Smoke-free Cheongju Korean BBQ with meljeot sauce: Baeksan Hwarro

I love meat so much that I need a regular 'meat transfusion,' and since I hadn't had any in a while I was craving it hard! So while searching for good meat restaurants in Cheongju, I ended up at Baeksan Hwarro~!

The restaurant was so clean, there was barely any smoke, and the food was so delicious that I really want to recommend it!! Let me share my review 🌟

Baeksan Hwarro Cheongju: hours and parking

🔆 Hours: Daily 11:30 AM – 1:00 AM the next day, last order 12:30 AM

🔆 Parking: Large lot right beside the restaurant. If it's full, you can use the Gangseo 2-dong Community Center parking lot after 6 PM

🔆 Location: 1F 101, 7-12 Songhwa-ro166beon-gil, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do

Inside Baeksan Hwarro: room for groups and babies

Baeksan Hwarro had these mouthwatering photos of meat right on the exterior, which got my appetite going the moment I saw it!! Stepping inside, it was even more upscale and clean than I expected~ The restaurant is spacious with seats close together, so it looked great for group gatherings too haha. They also had baby chairs ready, so it's good to visit with a baby too!

What comes in Baeksan Hwarro's small mixed platter?

The menu had gabrisal, hangjeongsal (pork jowl), pork belly, pork neck, salt-grilled options, soy sauce pork belly, and pork rind, and for sides they had yukhoe (raw beef), cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew), doenjang jjigae, fried rice, naengmyeon, and pot rice! They also had a wide range of drinks like highballs, soju, and beer, so there was something for everyone's taste 👍

The set menu composition was also really well done! The small platter serves 2-3 and the large platter serves 3-4, with generous portions and a good mix of cuts, so ordering a platter seemed great whether you're a group of 2 or 4 haha. The two of us ordered the small platter (scored gabrisal, hangjeongsal, salt-grilled pork belly, pork rind)!

Korean BBQ without the smoke? Ventilation over every table

Another big plus of Baeksan Hwarro!! Every table has a clean grill with ventilation right above it, so there's no worry about smoke~ Honestly, I have pretty bad rhinitis and my nose usually feels off for the rest of the day after a BBQ meal, but this time there was so little smoke that I didn't even notice.

Side dishes and the meljeot anchovy dipping sauce

The side dishes were also excellent!! From lettuce wraps to wasabi, salt, garlic, soy sauce, green onion kimchi, and baek-kimchi (white kimchi), they clearly picked out everything that pairs well with meat 🤤,, Every single one was so good that I cleaned out all the side dishes too~

After the meat came out, the owner asked if we wanted it all grilled at once, and we said yes~! The meat had this pale pink color that looked super fresh, and it was thick too, so it was impressive just to look at!!

That red sauce underneath is melitjeot (anchovy sauce), and they said it's delicious mixed with cheongyang chili and garlic, so I tried it right away~~! The owner said their melitjeot has no fishy smell, and honestly it was the best melitjeot I've ever had,, All the fishiness was gone and only the signature umami of melitjeot came through,, It was the best ⭐️

The complimentary kimchi cheonggukjang stew

The kimchi cheonggukjang the owner gave us for free! It said 'must-try' on the menu, and after one sip of the broth I understood why they wrote that,,,🤤 There was meat inside, and the soft tofu with kimchi was an amazing combination!! Genuinely delicious!!

How do the scored gabrisal, hangjeongsal and salt-grilled pork belly taste?

The grill's heat was strong, so even though the meat was on the thicker side, it cooked pretty quickly~~! That sizzling sound alone was already delicious,,, haha. They cut it into bite-sized pieces along the way and kept grilling until it was fully cooked!! Being able to try three kinds — salt-grilled pork belly, gabrisal, and hangjeongsal — was so great 🍀

Once it was fully cooked, the first bite was a wrap!!! I put the meat, along with shishito pepper salad, into fresh lettuce and perilla leaves, and the juices from the meat just burst out,,, it was so good!! The combination with garlic and shishito peppers was amazing 🤤,,

Since the meat was thick, the juices really burst out and it was so delicious, and the juice itself was light rather than greasy, which I loved~!~!

The meat with baek-kimchi and wasabi was also insane, and the green onion kimchi was so good that meat plus green onion kimchi alone was legit delicious!! The meat itself was so good that it was delicious no matter how we ate it~~

Pork rind with cumin powder: a first-time combination

After we finished all the meat, they brought out the pork rind haha. It was noticeably plumper than pork rind at other places, so I had high expectations for the flavor~

The pork rind was incredibly chewy and delicious~ Injeolmi (rice cake) powder is the classic pairing for pork rind that I've had many times before and it's always great, but this was my first time trying pork rind dipped in cumin powder, and it was truly an amazing combination!!!! The savory flavor of the pork rind and the distinctive aroma of cumin went so well together that I'd really recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it 👍

Ending the meal with barley kimchi fried rice

Since the cheonggukjang was so delicious that day, for dessert we chose fried rice to go with it instead of noodles!! It came out piled generously with dried seaweed flakes and flying fish roe, and it looked delicious just from the visuals~ The rice was well seasoned and had meat mixed in too, so the texture of the meat and flying fish roe was so satisfying haha. It was a great way to finish off the meat course — I guess Koreans really do run on rice power,,🤤

Is Baeksan Hwarro Cheongju worth a visit?

This was my first time visiting, and I was so satisfied from the atmosphere to the taste of the meat to the fried rice at the end! The owner was also super kind, and it was even better being able to try several different cuts of meat at once haha. It's a place I'd love to visit again, so if you're looking for a good BBQ restaurant near Cheongju Techno Polis, I recommend Baeksan Hwarro ෆ