Changwon black pork BBQ with a dry-aging fridge: Jeju Doldam Sangnam

I had some thick Jeju black pork in Changwon. Jeju Doldam Sangnam Main Branch, Changwon. Words and photos © Joy

It's Joy here, hitting two good restaurants in one day! I went to hang out on Changwon's Garosu-gil today, got a craving for meat, searched frantically, and ended up at Jeju Doldam, a black pork belly spot in Sangnam-dong. Let me introduce it!

Jeju Doldam Sangnam hours and parking

Jeju Doldam Sangnam Main Branch is open 16:00–23:00, last order at 22:30, with no closed days. There's dedicated parking, too.

• Hours 16:00–23:00
• Last order 22:30
• No closed days
• Dedicated parking

There's a spacious underground parking lot, so parking is easy.

Jeju Doldam has a waiting area, and a big fridge next to it caught my eye!! I was curious.

The dry-aging fridge and stone-wall interior at the entrance

That big fridge next to the waiting area at Jeju Doldam Sangnam Main Branch turned out to be a meat aging fridge. Wow~ looks like the meat is aging in there. Fresh black pork straight up from Jeju~ seemed like various cuts were aging inside!

True to its name, Jeju Doldam ('Jeju stone wall') has a stone-wall interior that genuinely made me feel like I was at a Jeju meat restaurant haha. The seating was wide and plentiful, so it also felt like a great spot for group gatherings or work dinners!

What we ordered at Jeju Doldam and what it cost

We ordered Jeju black pork belly at ₩11,000 per 100g for two servings, Jeju black pork neck at ₩11,000 per 100g for two servings, and nurungji + crab soybean paste stew for ₩8,000.

Grab an apron first since oil can splatter ^^

Wow~ I was surprised the moment the meat came out just from the color. The condition of the meat looked so perfect... the pork belly and neck arrived looking distinctly fresh and raw.

This drop-dead-gorgeous pork came with king oyster mushrooms, zucchini, and shishito peppers as garnish. I'd heard Sangnam-dong is famous for black pork belly, so I was super excited.

The banchan side dish spread

The table setting included scallion salad, garlic scapes, pickled onion, wasabi, salt, scallions, kimchi, peppers, garlic, salted seafood, macaroni salad, sausage, aged kimchi, lettuce, peppers, and perilla leaves. There were too many kinds to list 👍

A staff member grilled all the meat for us, which made things easy. Honestly, meat tastes better because it's grilled well haha. All the famous spots have staff grilling it for you~

The kimchi stew that comes standard with the table setting is genuinely delicious‼️ This place is a kimchi stew spot in its own right lol

I think this is probably made from this aged kimchi — it was so good I wanted to buy some to take home..👍

Grilling the pork belly and neck with Jeju-style myeoljeot anchovy sauce

At Jeju Doldam, they put the pork belly and neck on the grill all at once and grilled the meat centered around Jeju-style melchat (fermented anchovy sauce).

Watching it grill made me hungry haha. The meat looked genuinely thick. They put all the vegetables on too and grilled everything for us~

They sear the outside on high heat first, then cut it up and finish cooking — look at the color inside. You can really tell they're using good quality meat 👍

Nurungji and blue crab soybean paste stew

The nurungji + crab soybean paste stew I ordered earlier showed up. They also brought perilla leaf side dish and stir-fried fish cake.

The nurungji had a really large amount of rice — enough to be a full meal on its own~ kind of looked like porridge~ As for the crab soybean paste stew, I honestly couldn't tell how many crabs were in it lol. It was a hearty crab 🦀 soybean paste stew.

How did the black pork belly and neck taste?

The pork belly grills up golden brown and a nutty aroma rises right away ❤️ The outside crisps up while the inside stays juicy, fat and lean meat cooking together in harmony.

The pork belly is the menu item where you really feel the chewy texture of the skin! It wasn't too fatty, tasted clean, and the juices stayed alive, so it was delicious even just dipped in salt.

Of course it's also delicious wrapped in lettuce with side dishes 👍 haha

This is the fatty part of the pork neck — it tasted even better grilled until crispy~ Chewy and crunchy at once, which I really liked.

With a dolharubang statue greeting you at the entrance, Jeju Doldam Sangnam Main Branch served up delicious Sangnam-dong black pork belly ❤️ It works for dates, family dinners, and group work dinners alike, so save this one and go check it out!!