Minari pork belly Korean BBQ in Hapjeong, Seoul: Cheongdo Minari

A day out for pork belly in Hapjeong!

This time I didn't want my usual pork belly — I wanted minari (watercress) pork belly — so I went to Cheongdo Minari's Hapjeong location :) With minari right there in the name, I went in expecting to get proper minari pork belly.

Cheongdo persimmon-fed pork and farm-direct minari

The first thing that caught my eye at the entrance was the phrase 'Cheongdo persimmon-fed pork.' The whole concept here seems to be enjoying pork alongside minari from the Cheongdo region. There was also a big sign about fresh, farm-direct minari on one side of the restaurant, and the minari that actually came out looked green and fresh, which I loved 🌿

What we ordered

We were so hungry the moment we walked in that we ordered two servings of persimmon-fed pork belly with minari, plus minari bibimbap (rice bowl) and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew).

Atmosphere and seating

The restaurant was clean and roomy, with a warm wood-tone feel that made it a comfortable Korean BBQ spot overall. The tables weren't cramped and there were plenty of seats, so it looked like a good place to bring a group. I went right when it opened, and customers kept streaming in!

Side dishes and sauces

The banchan (side dishes) came out with the meal too — kimchi, pickled vegetables, pickled radish, pickled onion — all good with the meat, as pictured. Pork belly and kimchi really never fails, haha.

There were also several sauces set out with the small plates, so you could dip according to taste. Adding minari on top brought in a fragrant note that made the meat taste much cleaner than eating it on its own.

How to grill minari pork belly

At first, thick-cut pork belly came out along with kimchi, onion and mushroom, and we grilled it all on the pan until golden brown, haha.

And here's the meat, finally grilled! The pork belly had a good amount of thickness, so once grilled it was crisp and golden outside and juicy inside. Above all, grilling it together with minari worked out way better than I expected.

Pork belly can start to feel greasy the more you eat, but adding minari's distinctive fragrant, fresh flavor made it much cleaner to eat. Minari tastes best when you don't grill it too long — just until it slightly wilts — then eat it with the pork belly. And on top of that, grilled kimchi… need I say more 🥹 The kimchi cooked in the meat's fat was so good I kept reaching for it, hahaha.

Finishing with minari bibimbap and doenjang jjigae

The minari bibimbap had rice mixed with minari and various other ingredients, great for mixing up and eating — and after all that meat, the fragrant minari felt even more welcome. It felt much cleaner in the mouth than after just eating meat, so it made a great finishing dish.

And of course, no Korean BBQ meal is complete without doenjang jjigae, haha. Eating the hot stew together with the bibimbap made for a hearty finish all the way to the end. Personally, I'd recommend ordering the minari bibimbap and doenjang jjigae along with the pork belly rather than just the meat alone!

And here's today's pork belly, cleaned right off the plate…

🌿 Overall thoughts on Cheongdo Minari Hapjeong

If you want to properly enjoy minari pork belly in Hapjeong, this place is worth a visit 🥓🌿

• I loved being able to grill fresh minari together with the pork belly. The savory taste of the pork belly combined with the fragrant minari worked together better than I expected 😋💚
• You can grill kimchi, mushroom and onion together too, and with the variety of banchan and sauces, there were plenty of combinations to enjoy the meat with 🥢✨
• The minari bibimbap and doenjang jjigae we ordered after the meat were satisfying too 🍚🍲 The fragrant minari bibimbap especially was a clean way to finish after the pork belly.
• The restaurant is spacious with a comfortable wood-tone atmosphere, so it's a good spot to visit with friends or a group 🤎

Overall, a place where you can enjoy 🥓 savory pork belly + 🌿 fragrant minari + 🍚 a hearty finishing meal all in one visit!

If you're in Hapjeong and want pork belly that's a bit different from usual, or you just love minari, I'd recommend this place 🫶🏻🌿💚