Daejeon pork belly after work: 4 servings for two, Jeonju House

The one thing that always sounds good after work is meat..! We went out for a drive and dinner after clocking off :) We ended up at Jeonju House (전주하우스), a spot in Bongmyeong-dong known for its cast-iron-lid raw pork belly! Here's a quick review of Jeonju House.

Where is Jeonju House and what are the hours?

Jeonju House is located at 36 Oncheon-ro 101beon-gil, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. It's open daily from 9:00 to 22:20 — pretty long hours :) We parked nearby and arrived right around dinnertime. From the entrance it already had that strong local-favorite feel, and with all the earthenware jars out front I liked that they clearly make their own kimchi and side dishes :)

Inside Jeonju House in Bongmyeong-dong: atmosphere and wait time

Walking in, there were plenty of tables on both sides and lots of staff on hand. It seemed like a lot of groups had reservations, but luckily since there were just two of us, we got seated without a wait or reservation :) The side dishes are refillable!! The bean sprouts were tasty and I liked that they had a salad too. Plus, the origin labeling was posted.

What we ordered from the Jeonju House menu

Jeonju House's main menu is either cast-iron-lid raw pork belly or cauldron galbi kimchi stew. Even at dinner, it looked like about half the tables were having pork belly and half were having the galbi kimchi stew :) We ordered 4 servings of the raw pork belly, and later ordered bibim mak-guksu (spicy cold buckwheat noodles) as a kind of dessert!! Next time I want to try the galbi kimchi stew too haha, because the pot rice served with it looked so good...!

How are the side dishes at Jeonju House?

Jeonju House brought out a variety of side dishes, all of them good!! Personally I especially liked the seasoned eggplant and the egg-tofu pancake >< The vegetables were fresh too, and there were a lot of side dishes — all tasty, which really felt like a proper Korean restaurant. Loved that they served dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) too!

Four servings of cast-iron-lid raw pork belly

Soon the raw pork belly arrived!! It came as 3 chunks, pretty thick and nice in color haha. We started grilling it on the wide cast-iron lid, and it looked really appetizing! Being raw pork belly seemed to make the quality even better.

We grilled the kimchi that came alongside, and added garlic on top too. Since the pork belly's juices ran down onto the lid, we cooked the kimchi in that fat and it was delicious haha. There was a generous amount of kimchi, and grilling kimchi while eating meat is just the best..!

The meat's visuals were amazing, and the kimchi was on the sour side, which went really well with the meat. The garlic was nicely browned and looked delicious too!! Having it all on the wide lid made it easier to eat, and I think the great visuals made it taste even better :) We cut it into nice bite-sized pieces and enjoyed it. As always, I feel like meat tastes best either on its own or with just a light dip in salt :) Second best is with grilled kimchi or onion!!

Bibim mak-guksu for dessert

Last up for dessert: bibim mak-guksu! The portion was pretty generous, and it came with broth on the side, which made it refreshing. It was a filling finish, and spicier than I expected haha. With cucumber, seaweed, and egg on top, it was the perfect way to wrap things up!

Is Jeonju House in Daejeon worth a visit?

That's it for this review of grilling pork belly for dinner at Jeonju House, my pick for a solid Korean restaurant in Bongmyeong-dong! The crowd ranged from people in their 20s-30s all the way to their 50s-60s, and it seems like they're known for both the pork belly and the kimchi stew, so definitely worth a visit!