Late-night Korean BBQ in Deokgye, Yangsan: Saesam Yangsan Main Branch

Today I want to introduce a special cold pork belly (naengsam) spot in Pyeongsan-dong, Deokgye, Yangsan!

Saesam Yangsan Main Branch: location, hours and parking

Saesam Yangsan Main Branch is a cold pork belly restaurant at 1F, 30 Pyeongsan-ro, Yangsan-si, in Pyeongsan-dong, Deokgye, Yangsan. It's open Mon-Fri 17:00-01:00 and Sat-Sun 15:00-01:00, with last order at 12:30, so it works even for late-night drinking sessions.

• 🐷 1F, 30 Pyeongsan-ro, Yangsan-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
• 🐷 Mon-Fri 17:00-01:00 (last order 12:30) / Sat-Sun 15:00-01:00 (last order 12:30)
• 🐷 Naver reservations available / group reservations available / venue rental available
• 🐷 No dedicated parking lot (parking available behind the NongHyup building)

'Saesam Yangsan Main Branch,' the cold pork belly spot in Pyeongsan-dong, Deokgye, Yangsan, had me laughing right from the entrance haha - the sign that says 'Come on in' was totally my kind of humor hahahaha 🫪

Retro interior and the Friday 9pm atmosphere

The interior of Saesam Yangsan Main Branch is decked out in retro style, with 8 round tables. Even at 9pm on a Friday, customers kept coming in.

The moment I opened the door and walked in, I went "Wow-!" The place was fully decked out in retro style and it was just so pretty, totally my taste! 🔥 (Even the BGM was perfect 🎶 - kept humming along to songs from back in the day hahahahahaha)

There were 8 round tables set up! (They can be combined for group reservations!) I visited around 9pm on a Friday and there were already 2 groups there, and 2 more came in while we were eating! Watching customers keep coming in even at that late hour, I could tell 'Saesam Yangsan Main Branch' is a famous cold pork belly spot in Yangsan!🙂

Saesam Yangsan Main Branch menu and what the name means

There's a special menu at 'Saesam Yangsan Main Branch's' cold pork belly section! Why is the shop called Saesam?! It's because it means 'shrimp🦐 + cold pork belly🐷' - the signature menu that's only at 'Saesam Yangsan Main Branch,' a combo of shrimp and cold pork belly!!😎🦐🐷🔥 (Besides the set, you can also order meat à la carte as cold pork belly / pork jowl / brisket!)

Side dishes and the self-serve bar

The basic side dishes are

They give you scallion salad / scallion kimchi(❤️🔥) / bean sprouts / napa cabbage kimchi / various sauces! (The scallion kimchi here is seriously the kicker..🔥)

There's a self-serve bar where you can grab any side dishes you're missing or want more of, so it was really convenient! Personally I always feel bad asking the staff for more side dishes repeatedly, so I really appreciated having a self-serve bar! 👍🏻

Ordering the Saesam Samhap: 300g chilled pork belly + 12 shrimp + scallion kimchi

That day I ordered the 'Saesam Samhap (Korean cold pork belly 300g + 12 black tiger shrimp + scallion kimchi) & fried shrimp heads (10pcs)'

Whoa😭 Just look at these gorgeous colors..✨ This is the Saesam Samhap, the signature dish of 'Saesam Yangsan Main Branch,' a cold pork belly spot in Yangsan..♥️ Isn't the visual insane?..🦐🐷🔥

And! When you order the Saesam Samhap, you get a free side dish full of the owner's love! You can pick one from doenjang jjigae, steamed egg, Paldo bibim myeon, Buldak bokkeum myeon, Chapagetti, or kimchi jjigae..! Saesam's owner is the best👍🏻

What to grill first: pork belly, shrimp, then kimchi

First, we grilled the cold pork belly to oil up the pan

I tried the cold pork belly alone first, just with scallion salad, no shrimp yet - and yeah, this really is a solid cold pork belly spot in Yangsan! The meat itself was just genuinely delicious👍🏻 My fiancé especially loves cold pork belly among pork cuts, and even he - who's eaten plenty of it - said this one gets his stamp of approval hahaha✨

And the owner kindly explained the grilling order: from the top of the pan down, pork belly -> shrimp -> kimchi (scallion kimchi, napa cabbage kimchi, bean sprouts as you like)😊👍🏻

Wow.. one bite in and I fully agree this is a top cold pork belly spot in Yangsan! If you visit 'Saesam Yangsan Main Branch,' just order the Saesam Samhap no matter what😭👍🏻 The combo of pork belly + shrimp + scallion kimchi is unbelievably good.. I want to eat it again just writing this..🤤

I always wrap meat in lettuce when I eat it, so I made lettuce wraps with this too, and it was seriously so good...🦐🐷❤️🔥

The complimentary doenjang jjigae

While I was eating without thinking, the owner brought out a wonderfully thoughtful free side dish for ordering the Saesam Samhap!

I picked the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew)! haha As I've mentioned before, I'm the type who has to eat rice with meat, so no stew, no deal!🫪♥️

Wow.. how is even the doenjang jjigae this good!!! Savory + umami-packed, after eating the cold pork belly, one spoonful of the stew and that's just it. It makes the meat go down even smoother!😎

Fried shrimp heads (10 pieces) for 2,000 won

You all know I'm a shrimp fanatic right?🦐❤️🔥 If 'Saesam Yangsan Main Branch,' a cold pork belly spot in Yangsan, has fried shrimp heads, how could I not order them? So I ordered them right away hahahaha

For the fried shrimp heads, just pull out the sharp shell part in the middle of the head like this and dip it in the sauce..(a seasoning sauce comes with it too, but personally I find dipping it in the spicy sauce the tastiest!) Wow.. everyone knows the shrimp head is where the magic is, right?.. Nutty flavor times 10000••

Today, as always, I had a soju drink with my fiancé (honestly! how could anyone hold back on soju with this dish!!😟)

I have no idea how deliciously I ate that shrimp head fry hahahahahahaha I was apparently just drinking through it all hahahahahaha and only realized it much later hahaha - no wonder the soju tasted so rich with umami 🙂🙃hahahaha

Receipt review perk and would I go back to Saesam?

❤️🔥Receipt review❤️🔥

If you leave a receipt review, you get free cold pork belly fried rice! That day I'd already had the Saesam set + doenjang jjigae + a bowl of rice + fried shrimp heads + an extra 200g of pork belly and was way too full, so sadly I couldn't have the fried rice - but next time I visit, I'm definitely leaving a receipt review and getting that fried rice!!

And honestly, the owner's thoughtfulness..🫪👍🏻 From toothpicks to dental floss, hair ties, mouthwash, candy - you can really see how much the owner thinks about the customers😎✨

Even the door you walk out through after paying is totally my taste🤣 'Come back tomorrow too~' I'm 100% coming back to 'Saesam Yangsan Main Branch'! Quality meat plus plump, springy shrimp together? There's no reason not to come back! (Owner... this is just my personal wish, but I really hope there's a 'Saesam' in Gimhae too😭🫶🏻)