Cheongju BBQ for soy-dipped pork belly and naengmyeon: Baeksan Hwarro

I went to Cheongju for the weekend, and there seem to be so many great restaurants there! Here's my honest review of Baeksan Hwarro, a BBQ place everyone's been talking about.

It was such a satisfying meal that I wanted to write a detailed, vivid review.

Baeksan Hwarro: location, parking and the dining hall

Baeksan Hwarro is a BBQ restaurant near Techno Polis in Songjeol-dong, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju. I parked on the roadside near the restaurant and then walked back, and the exterior is neat with a eye-catching sign, so it's easy to find.

The hall is big, and even during the holiday season it was full of customers. If you come late in peak hours, I think you'd have to wait.

The tables are spaced comfortably and the whole place feels tidy, so it's a perfect setup for group gatherings, company dinners, or just a relaxed meal.

With so many customers there were also a lot of staff, and they looked after the hall carefully. They kept checking the tables, wiped the grill for us, helped with the heat, and refilled side dishes before we even asked. The service was very kind and attentive, so it was comfortable. I guess a place with this many customers is good at service as well as food.

Side dishes, self-bar, and the free doenjang stew and steamed egg

The side dishes at Baeksan Hwarro are really generous. The self-bar is kept clean, so you can grab whatever vegetables or sides you need anytime. There's lettuce, perilla leaves and chili peppers, plus spring onion salad and all kinds of sauces.

Doenjang stew and steamed egg come free with the meal. I didn't know that and ordered the steamed egg anyway, and the owner kindly asked, "It comes free, shall I cancel the steamed egg you ordered?" I was glad he said so.

My child, who doesn't eat pork belly, ordered a bowl of steamed rice and ate it with the doenjang stew and steamed egg.

The steamed egg wasn't the moist, fluffy kind. Personally I prefer steamed egg made with more water, but even with less water it wasn't salty or harsh, so it was easy to scoop up.

Baeksan Hwarro soy sauce pork belly: dipped in special sauce, then grilled

We debated ordering a set, but ended up choosing the soy sauce pork belly! What defines Baeksan Hwarro's soy sauce pork belly is that the aged pork belly comes with a special soy sauce.

You dip the pork belly briefly in the sweet-salty special soy sauce and then grill it on the grill. They told us it burns easily because of the seasoning, so flip it often. It tastes a little like marinated galbi (short ribs), too.

The soy sauce soaks subtly into the surface of the meat and it grills up golden without burning. One bite of the well-cooked pork belly and it has a different charm from regular pork belly, an addictive flavor anyone, young or old, would like.

It's tasty on its own, but even better wrapped in a perilla leaf piled with spring onion salad, with ssamjang (dipping paste) or wasabi.

I had planned to order something else as an extra, but after finishing 2 servings of soy sauce pork belly it was so good that I ordered 1 more serving.

Mul naengmyeon (cold noodles) to finish

Mul naengmyeon to finish

To finish, I ordered refreshing mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth). It came with icy slush, cucumber and shredded radish. The broth is Baeksan Hwarro's own unique broth, and the noodles were chewy.

Who is this Cheongju BBQ restaurant good for?

If you're looking for a special, delicious BBQ place in Cheongju, the sets are well put together, but the pork belly dipped in Baeksan Hwarro's own special soy sauce is the real charm, so do visit once.

From the generous side dishes, doenjang stew and steamed egg to the excellent main meat and the refreshing naengmyeon, it was a great meal with nothing to complain about~