Cheonan City Hall Korean BBQ, owner-grilled pork: Teolbo Samchon Jip

Yesterday evening I was trying to figure out what to eat and got a serious craving for really good meat. So I looked around and ended up at Teolbo Samchon Jip Main Branch, a BBQ place in Buldang-dong, Cheonan!!! It's a spot people in the Buldang-dong area often visit in groups for company dinners, too.

It's not just an ordinary samgyeopsal (pork belly) place — you get to enjoy it with minari (water dropwort) and deodeok (bellflower root) too, which made it even tastier. Of all the meat places I've been to that serve deodeok alongside the meat, Teolbo Samchon Jip was number one!! Let me introduce this place I genuinely clapped while eating at.

Where is Teolbo Samchon Jip Main Branch, and is there parking?

Teolbo Samchon Jip Main Branch is right across from Cheonan City Hall in the Buldang-dong restaurant alley, and parking is free for 2 hours in the building's underground lot. I was genuinely shocked to see the place packed just from looking in from outside!!

They open from lunchtime on weekends, so it's also great to come for lunch! When it's busy there can be a wait, but if you leave your number they'll call you~

Is Teolbo Samchon Jip good for a group dinner in Buldang-dong?

Teolbo Samchon Jip Main Branch has long tables set up, which looked really good for group dinners. It was full when we arrived, but the owner said they'd clear a table quickly, so we waited a bit and got seated! A lot of people clearly come here for company dinners.

There was also a big screen showing the Uruguay vs. Korea match. Korea really could not play soccer that badly,,^^

In front of the register, the owner was prepping the meat, so you can watch the meat being trimmed right in front of you! Also, plenty of celebrities have apparently visited, since there were signed photos on the wall~

What's at the self-serve bar? Wrap greens, fried rice fixings and ice cream

Teolbo Samchon Jip's self bar has a variety of lettuce wraps and self-fried-rice ingredients, and there's an ice cream fridge by the door for after the meal. We love wrapping our meat, so having this many wrap options made the self bar such a win for us, haha.

I forgot to film it, but there are self-fried-rice ingredients set up to the side too. Roasted seaweed flakes and oil are ready, so you just order a bowl of rice and make your own fried rice!

And here's the ice cream fridge set up by the door! They've got it ready so you can each grab one after your meal,,! The owner's got great taste~

Teolbo Samchon Jip menu, prices and what we ordered

Here's Teolbo Samchon Jip's menu board! There was no need to think it over — we ordered the signature Samchon Deodeok Set (half and half)! This is what we ordered and ate.

• Samchon Deodeok Set (half and half) ₩55,000
• Bibim guksu ₩5,000
• Rice bowl ₩1,000
• Soju ₩5,000

There was also a receipt review event running, where you could write a review and get a free item. There was also a write-up on the health benefits of deodeok — it's supposed to be really good for you!! And even better paired with meat~~

Samchon Deodeok Set side dishes and shepherd's purse doenjang stew

The Samchon Deodeok Set starts with the side dish setup — the shredded scallions and kimchi were both delicious, and the vegetables were super fresh! You could tell they manage their ingredients carefully.

Ordering the Samchon Deodeok Set gets you a free doenjang stew with shepherd's purse! Loaded with tofu and shepherd's purse, the broth was rich and delicious! I'm not usually into doenjang stew but this one was so good I kept going back for more.

Pork belly and pork neck, half and half: how is the owner-grilled pork?

We ordered the Samchon Deodeok Set with half pork belly and half special skirt meat, and along with the thick, glossy-looking meat, they set us up with minari and deodeok to grill together!! Checking Teolbo Samchon Jip's Instagram, the owner personally handles trimming the deodeok too. I was so looking forward to it!

On top of that, the owner grills the meat for you at Teolbo Samchon Jip!! You just sit back while everything's done for you — so convenient and nice!

Isn't the quality of the pork belly and special skirt meat amazing? And just look how thick it is! Seeing the raw meat made me drool,,

They also put on some seasoned deodeok, and the owner explained that deodeok can be eaten raw without cooking it~

They cut the meat into easy-to-eat pieces too — wow, it looked so good that we were saying things like 'they're really using good meat here,' haha.

They added minari, seasoned greens, and kimchi on top and grilled it all to perfection for us! The presentation was so good~~ The meat was grilled to a nice golden brown, just the right doneness!

Seeing the table this full and generous felt so good haha. Plus our seat was by the window, which gave it a bit of an outdoor pojangmacha (street tent bar) vibe — loved it!

Is Teolbo Samchon Jip's deodeok good even if you don't like deodeok?

As the owner put a piece on each of our plates, he told us to try the meat with minari and deodeok on top, and also to pair it with the other side dishes. Now, I really don't usually like deodeok, okay? But I piled it and the minari onto the meat and took a bite, and I was shocked at how good it was,,!! Wait, what — why is this so delicious,,?

Both the pork belly and the special skirt meat were amazing, but personally, pork belly was more my style! It was so good that I already know I'll just order pork belly next time I come, haha.

And the deodeok the owner trimmed himself! I said I don't like deodeok, remember? But the first bite was so good that I kept reaching for more, haha. The deodeok wasn't tough at all — it was super soft and delicious.

We wrapped up some lettuce wraps properly and had them with a glass of soju — it was pure happiness.

Should you order the bibim guksu at Teolbo Samchon Jip?

Teolbo Samchon Jip's bibim guksu (spicy cold mixed noodles, ₩5,000) is sweet and tangy, and I want to say you have to order it. I got it because I was craving carbs, and it already passed the vibe check with all the toppings piled on top!

Everyone, if you visit Teolbo Samchon Jip, please order the bibim guksu,, it's sweet and tangy and genuinely so good ㅜㅜ I was going 'what is happening with the owner's cooking skills' while basically inhaling it, haha.

How to make the self-serve fried rice, plus ice cream to finish

For Teolbo Samchon Jip's self fried rice, you order a bowl of rice (₩1,000), then finely chop up the kimchi and seasoned greens from the self bar along with leftover meat and fry it all together. We grabbed extra kimchi and greens, chopped them finely, set aside a bit of meat, chopped that up too, and fried it all together with the rice!

Sprinkled roasted seaweed flakes on top and fried it up nicely — honey taste!!! Of course, after finishing the meat, dessert has to be fried rice, haha. If you skip it, you'll be thinking about it once you get home.

We really ate the fried rice and the bibim guksu down to the last bite! Thought my stomach was going to burst, haha. Finished it off with a bite of ice cream and felt so good walking home! Said to each other we absolutely have to come back here again and headed home in good spirits!

Who should visit Teolbo Samchon Jip Main Branch in Cheonan?

Teolbo Samchon Jip Main Branch is a Buldang-dong BBQ spot that works well for both group dinners and dates. Even people who don't like deodeok will genuinely enjoy the deodeok here, and the meat itself was really delicious — I definitely want to come back again.