Midday Korean BBQ in Jongno 3-ga, flower neck and zero beer: Cham

Pork belly from lunchtime in Jongno 3-ga: Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch

Cham Dwaejitgan (참돼짓간) Jongno Main Branch is a rice-husk-smoked charcoal grill where you can eat Korean BBQ from lunchtime in Jongno 3-ga. Best of all, grilling is included: the staff cook the meat for you.

I always figure a place full of older customers is a good place, and Cham Dwaejitgan has them proving it, with regulars having a daytime drink. The side dishes are generous and the meat itself is great, so I was totally satisfied. It's super easy to reach from the Jongno 3-ga Station exit and the restaurant is comfortable. You can grill pork belly throughout opening hours.

What are the menu and prices at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch?

The menu is black pork neck ₩18,000, five-layer pork belly (ogyeopsal) ₩19,000, Boseong Nokdon pork belly & neck ₩16,000, and Boseong Nokdon jowl (cheongyeopsal) & gabrisal ₩19,000. It even has black pork, and the menu is short and simple, just what you'd expect from a pork belly specialist.

• Black pork neck ₩18,000
• Five-layer pork belly ₩19,000
• Boseong Nokdon pork belly & neck ₩16,000
• Boseong Nokdon jowl & gabrisal ₩19,000

Every seat has a kiosk, so you can order from the table. There are also side dishes that go really well with the meat!

Ordering Boseong Nokdon flower neck and jowl, and the basic setup

We ordered Boseong Nokdon flower neck and jowl (hangjeongsal), and the basic setup here is just so good. They pile dropwort, kimchi and bean sprouts onto the grill, and king oyster mushrooms, shishito peppers and potato wraps come as standard.

You can get more of whatever side dishes you need from the self-serve bar, and the special sauce served per person is amazing too.

Holding back with zero beer at midday, and a thoughtful milk thistle

What I really liked at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is that the grilling is done for you, which is super convenient, and a full spread of side dishes comes out. They have zero beer too, which is great value, and they thoughtfully give you milk thistle (a hangover-care supplement) as well.

I should have gone wild with real beer instead of zero beer... but it was the middle of the day and I had a lot on my schedule, so I held myself back..

How are the grilling and the grill at Cham Dwaejitgan?

The staff grill the meat to the end in perfectly sized pieces, and the grill fills the whole table, with a separate zone for kimchi, dropwort and bean sprouts and another for the meat, which is the best. A single serving of meat is on the generous side, so it was really filling.

The staff's grilling is top-notch and so convenient, and they take great care with it. Personally, Cham Dwaejitgan is indeed a Jongno pork belly hotspot, but the flower neck and jowl are so, so good that I recommend them.

Rice-husk-smoked charcoal flavor

The meat at Cham Dwaejitgan is rice-husk-smoked and charcoal-grilled, so the smoky aroma soaks right into it. When I heard the words I wondered what it would be like, but the flavor is insane. That signature charcoal-grill flavor was awesome.

It tasted even better because I wasn't the one grilling🥹 They really grill it right to the end, so all you have to do is eat.

The taste of the flower neck and jowl (hangjeongsal)

I totally get why the Boseong Nokdon flower neck is so popular. And the cheongyeopsal is the jowl we all know, with a truly fantastic ratio of meat to fat, so delicious🥹

I ate it with the scallion salad that came with it, and with the special sauce too. There are so many things to go with it, and picking and choosing is the best fun!

Is the potato wrap the signature dish?

The potato wrap is sliced potato grilled in the meat fat, then used to wrap up the meat, and it's so good I think it might be Cham Dwaejitgan's signature. The taste was so moving, it's crazy.

This is so delicious, a taste I keep thinking about. I admit it: a real Jongno 3-ga pork belly hotspot,, this clever, in-the-know combination is the best.

Cold noodles for dessert, nearly a full meal

The mul naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles in broth) comes with a big serving of icy slush broth, sweet and tangy, really refreshing and full of savory depth. It's clean yet coolly punchy, so I highly recommend it as a BBQ-restaurant dessert.

The chewy, springy noodles were great, and the portion was truly generous. It's a dessert noodle but almost a meal in itself, so plenty!

Staff stir-fry the finishing fried rice for you

When you order the fried rice, the staff stir-fry it for you. They fry seasoned rice with vegetables together with whatever is left on the grill!

It's a one-serving portion but really big, with egg too, a tasty and good-value fried rice. It's even better if you cleverly cut up leftover meat or toss in kimchi, bean sprouts or scallion salad you couldn't finish and fry it all together!

Atmosphere at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch: good for gatherings and team dinners?

The tables are well spaced and a really good size, so it's great for get-togethers or company dinners. It's on the ground floor, yet passersby can't see in, and I thought even details like that were very thoughtful.

With friendly staff and amazing grilling, I highly recommend Cham Dwaejitgan if you're looking for a Jongno 3-ga pork belly hotspot. The meat quality and the smoky charcoal flavor were awesome💜