Jayeon Byeolgok Songpa — One of the Last Korean Buffet Branches, Weekday Lunch Wait

#NoSponsorship

Jayeon Byeolgok used to be one of my go-to Korean food buffets, but apparently there are only three locations left in the entire country now - Garden Five, Newcore Incheon Nonhyeon, and Newcore Pyeongchon. We visited the Garden Five branch in Songpa.

Jayeon Byeolgok Garden Five is on the 7th floor of NC Department Store Songpa, 66 Chungmin-ro, Songpa-gu. It is 127 meters from Jangji Station Exit 3. Hours are daily 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

Pricing is tiered: weekday lunch 19,900 won, weekday dinner 25,900 won, and weekends/holidays 29,900 won per adult. The weekday lunch is the sweet spot for value. Even on a weekday, the place was absolutely packed.

You pay upfront and get guided to your seat. They handed out a survey about new menu items, which felt a bit pushy without any incentive, but I filled it out anyway.

The food variety is impressive with tons of options, though I noticed very little meat at the weekday lunch. That steep price jump to dinner is probably the meat tax. It was so crowded that photographing the food stations was challenging.

The grilled flounder was always well-stocked but honestly underwhelming - needed to be crispier. The made-to-order bibim...