Seocho Korean BBQ: salt pork belly with grilled kimchi, Gamdol Yeontan

What is Gamdol Yeontan Jip in Yangjae Citizen's Forest like?

Gamdol Yeontan Jip Yangjae Citizen's Forest Branch (감골연탄집 양재시민의숲점) is a pork belly restaurant near Yangjaesiminuisup Station where the meat is grilled over briquettes. It was one of those Friday evenings when a whole week of fatigue was weighing on me, and I wanted to heal with a good meal with a friend. I agonized over where to go for a long while. Then I found Gamdol Yeontan Jip, where you can really taste smoky briquette-grilled bulgogi and thick, deeply flavored cuts of meat.

It turns out this briquette-grill restaurant is run by a chef who trained at Le Cordon Bleu, so people were excited about it even before it opened. I heard you can try special briquette-grilled dishes full of smoky flavor and care, so I headed straight over. This time I visited Gamdol Yeontan Jip, a pork belly restaurant with a great atmosphere in Yangjae Citizen's Forest.

A retro atmosphere

From the moment I opened the door, the retro feel and the delicious smell gave it a pass on first impression. Inside, the interior was cozy and homey, full of old-time charm. It stands apart from the sleek, clean BBQ places you see these days, and that nostalgic mood makes it a really nice space to sit across from a friend and clink glasses in comfort.

On top of that, Gamdol Yeontan Jip was featured on SBS's Live Today (a TV show)~

What's on the menu, and when is the lunch special?

Gamdol Yeontan Jip sells a separate lunch special menu from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I thought it would be a great fit for office workers and neighbors nearby coming for lunch.

Looking carefully through the menu, there's gochujang charcoal bulgogi, salt-grilled pork belly, and even spicy hagfish (kkomjangeo) and chicken feet with a special marinade. All of them are grilled over proper briquettes, so you get the clean flavor of the meat and a definite smoky aroma. Of these, we picked the dishes we wanted most that day and finished ordering.

The basic table setting at Gamdol Yeontan Jip is hovenia tea and side dishes, and the kimchi is a total winner.

What two of us ordered on a Friday evening

What we ordered that day was 2 servings of salt-grilled pork belly and 2 servings of honeycomb pork skin, plus flat bibim noodles (spicy-sweet mixed noodles) for a sweet-and-spicy kick, a hangover tofu stew to soothe the stomach with some heat, and 2 bottles of Jinro soju, which you can never separate from meat. Quite a feast.

• 2 servings of salt-grilled pork belly
• 2 servings of honeycomb pork skin
• Flat bibim noodles
• Hangover tofu stew
• 2 bottles of Jinro soju

After we ordered, a really wide variety of sauces to go with the meat came out onto the table, and picking among them was a lot of fun.

How is the salt-grilled pork belly with kimchi grilled on the grill?

Gamdol Yeontan Jip's salt-grilled pork belly is thick Korean pork belly grilled on a briquette grill, and they set it up so you grill kimchi on the grill alongside it. The first dish to come out was the salt-grilled pork belly.

They started grilling it on the briquette grill. The thick pork belly was made from good-quality Korean pork, and you could feel the freshness just by looking at it.

Thanks to the gentle but powerful heat of the briquettes, the outside of the meat turned crispy while the juices stayed locked in, so it was moist inside. They also set up kimchi to grill on the grill, and the moment I put a piece of kimchi grilled in pork fat into my mouth together with thick pork belly, I couldn't help but exclaim, it was that good. The savory flavor of the meat and the sweet-sour taste of the grilled kimchi were a fantastic match, and I couldn't stop my chopsticks, haha.

Is the honeycomb pork skin chewy and free of any gamey smell?

Gamdol Yeontan Jip's honeycomb pork skin is pork skin scored in a tight cross-hatch, grilled over briquettes and dipped in bean powder (konggaru). It had no gamey or porky odor, with a crispy outside and a chewy inside. Once we'd filled up on pork belly, we put the 2 servings of honeycomb pork skin I'd been looking forward to on the grill. Best value for money.

I've always liked pork skin and have tried it in lots of places, but Gamdol Yeontan Jip's was honestly one of the best ever, a real hit. The tightly scored honeycomb pork skin turned golden on the briquettes and gave off that signature savory smell, and the texture, crispy outside and chewy yet tender inside, was simply top-notch.

When you dip it in the bean powder served alongside and pop it in your mouth, the nuttiness doubles and the chewiness wraps around your mouth. It was clean, with no gamey or porky smell at all, and even my friend who doesn't usually enjoy pork skin couldn't stop praising how good it was.

How were the flat bibim noodles and hangover tofu stew as sides?

Gamdol Yeontan Jip's flat bibim noodles, with a spicy-sweet sauce and chewy noodles, were a side that cut through the richness of the pork belly and pork skin. Between bites of meat and pork skin, you can't skip the sides that refresh your mouth. The flat bibim noodles were the best combo with thick pork belly or pork skin. Slurping the noodles and enjoying the spicy sauce together with the meat wiped out the greasiness.

On top of that, the hangover tofu stew has a rich, spicy broth, and the moment I took a spoonful, it felt like all the fatigue in my body melted away. The soft tofu and the sharp, spicy broth also make a perfect drinking snack, and it paired so well that the 2 bottles of Jinro soju went down easily.

And I always wash down the greasiness with Coke Zero~

Is Gamdol Yeontan Jip in Yangjae Citizen's Forest worth a return visit?

Gamdol Yeontan Jip Yangjae Citizen's Forest Branch had nothing to complain about, from the atmosphere to the taste, and it felt like a BBQ place I'd become a regular at. A Friday evening laughing and chatting with a friend over a table full of good food was a perfect time. With good-quality meat, special pork skin and carefully made sides, everything lines up, and I have a feeling I'll be coming back.

If you want to make delicious memories with people you care about after work, or you want to feel the charm of proper briquette grilling, do pay Gamdol Yeontan Jip a visit. With friendly service and great food, I think you'll have a much better time!