll need a separate small stone plate to keep them warm.

The Korean beef hamburger patty is still raw.

Scoop up an appropriate amount.

Place it on the stone plate that’s who-knows-how-many-hundred-degrees-hot, and listen to the sizzle as the beef fat hits the high heat — it’s mouthwateringly loud.

The smoke extractor nearby is really effective, sized perfectly to the stone plate, quickly sucking away all the fumes.

You have to keep flipping it or it will burn very quickly.

Time to dig in~

Remember to enjoy it with the semi-runny egg and melted cheese.

Or pair it with the dipping sauce, which has a mildly spicy side on one end and a sweet soy sauce side on the other.

The round stone slab will gradually cool down, and that’s when—remember to call the waiter!!!!!!!!!

He’ll bring over a new, sizzling hot stone!! After swapping in a fresh stone, you can keep grilling your Korean beef burger.
Review: I honestly think it’s super delicious—the Korean beef itself is absolutely tasty, the meat is really tender and sweet, and the garlic crisps add a nice aroma. The only downside is that it’s a bit oily, plus the iron plate already has quite a bit of salad oil (?) on it. But just pair it with the included side dishes (there’s salad, jalapeños, and spicy radish), and it easily cuts through the richness. I’d definitely recommend this place. The weekday prices are also very reasonable. When checking out, the staff were super cute—they actually drew a little heart on my electronic signature (for those who pay by card in Korea, the electronic signature is basically just a scribble anyway).
 

振相皮昔砧?? 福冈韩牛汉堡排
Official website
Address: ?聘夜寄萝 谷屿? 评瓢腊杠29谷? 6
Phone: 02-332-3210
Business hours: 11:30–16:00 / 17:00–22:00
Coordinates: 37.555798, 126.926738

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