Namyangju Korean BBQ: frozen pork belly set at Chodaebak

I visited a frozen pork belly place in Pyeongnae-Hopyeong where the flavor was seriously amazing. Personally, I do love thick-cut pork belly, but sometimes I get a craving for lighter frozen pork belly like this.

A spacious frozen pork belly restaurant in Pyeongnae-dong's dining alley

It is in Pyeongnae-dong's dining alley, and it is huge. There is an outdoor table too, but only one, so if you want to eat in the autumn breeze, get there early and claim it for a romantic meal. You might worry it would feel awkward, but the places across the street and next door have outdoor tables too, so it is not awkward at all.

We went inside, and because we visited late, luckily the crowd had completely cleared out, so we could eat quietly. The tables and chairs have a wonderfully old-school feel.

You can tell at a glance how spacious it is, right?? There is even a TV, perfect for watching while you eat! A baseball game happened to be on when we visited, so we had fun watching it over dinner.

Set options and complimentary dishes

They use premium Dodram Korean pork rather than budget pork belly, so you can enjoy fresh, high-quality frozen pork belly. The prices are already quite affordable, but I recommend a set because you can try several dishes for less, and they give you steamed egg, minari, and king oyster mushrooms as complimentary extras.

From Set 1 to pork skin

The water came in a nostalgic glass bottle I have not seen in ages, filled with corn silk tea—exactly the kind I love. I really love places that serve corn silk tea instead of bottled water.

All the banchan (Korean side dishes) arrived together on one big tray: scallion salad, bean sprouts, kimchi, and bracken fern to grill. I also loved the sauce where you stir in the egg yolk and dip like sukiyaki, while the wasabi sauce for the mushrooms cut through the richness nicely.

Set 1 frozen pork belly and pork neck

Set 1 – 2 frozen pork belly + 1 pork neck (₩37,000) I ordered Set 1, which is good for two to three people. The minari and king oyster mushrooms were complimentary too, so we grilled them together. At 510 g, it is enough for two people to leave full.

If you lay the potatoes underneath, they soak up all the fat and turn into crispy fries by the time you finish the meat. Since the frozen pork belly is thin, it does not take long to cook, so you can keep grilling and eating without breaking the flow.

Timing is so important with frozen pork belly, so make sure you eat it at its tastiest before it gets too crisp. Seeing how many delivery orders came in, it seemed the owner must grill the meat really well before sending it out too.

And there was fluffy steamed egg included with the set! Steamed egg is one of my absolute favorite dishes, so I was thrilled it was complimentary. It was generously portioned, nicely savory, and delicious.

Beef brisket doenjang stew and seasoned honeycomb pork skin

Beef brisket doenjang stew (₩7,000) We added doenjang stew to have with rice. Its fermented soybean flavor was rich, almost like cheonggukjang, and it was great with rice because it was packed with beef brisket and tofu.

Seasoned honeycomb pork skin (₩9,000) It had been a while since I had pork skin too, and this was very thick. Because it came partially cooked, I only had to grill it briefly before it was ready as a drinking snack, which was great.

Press it down with the heavy stone plate, then it is done once it cooks dark! When it is fully cooked, it crackles and pops up. They give you soybean powder and curry powder to eat it however you like; dipping it half-and-half was the safest and tastiest choice for me.

For days when you crave frozen pork belly in Pyeongnae-Hopyeong

The next time you are craving frozen pork belly in Pyeongnae-Hopyeong, stop by Chodaebak Naengsam Pyeongnae-Hopyeong Branch for a satisfying meal.