Daejeon Korean BBQ with grilled pork and sides: Imdaejang

This time, I went to Imdaejang Daejeon Dunsan Branch (임대장 대전둔산점) in Dunsan-dong! You know those days when you want meat but cannot be bothered to grill it yourself? Haha. They grill everything here before serving it, so I thought it would be perfect for an easy meal. Let me tell you about our very satisfying feast of pork belly, pork neck jowl, two sides, and free ice cream at the end :)

Parking and reservations at Imdaejang Daejeon Dunsan Branch

When you are eating in Dunsan-dong, parking is the first thing you end up worrying about, but here you can use the building’s underground parking garage free for two hours. Keep that in mind if you are driving!

Naver also had a reservation coupon for beef brisket doenjang-jjigae (soybean-paste stew) or Korean pork kimchi-jjigae. After receiving the coupon, you need to check “use coupon” when making the reservation, and it can be used when ordering other menu items too. It was listed as valid from 16:00 until before 23:00, so check the detailed conditions when you reserve :) It was busy even on a weekday, so I recommend reserving!

Using a reservation

We made a reservation in advance before visiting. When we arrived, our table even had a separate “Reserved” sign on it!

Even though we went on a weekday, there were quite a lot of people, so I was glad we had reserved. If you are planning to visit, I recommend booking ahead :)

The basic side dishes were already set out at the table too. Sitting down at such a neatly prepared table made me think, now all we have to do is choose the menu, haha.

The restaurant had a clean atmosphere, with funny signs posted here and there. “Senior, keep your mouth shut and open your wallet,” hahaha. It caught my eye, so of course I had to read it once… Before the meat arrived, it was fun looking at the notices and phrases on the walls too.

Ordering pork belly, pork neck jowl, and sides

We ordered pork belly, pork neck jowl, cold kimchi noodle soup, and beef brisket doenjang-jjigae! Based on the menu at the time of our visit, pork belly was ₩15,000 for 170 g and pork neck jowl was ₩15,000 for 130 g. The cold kimchi noodle soup and beef brisket doenjang-jjigae were ₩5,900 each. There were two of us, and neither of us eats a huge amount, so at places where the first order starts at three portions, we sometimes end up with leftoversㅠㅠ Here, the menu said three portions were “recommended” for the first order, but at the time we visited, it was not compulsory, which was nice. It felt less daunting to choose the meats and sides we actually wanted together!

You order on the tablet at the table. Each menu item had a photo and description beside it, so it was easy to see what came with it and choose. There was a wide range of sides too—fried rice, stews, noodles, hangover ramen, and steamed egg—and there were so many things I wanted to try that we ended up ordering two, haha. Small appetite, but lots of things I want to eat…

A full platter with all the meat grilled for you

Our food came out faster than I expected! Since they serve all the meat fully grilled, it was so convenient to eat without having to flip it or check whether it was cooked. Nobody had to stay busy grilling the whole time, either, so it was nice to chat and eat together :) The platter also came generously loaded with kimchi, mushrooms, minari (water parsley), bean sprouts, and garlic, making it feel completely full! I liked being able to eat the meat with all sorts of accompaniments rather than having meat alone. I usually prefer pork neck jowl, but the pork belly tasted better to me that day!

Even while eating the pork neck jowl, I kept reaching for the pork belly, haha. With the minari and kimchi that came alongside it, I could enjoy it by switching up the combinations.

And their special sauce has quietly stayed in my memory. At first, just from how it looked, I wondered, “Is it something like meljeot?” But it tasted completely different! It was not fishy; it was sweet and spicy. When the meat started to feel a little rich, dipping it in the sauce cut through that richness, so I kept reaching for it. I really liked eating it with this sauce :)

Beef brisket doenjang-jjigae and cold kimchi noodle soup

My first bite of the beef brisket doenjang-jjigae was so deeply savory that I thought, “Oh? Is this cheonggukjang?” haha. For me, though, perhaps because of the brisket, it tasted a little rich and made me want something spicier. So I added a little of the special spicy sauce from earlier… Oh? It was even better this way! The spicy kick joined the savory flavor and was exactly to my taste. If you like spicy flavors like I do, try serving some into your own bowl and mixing in a little sauce. My personal little tip from that day, haha.

The cold kimchi noodle soup was deliciously sweet and tangy. It was so nice to have something cool in the middle of eating meat! I am glad we ordered one warm, savory stew and one cool, sweet-and-tangy noodle dish. Even with just the two of us, we could not give up having two sides, haha.

And because it was Sul-sul Day, we naturally had drinks too 🍻 Since all the meat came grilled, it was nice to cheers without worrying about grilling timing. We enjoyed a drink with our meat that day too :)

Finishing with free ice cream

The ice cream here is free too…! After meat, something sweet and cool is just perfect for cleansing your palate, right? ㅠㅠ It was nice to finish the meal without having to choose a separate dessert. It is listed as one cone per person, so keep that in mind :)

As we were leaving, I noticed they also had fabric deodorizer available! Since this is a place where the meat is grilled before it reaches you, I felt that the smell clung less than at other Korean BBQ restaurants, but it would still be handy if you are bothered by any meat smell left on your clothes. There is a notice asking you to spray it outside, so use it on your way out if you need it :)

A Dunsan-dong Korean BBQ restaurant where you do not have to grill

⭐ 4.5 out of 5! A place where we could comfortably enjoy pre-grilled meat in a clean atmosphere! The variety of sides and free ice cream were great too. The pork belly was tastier than the pork neck jowl for me, and I kept finding myself reaching for the special sauce :) I recommend it to anyone in Dunsan-dong who wants an easy meal without the hassle of grilling meat. It was busy even on a weekday, so try visiting with a reservation!