Wild garlic wraps and doenjang pot rice at Dongtan BBQ: Gogigaondang

Lately I keep craving that nutty, golden pork belly grilled on a cauldron lid. While looking for a place that also serves house-made kimchi alongside that savory smell of grilling meat, I found Gogigaondang in Dongtan and paid a visit. It's a solid spot for a clean meal or a dinner meetup, so let me introduce it.

Gogigaondang Dongtan Branch hours and parking

Gogigaondang Dongtan Branch is on the first floor of a commercial building on Dongtanbansong 3-gil in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, and it's open every day. Monday to Friday it's open 11:00–22:00, and Saturday to Sunday 12:00–23:00, with no age restriction for entry. Since it's in a commercial building, you can park right in front.

When I arrived, there was parking space right in front of the building, so it was convenient to visit by car. At the entrance there was a sign for the first-grade female pork pork belly along with a banner for the lunch specials — cauldron-lid Hanwoo-fed pork stir-fry and beef brisket doenjang stew. The lineup looked good for a lunchtime meal too. What especially caught my eye was the note that they serve house-made kimchi using 100% domestic ingredients, which made me even more excited. ☺️☺️

House-made side dishes and Korean-sourced ingredients

On the wall at Gogigaondang Dongtan Branch there was a framed sign about their "house-made side dishes" that really showed the care put in. Everything from Taebaek wild garlic leaves to napa cabbage kimchi, water kimchi, seasoned radish, pickled wild garlic, their special ssamjang (dipping sauce), pickled gungchae, and even traditional-style doenjang — all made in-house.

On another wall was an origin label board with information about the 100% domestic house-made kimchi. Not just the main meats like pork belly, pork shoulder, and pork jowl, but the kimchi, rice, tofu, mushrooms, doenjang, garlic, and salt were all marked as domestically sourced. I've been paying more attention to sourcing lately, so knowing everything was domestic put me at ease. 👍👍

What the dining room looks like: reed-screen partitions

The interior was clean yet cozy. As shown in the photo, reed blind partitions divide up the space, cutting down on the usual clutter of a BBQ restaurant and making for a relaxed dining atmosphere.

Gogigaondang menu and prices: what we ordered

The meat menu at Gogigaondang Dongtan Branch includes raw pork belly, raw pork shoulder, pork skirt, pork jowl, and even Hanwoo beef tartare with basil pesto sauce. They age the first-grade female pork pork belly, pork jowl, and Nonghyup Ansim Handon pork shoulder for about 10 days before serving.

The meal menu was also well stocked with things that pair nicely with meat — doenjang stew, doenjang hot pot rice, naengmyeon (cold noodles), pot ramyeon, steamed egg, fried rice, and more. There was also a good variety of liquor like highballs, Hwayo, and Ilpum Jinro, so it looked like a good spot to enjoy a drink to your taste.

• Raw pork belly (2 servings) ₩36,000
• Doenjang hot pot rice ₩9,000
• Steamed egg ₩4,000
• Fried rice ₩5,000

Side dishes: green onion kimchi and house napa cabbage kimchi

After we ordered, a table full of neat, tidy side dishes was set out. Along with fresh shredded green onion and lettuce wraps, we got fernbrake, seasoned bean sprouts good for grilling on the pan with the meat, and thickly sliced tofu. What stood out most were the well-seasoned green onion kimchi and the house-made napa cabbage kimchi. With wasabi, the special ssamjang, and myeoljeot (fermented anchovy sauce) also on hand, it was a setup that let us enjoy the meat in different combinations without getting tired of it.

Cauldron-lid pork belly, grilled for you at the table

Our raw pork belly for two arrived. Thickly sliced pork belly came neatly arranged with onions and king oyster mushrooms to grill alongside it. Since it's first-grade female pork aged for 10 days, the bright reddish color and the ratio of lean meat to fat looked great. 👍👍

They placed the thick raw pork belly on the heated cauldron lid, and piled the house napa cabbage kimchi, green onion kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, and fernbrake generously around the edges to grill too. Thanks to the heat unique to a cauldron lid, the outside turned crispy while the inside stayed juicy, and my mouth was watering just watching it cook.

By the way, here they grill everything for you. If you can't grill meat well, come here!!

Steamed egg and homemade doenjang pot rice

The steamed egg we ordered as a side arrived. It had chopped green onion mixed in, so it had a light yet savory flavor, and it was perfect to eat a bite of here and there between rounds of meat.

This is the doenjang hot pot rice we ordered to eat alongside the meat. The stone pot was generously filled with tofu, zucchini, mushrooms, and more. The deep, savory broth of the traditional-style doenjang was excellent.

Pork belly wrapped in Taebaek wild garlic leaves

Before long, the cauldron lid was full of beautifully cooked pork belly. I tried wrapping a well-cooked piece in Taebaek wild garlic leaf. The flavor of the wild garlic blended with the nutty richness of the meat for a clean, refreshing taste.

Fried rice to finish and a canned coffee on the way out

After we finished the meat, they prepared fried rice for us. Using the tasty meat fat left on the cauldron lid, they stir-fried rice, gim (seaweed) flakes, and crunchy bean sprouts generously into it. This fried rice really felt like the perfect finish.

We ate down to the last spoonful, full and satisfied, and finished the meal in a good mood.

On our way out after the meal, we noticed a small fridge stocked full of canned coffee. There's a note asking guests to take one per person, so keep that in mind.

With first-grade female pork pork belly, care-filled house-made side dishes, and a refreshing canned coffee to finish, this was a satisfying spot for cauldron-lid pork belly in Dongtan. If you're looking for a good restaurant in Bansong-dong, I highly recommend Gogigaondang!!