Bucheon Korean BBQ roomier than its Jongno branch, plus jowl: Cham

Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch: how does it compare with the Jongno main branch?

I went to Cham Dwaejitgan (참돼짓간) Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch expecting a lot, because I had such a good meal at the Jongno main branch, and it beat my expectations!!! I've been to the Jongno main branch too, you see!!!

This is a Korean BBQ place near Sinjungdong Station in Bucheon that I can recommend with confidence. My partner had never been to Cham Dwaejitgan before, and even this serious meat lover said it was really good, one of the best ever, and ate happily 👍🏻

They say they only use domestic Korean Hanwoo-grade Jirisan black pork and Boseong green-tea-fed grade 1 pork. The meat is smoked with rice husks for extra flavor and grilled over charcoal to make it more tender!!!👍🏻

What are the opening hours?

It's open 24 hours!!! 💖 And there's no break time either.

Atmosphere and seating: wide table spacing and chairs with storage

One wall has a huge aging fridge :-) The restaurant is really spacious and comfortable, and the wide gaps between tables made it feel much more pleasant. (The place is much bigger than it looks; I shot the photo toward the side with no customers :-))

All the chairs have backrests, and they're cushioned with storage space for bags and coats, which I loved. The Jongno main branch is a Seoul BBQ spot with a wait too, but I found the Bucheon Sinjung-dong branch much nicer to eat at, with wider spacing and a really comfortable space, so my satisfaction was even, even higher!

What are the menu and prices like?

They only use Jirisan black pork and Boseong grade 1 pork, and the prices were really reasonable too. I left out the alcohol and drinks pages in the menu photos.

Rice-husk-smoked charcoal grilling and Cham Dwaejitgan's signature grill plate

The pride of this place is rice-husk-smoked charcoal grilling!!!!

Grilled over charcoal, the inside of the meat turns out really tender and juicy, and maybe thanks to the husks, a clean, nutty aroma soaks right in, so the meat was seriously good...👍🏻 My meat-loving partner called it one of the best ever too...👍🏻

The grill plate looks exactly like the one at the Jongno main branch!! The charcoal heat spreads evenly, and right beside the meat there's minari, kimchi, bean sprouts and even potato slices! It's Cham Dwaejitgan's own grill plate, where you grill and eat, then finish by frying rice on it at the end.

Side dishes and sauces: garlic scapes and mushroom wasabi

The basic side dishes come out very neat and tidy,

and the garlic scapes were so good too. Eaten with the meat, they cut the richness and make you want to eat meat endlessly.

They set out a variety of dips, spicy sauce, wasabi, mushroom wasabi, salt and ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste), so you can dip to your own taste.

The mushroom wasabi has a subtle mushroom aroma and sweetness, and the taste is addictive. I really enjoyed it.

Minari, kimchi and bean sprouts grilled on the plate, plus thin potato slices!

Boseong pork belly and Jirisan black pork ogyeopsal, grilled for you by staff

They say the meat aged in-house is kept really clean, with hygiene as the top priority.

The thickness surprised me. We chose the Boseong green-tea pork belly and the Jirisan black pork ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly). Look how thick the meat is?! Staff grill all of the meat for you on a well-heated plate!!🥺👍🏻 The meat slowly turns golden and evenly cooked...💖

I love that the staff grill all the meat for you. Since they grill it so well, you can focus on the conversation, so I think it's great for gatherings too. I'd totally recommend it for family meals, group gatherings, dinner dates and wedding-invitation get-togethers.

They cut it into nice bite-size pieces and lay them out neatly🫶🏻 With good charcoal and a good plate, everything cooked really evenly. I put the first piece on a well-cooked potato slice, topped it with garlic scape and mushroom wasabi, and ate it as a wrap.

The inside was tender and juicy, and the juices and aroma were truly the best... If you're looking for a Bucheon BBQ place where they grill the meat for you, definitely try Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch🤤

How was the extra Boseong gabeulsal (jowl)?

It was so good that we added Boseong gabeulsal (jowl) too!!

The gabeulsal is very thick too, and once it's cooked evenly and cut into big pieces, the cross-section looks even tastier.

Ta-da! Gabeulsal has less fat than hangjeongsal (pork jowl), so it has a moderate fat level and a nutty flavor!! Grilled over rice-husk-smoked charcoal, the nuttiness and aroma came through even better, I think. The gabeulsal is really good too.

Side menu: Jirisan kudzu mul naengmyeon and fried rice

The side dishes are good too. The Jirisan kudzu mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth) has a really clean, tasty broth, and I drank it all up.

And the finish is fried rice!!! They fried the rice for us too, so we could eat comfortably right to the end🥺

Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch is a BBQ restaurant near Sinjungdong Station that meat lovers will be very happy with. Do give it a try :-)