Herb-fed pork and parking tips at a Dongtan BBQ: Gogigaondang

Where to park at Gogigaondang Dongtan Branch

Gogigaondang Dongtan Branch is a cauldron-lid pork belly restaurant in Bansong-dong, Dongtan, and there are a few parking spots right in front. But it's such a popular spot that by 7pm on a weekday, even the double-parked spaces were full haha. There are plenty of open spots in the public parking lots on both sides of the nearby road though, and they're free after 7pm, so keep that in mind.

I suddenly had a craving for savory pork belly and while digging around for a good restaurant, I stumbled onto Gogigaondang by chance... and the conclusion is: this is a genuinely one-of-a-kind spot you won't find twice.

Why go out for cauldron-lid pork instead of grilling at home

Why go find a good restaurant instead of just buying pork belly at the mart and grilling it easily at home? First, the meat you can't buy at a mart. Second, the side dishes that come with it. Third, grilling at home leaves your whole place smelling like it haha. And here it is, the cauldron lid, ta-da~~

I heard that every single banchan (side dish) here, none of it store-bought — from the kimchi to the pa-kimchi (green onion kimchi), the owner makes it all herself. Maybe that's why it tastes so incredibly good.

Ordering ogyeopsal and pork neck at Gogigaondang (yukhoe was sold out)

The menu at Gogigaondang Dongtan Branch lets you choose between pork belly, pork neck, gabrisal, and pork jowl, and that day we went with pork belly and pork neck. I wanted to add yukhoe (beef tartare) too, but it was already sold out, sigh.

How big is the dining room at Gogigaondang?

Inside, right past the entrance it splits into two sides — one side is a bit bigger than this... and going over to the other side too, there's plenty of seating. Definitely enough space for company dinners or group get-togethers.

House-made kimchi, pa-kimchi and icy acorn jelly muk

Gogigaondang's kimchi and pa-kimchi genuinely taste like some kind of medicine — sharp and deep in flavor. It was a hot day so the chilled, slightly icy mukbap (acorn jelly) was so refreshing. The quality of the side dishes here is really on a different level from an ordinary restaurant.

They also give you gosari (bracken fern) and bean sprouts to grill alongside the meat on the cauldron lid~

The refill corner is stacked with kimchi and fresh vegetables~~ Honestly it's been a while since I enjoyed a meal this much.

The owner grills your pork on the cauldron lid

When it's time to grill the meat on the cauldron lid, the owner comes over and grills it himself. First he coats the lid with pork belly fat so nothing sticks~~ and then grills.

What is herb-fed Korean pork (Herb Handon)?

That day my wife and I shared one order each of pork belly and pork neck. The color of the meat was really different — it's not just regular hanwoo pork, but what they call herb hanwoo pork. Apparently, pigs lose their fat and flavor in summer, so they only source herb-fed pork that's been specially raised to stay cool and flavorful even in the heat... I'd never even heard of this before.

Once we grilled the pork belly and pork neck, the smell alone was totally different... The pork belly especially had this chewy, savory quality that was just so good, on a completely different level from what you'd grill at home.

Having the owner grill it himself made it taste even better and was so much more convenient.

Building a ssam wrap at Gogigaondang

Every bite was fun because we piled a different mix of things into the wrap... Grilling the kimchi gave it this sharp, medicine-like edge. Grilling the green onion paired beautifully with the gosari too.

I heard the myeongi namul (wild garlic leaf pickle) isn't store-bought either — they make it themselves. Among all the cauldron-lid pork belly places I've tried around Dongtan, this is the first one I've seen make it in-house. It really felt like being treated to something special.

Personally, I recommend piling on a generous amount of wasabi with the pork belly. The ssamjang (dipping sauce) is homemade too, apparently.

I still remember that kimchi flavor~~ nothing like the kimchi you'd eat at home. It doesn't even seem heavily seasoned, but the fermentation is just incredible.

You can really see the difference in color once the meat is grilled, right haha

I had no idea herb hanwoo pork existed. Apparently it's on a totally different level from regular hanwoo pork.

The banchan spread and the owner's care

Napa cabbage kimchi, water kimchi, seasoned radish, myeongi namul pickle, and more... They even said the doenjang (soybean paste) for the doenjang stew is made from scratch back in the countryside. Watching the owner grill while talking about his philosophy and genuine care for the food really left an impression on me. It was truly different from an ordinary restaurant.

Finishing with cauldron-lid fried rice

The irresistible finale is fried rice on the cauldron lid. Scrape it up when it sticks... spread it out again, and when it sticks, scrape and eat again... Amazing.

We ate so much that day and scraped up every last spoonful. My wife was already saying we should come back again soon haha. This is a genuinely good-hearted restaurant where you can truly feel how special the meat and side dishes are. The best cauldron-lid pork belly spot in Dongtan. A repeat visit is a given ^^