Jongno 3-ga BBQ for 3 friends: kimchi stew, crispy rice, Simin Sikdang

Simin Sikdang Main Branch: basic info

Simin Sikdang (시민식당) Main Branch is at 30 Donhwamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00–21:30, and closed every Monday.

• No private parking lot. Use the Gukilgwan Dream Palace parking lot (₩2,000 per 30 minutes, ₩8,000 per 120 minutes)
• Reservations accepted, groups welcome
• Wi-Fi
• Separate men's and women's restrooms

Why is Simin Sikdang in Jongno 3-ga called a kimchi stew hotspot?

Simin Sikdang is a pork belly place in Jongno 3-ga, but it's just as famous for its kimchi stew. I heard it's among the top 5 kimchi stews in Seoul. How good can it be...? I was so curious I had to come.

Simin Sikdang seating: good for group gatherings and company dinners?

Simin Sikdang in Jongno has two floors, so it's a good spot for group gatherings and company dinners. I reserved ahead for 5 pm on a weekday, and maybe because it was a weekday, there weren't many customers.

I was curious about the 2nd floor too, so I went up, and it definitely seems better for group gatherings and company dinners. The window side has floor-to-ceiling windows so you can see everything outside, and big tables are pushed together, so I highly recommend it for groups.

Simin Sikdang menu and set options

There was one menu on each table, with a variety of set menus, including the Asamyuk set for couples, the half-size Simin samgyeopsal set and the full-size Simin samgyeopsal set.

Natural stone grill and table setting

The grill at Simin Sikdang is huge, so it's easy to cook a lot of meat at once. It's also a natural stone grill, so I was a little excited. Doesn't natural stone sound like it would make things taste better?

Maybe because I had reserved, the spoons, chopsticks, wet wipes, cups and shot glasses were already set out. There was a beer bottle opener on the wall beside the table.

Side dishes and wrap vegetables

After we ordered, the side dishes came out quickly. Pickled onions and salt came one per person, and sides like shredded scallion salad, young radish kimchi, dried radish strips and potato salad came one each.

Wrap vegetables for ssam (wrapping meat in leaves) came out too. There was plenty, in several kinds, so it was easy to pick what you like. I heard Simin Sikdang also has a wrap vegetable salad bar, but the friends I came with don't eat ssam, so we left the leaves behind... (I was so busy eating that I never even looked at the salad bar, apparently..)

How was the kimchi stew at Simin Sikdang?

The kimchi stew in the half-size set was a bit smaller than I expected, and with so much broth it looked like there wasn't much in it, but there was a lot of stuff piled at the bottom!? It seemed to have a lot of chili powder, so I choked at first, but as I kept eating, the broth was deep and rich and there was meat in it too, so I almost ordered a bowl of rice.

The half-size Simin samgyeopsal set: how is it for three people?

The half-size Simin samgyeopsal set is the best size for 2–3 people, and the original post lists it as ₩7,000. There were three of us, so I ordered the half-size set.

• 450g of 29cm pork belly
• Three kinds of kimchi
• Wagyu cheese fried rice
• Seoul Top 5 kimchi stew

Three kinds of kimchi came with bean sprouts, and the staff grilled them together with the pork belly.

29cm pork belly, grilled by the staff

I thought it looked long the moment it came out, but 29cm...? It really is long. The thickness was neither thin nor thick, just right.

The staff grill the pork belly at Simin Sikdang, and they have a particular way of laying it down, so if you just put it on yourself you might get scolded. I almost got scolded for just putting it on, haha.

It was grilled to a nice golden brown, and since the natural stone grill is thick and big, the heat didn't drop. It seemed to take a while to heat up, but I liked that the heat doesn't vanish easily like on a regular grill.

The staff grill the pork belly first at Simin Sikdang in Jongno 3-ga, so we could eat comfortably, and the lean meat and fat were well balanced, which made it even tastier.

It was good with the pickled onions and good with the assorted wrap vegetables. Now and then I wanted plain white rice, but I held back because I was going to have fried rice at the end.

Extra order: raw pork neck for ₩17,000

After finishing the half-size set, the three of us felt a little short, so we added one raw pork neck (₩17,000). I thought about more pork belly, but we'd had plenty, so I figured let's try the neck. We grilled the extra meat ourselves, and the staff wiped the grill once before we started.

Can you order the wagyu cheese fried rice on its own?

The wagyu cheese fried rice at Simin Sikdang is only in the set menus and isn't sold separately. At a pork belly place, fried rice is the perfect finish. If you love fried rice, I recommend ordering a set menu! A guide on the table explained how to make the fried rice even tastier.

Stir-frying the rice yourself, and the nurungji

The wagyu fried rice set came out looking so pretty. The wagyu, vegetables, sesame oil, seaweed flakes, cheese, rice and the rest were all served separately. Before grilling the wagyu, a staff member wiped the grill once more, then grilled the wagyu for us.

• When the outside of the wagyu is lightly cooked, add the kimchi, vegetables and sesame oil and stir-fry for a while
• Add the bowl of rice and stir-fry again
• Make a dip in the middle big enough for the cheese, add the cheese, and cover it back over with the fried rice
• Wait about 3–5 minutes, then eat

We did the stir-frying ourselves, and it was surprisingly fun. It felt a bit like making teppanyaki ice cream. If you wait 3–5 minutes, the cheese stretches and it tastes even nuttier. While waiting, we made little heart shapes too. The stone grill at Simin Sikdang doesn't lose heat easily, so if you press the rice down firmly, you can eat nurungji (crispy scorched rice) too!