Kid-friendly pork rib BBQ in Cheonan's Seongjeong-dong: Suamgol

I'm Sora, and I love jjokgalbi (grilled pork rib strips). If you're looking for a good restaurant in Seongjeong-dong, I want to recommend a place famous for it — Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul!! If you want a Seongjeong-dong spot for a good meal plus a casual drink, I'd recommend this one :)

I had a light lunch of pho today, so for dinner I wanted something hearty and filling, so I went looking for meat haha. That led me straight to Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, a well-known spot in Seongjeong-dong. Shall we go in?

Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul

A roomy interior that works for big groups

The inside was much roomier and nicer than it looked from outside!! It seemed like a great spot for group gatherings, and it'd work well as a company dinner spot in Seongjeong-dong too ^^

How many jjokgalbi flavors are there, and what we ordered

Let's order first! The menu was split broadly into grilled dishes and meal dishes, and there were several jjokgalbi flavors. There was salt jjokgalbi, barbecue jjokgalbi, garlic jjokgalbi, spicy jjokgalbi, zhi ran (cumin) jjokgalbi, and beoljip kkeopdegi (honeycomb pork skin). I ordered one barbecue jjokgalbi and one spicy jjokgalbi :)

One nice thing about Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul is that the jjokgalbi comes out already fully cooked, so you can eat it with ease!! The menu recommended dipping it in the onion pickle sauce, so I did as told, and it was genuinely the best!! Since the meat is aged before cooking, it was tender with absolutely no off smell, and I really enjoyed it haha

The side dishes and the free sundubu jjigae

The basic side dishes were served very generously too! The green onion kimchi in particular was really tasty. My son said the white kimchi was delicious and refilled it twice haha. The pickled onions paired so well with the jjokgalbi — a really good side dish combo!

If you run low on side dishes while eating, use the self-serve corner.

After a short wait once we ordered, a spicy sundubu jjigae (soft tofu stew) came out first. We hadn't ordered it separately — it comes as a free service item — but it was so good!! Can't believe that was a freebie~~ Hot and spicy in the best way, we enjoyed it a lot haha

How spicy is the spicy jjokgalbi?

Here comes the main event, the jjokgalbi ~~ spicy jjokgalbi and barbecue jjokgalbi. They also gave us sliced green onions to grill, and the sweet grilled green onion was surprisingly good!

The portion of jjokgalbi was pretty generous too ^^ It came already fully cooked, but we could put it on the grill to eat it warm — since we were eating with our child, we just warmed it briefly and turned off the flame haha. Still, we got to enjoy it nice and warm!!

They arranged the jjokgalbi in a ring around the sundubu jjigae! The presentation was so nice haha. The spicy jjokgalbi definitely lived up to its name with a clear kick — people who can't handle spicy food might find it hot. For reference, it was totally fine for me... :)

It's not just straight-up spicy — you can also taste the savory depth of the sauce, so you keep reaching for more! The seasoning had really soaked into the jjokgalbi, making it spicy-sweet and addictive haha. If you like spicy food, you have to try this! It starts off mild and gets a little spicier as you go, and it pairs really well with the tuna mayo rice balls :)

Tuna mayo rice balls: the pick when you bring kids

The tuna mayo rice balls came in a big bowl, and I ordered it for my son to eat haha. He enjoyed it so much that it's now a must-order for the next visit *^^*

Rolling it into little round shapes felt like a hassle, so we just scooped it up straight — turns out that's more efficient anyway lol

Try putting a bit of jjokgalbi on top ~~ giving kids this combo means they get rice and meat together, which is great haha. The savory tuna and creamy mayo blend into the rice for a light, savory flavor!!

The jjokgalbi was trimmed so well that it pulled apart easily. Thanks to how thoughtfully they prepared it for easy eating, my son could hold the bone and pull the meat off himself haha

What does the barbecue jjokgalbi taste like?

Next up, we tried the barbecue flavor jjokgalbi! It's a completely different taste from the spicy one, and honestly, if I had to pick just one of the two, I'd go with the barbecue jjokgalbi haha. Both were delicious, of course, but the barbecue one is the crowd-pleaser! Sweet and salty, and eaten with the pickled onions, it tasted almost exactly like seasoned pork rib (yangnyeom dwaeji galbi) haha

In between, we also had the steamed egg — it felt a touch under-seasoned, but eaten alongside the spicy jjokgalbi, it hit the spot :)

I think the barbecue jjokgalbi will be the most popular, since it's a flavor that works for everyone from kids to adults haha. Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, the Seongjeong-dong spot where even pulling the meat off by hand was part of the fun!!

A bite of spicy, then a bite of barbecue! It made for a meal where the two flavors played off each other perfectly haha

The winning combo especially was eating it together with these pickled onions — once I tried it, I totally got why they recommended that pairing haha

Kimchi sujebi to finish: order it in advance

We ordered kimchi sujebi (hand-torn noodle soup) to cleanse the palate! It takes a bit of time to cook, so I'd recommend ordering it early :) Thanks to that sharp, refreshing kimchi flavor, it really hit the spot and felt like a great pairing with drinks too haha

You can also take a spoonful of the kimchi sujebi broth in between bites of meat and it pairs really well. It's hot and spicy, the kind of soup everyone would like, I think haha. The dough for the sujebi was chewy and thin too, so we enjoyed it a lot ^^

Order at a glance

• Barbecue jjokgalbi (1 serving) — sweet and salty, tastes like seasoned pork rib with the onion pickle
• Spicy jjokgalbi (1 serving) — spicy-sweet and addictive, could be hot for those who can't handle spice
• Tuna mayo rice balls — served in a big bowl, a must for kids
• Steamed egg — a bit under-seasoned
• Kimchi sujebi — sharp and refreshing, takes time to cook
• Service sundubu jjigae — hot and spicy

Ice cream on the way out, plus parking

On the way out, they even sent us off with ice cream, which made this feel like the perfect spot for a family meal or gathering with kids ^^ We left completely stuffed and happy. If you're looking for a restaurant, a meat place, or a drinking spot in Seongjeong-dong, remember Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul :)

For parking at Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul in Cheonan, use the building's basement lot. The entrance to the parking lot was right next to the restaurant ^^