Charcoal beef Korean BBQ at Guui Station: top blade half set, Ssamchae

+ Partly paid with my own money (some costs were covered)

What kind of Korean BBQ restaurant is Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal near Guui Station?

Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal (쌈채솥뚜껑삼겹살) has only just opened in Guui Station and Jayang-dong, so it looked clean from the outside. To celebrate the opening, every table was getting free minari kalguksu (water dropwort noodle soup).

I suddenly had a meat craving and dropped by, and since the place hasn't been open long, it looked so tidy from the outside!! And as an opening event they were giving every table minari kalguksu as a freebie, haha.

Seating at Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal: good for group dinners?

The restaurant is split into two rooms, so for a group dinner you could book one side and have it feel fairly private. It was quiet before 5 pm, but quite busy by the time we left.

The space is divided into two rooms, so I figured if you reserve one side for a company dinner, you could use it almost privately. I visited before 5, so there weren't many customers, but by the time I left there were quite a lot, haha.

Are the sides and wrap greens unlimited?

Yes. The wrap greens, banchan (side dishes) and myeongi-namul (wild garlic-chive pickles) are all unlimited. Basic sides are set on each table, and you fetch extra ones yourself.

The wrap greens and sides are unlimited. Basic sides are set up on every table, and for extras you just go and get them yourself. There are so many: eggplant, bean sprouts, zucchini, mushrooms, bracken, mustard-leaf kimchi, green onion kimchi, godeulppaegi (bitter greens), kimchi and more! It's hard to even try every kind, haha. The myeongi-namul is unlimited too!

Beef or pork, iron lid or charcoal: which to pick?

The menu has beef and pork, and each can be cooked on an iron lid or a charcoal grill. The writer chose the charcoal beef set.

There's beef and there's pork on the menu. And both the beef and the pork can be cooked on an iron lid or on a charcoal grill. I momentarily forgot the place is named "iron-lid pork belly" and had the charcoal beef set, haha.

Kimchi and cleanliness at Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal

The kimchi was especially good, and the restaurant was really spotless. It suits anyone who cares about cleanliness.

The kimchi is seriously good, haha. It's among the best kimchi I've had at any BBQ place, so good that I wondered how they can afford it when kimchi is so expensive! I bet it'd be delicious with just a bowl of rice. I also love that so many sides come out, and they're neat, too. I've seen plenty of BBQ places that aren't clean even right after opening, but this one is really clean!!! I think people who care about cleanliness will like it.

Charcoal half ssamchae set: how was the 400g galbi-sal?

The writer ordered the half ssamchae set from the charcoal set menu, and the 400g of galbi-sal (beef rib meat) came out first. It was cut thick and served with a generous heap of wasabi.

I ordered the half ssamchae set from the charcoal set menu. First up is 400g of galbi-sal. The meat is cut thick, so it's satisfyingly chewy and delicious, haha. They gave a generous pile of wasabi, which surprised me!

I grilled the galbi-sal quickly and wrapped it in myeongi-namul. There was absolutely no meaty smell at all and it was really tasty, haha. Our side was right in the air conditioner's path, so the charcoal cooled fast, haha. I asked them to swap the charcoal, too!

150g of bu-chae-sal (beef skirt): worth ordering?

The 150g of bu-chae-sal (beef skirt) in the half ssamchae set was the writer's top recommendation. It was chewy yet felt like it melted in the mouth.

This is 150g of bu-chae-sal! Personally I think how you grill this cut matters a lot, so I worried it wouldn't be good, but it was nicely chewy and so delicious, haha.

If you skip everything else, please do try the bu-chae-sal. Chewy but melts in your mouth... that makes no sense, but it really was like that!

Pork skin dipped in bean powder

The pork skin seems to come pre-cooked, so it's done quickly without long grilling. Coating it in plenty of roasted bean powder (konggaru) and dipping it lightly in salt was the best combo.

I think the pork skin comes already cooked once! So it's done fast without grilling for long. Coated in loads of bean powder and dipped lightly in salt, it was insanely delicious, haha.

It's thick and chewy but not tough, just soft. Looking at the photos, I want to eat it again, haha.

How long does the free minari kalguksu event last?

When the writer visited, the restaurant was giving free minari kalguksu (water dropwort noodle soup) with any meat order. The writer doesn't know when the event ends.

They're running an event at the shop right now~ I'm not sure until when, sorry! If you order meat, they give you minari kalguksu for free~~ It has minari, mushrooms and noodles, and the noodles seem to be boiled once beforehand, so they were springy, chewy and really good, haha. The broth was spicy and rich too. Eating meat and getting kalguksu free made the meal even happier~~^^