The buffet restaurant “Byulmijigyo” in Korea is a popular dining spot known for its good value and diverse menu offerings. It is typically located in suburban areas of the country and is commonly frequented by families and groups of friends for gatherings.
This buffet features a wide variety of dishes, including Korean, Western, and Chinese cuisine, served in a plentiful buffet style. While the taste and quality of the food are generally satisfactory, it is renowned for providing excellent value for the price.
Byulmijigyo buffet is particularly popular on weekends and holidays, often requiring reservations. Ample parking facilities are available, making it convenient for guests who choose to drive.
The restaurant is beloved by locals, especially families with children, for its diverse menu options and generous servings, making it suitable for guests with various tastes.
I visited a buffet in Guri for a family gathering. It was reasonably priced and turned out to be a hidden gem, known as Byulmijigyo in Guri, which we occasionally visit for family gatherings. Among our family members are several elementary school students and some with small appetites, so while conventional buffets may be good for adults, they might seem a bit pricey for kids. Hence, considering various factors, it was a good value for money.
The entrance to Byulmijigyo in Guri is spacious enough to accommodate over 200 people simultaneously. Although the parking lot is quite large, if it’s full, there’s a hidden parking area to the right of the building that’s worth knowing about (this is a useful tip!).
Byulmijigyo is about a 5-minute drive from the Guri Toepyung IC and located on the outskirts, slightly away from downtown Guri, making it more convenient to reach by car than public transportation.
Byulmijigyo is a chain restaurant with its main branch in Hwado, Namyangju, and other branches in Guri, Yangju, Siheung, and Seo-gu, Incheon. I haven’t visited the main branch yet, but I’ve been to both the Guri and Yangju branches, and they had similar conditions. The parking facility was slightly better at the Yangju branch.
As for the pricing, it’s 13,000 KRW on weekdays and 15,000 KRW on weekends for adults, 8,000 KRW on weekdays and 10,000 KRW on weekends for elementary school students, and 5,000 KRW for preschoolers (from 36 months old). They operate from 11 am to 9 pm.
While reservations may be difficult, there are about 10 seats available to the right upon entering, but since there are no separate reservation signs, it’s hard to guarantee those seats. In any case, there are no designated group seats.
Moving on to the food highlights, I’ll only mention the most important dishes. The rest are typical buffet offerings (excluding special menus).
They frequently replenished dishes such as sundae (Korean blood sausage), udon, and banquet noodles. There were also tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), fried eggs, and fried foods like tempura.
They seemed to refill the jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) quite often, and it was quite popular among children, along with tteokbokki and cream pasta.
They had various options for side dishes like gim-mari (seaweed rolls) and potato fries. People living near Guri might find it challenging to find such a cost-effective buffet.
While the variety of food is somewhat limited compared to well-known buffets, considering the price, it was quite a worthwhile place to dine.
They also had options for vegetarians, such as kong-gogi (soy meat).
There was also soy sauce marinated shrimp. Although the soy sauce marinated crab wasn’t available at the time, it was of good quality when it was.
They had pork belly slices for bossam (boiled pork) and next to it was stir-fried pork. They also had dishes like mapo tofu and ox bone soup. While there was hardly any beef or other meats, there was ox bone broth, and right next to it was cream soup.
Waffles and toast were quite popular, especially the waffles, but they took quite a long time to prepare.
They had items like fried chicken and sesame bread. The chicken legs disappeared quickly, leaving mostly chicken bodies. When I went for seconds, they were fully stocked again.
They served bibim-guksu (spicy mixed noodles), japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), cream pasta, and tonkatsu (pork cutlet). The tonkatsu quality wasn’t bad, and the bibim-guksu was pleasantly spicy, while the cream pasta was popular among children.
They also had traditional drinks like sikhye (sweet rice drink) and sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch).
You could find items like katsu udon and anchovy broth for self-refills when you needed soup.
They also had curry and various types of seasoned vegetables. Although not shown in the pictures, they also had various types of fermented fish.
To sum up, Byulmijigyo in Guri offered a satisfying meal at slightly more than the cost of a regular meal. It’s a bit inconvenient to access by public transportation, so it’s better to go by car.
