Day-drinking pork belly by the 100g at a Cheonan charcoal-grill diner

Hours and location

Hours Mon–Fri 17:00–02:00 Sat, Sun 16:00–02:00

Haven't been to Shinbuldang in a while! My unemployed friend and I got on the phone, made a spontaneous plan, and met up right away >< Two unemployed people picking a spot for day-drinking landed on [Euljiro Yeontan Gui], in the Shinbuldang dining alley.

Ordering by the 100g — how we picked the menu

There are so many menu items, right? You can order in small 100g portions, so it's perfect for trying a bit of everything. Just note the first order has to start at 300g. We went with pork belly 300g + pork jowl 200g haha.

They have seafood too. Good idea to eat that as a kind of dessert(?) after finishing the meat, haha.

Old-school vibes in Shinbuldang

The interior looks like this. As soon as you walk in, the faint smell of charcoal and grilling meat spreads through the air!! Even though it's in Shinbuldang, a pork restaurant with this old-school (nopo) feel is genuinely rare. There are plenty of clean, polished places these days, but sometimes you crave exactly this kind of rough, comfortable atmosphere haha.

There's a self-serve bar, so you just grab whatever you need yourself. Thanks to my friend who doesn't mind getting up, I got to just sit and grill the meat lol.

The basic side dishes

Basic side dishes :: kimchi, bean sprouts, garlic, ssamjang, myeoljeot, chive salad, dressed lettuce, perilla leaves, lettuce

Grilling pork belly 300g and pork jowl 200g over charcoal

You have a drink or two over the side dishes, and then your meat order arrives. Pork belly 300g, pork jowl 200g. Look at that color on the meat! Cheap price, but the meat is fresh and good, wow.

Interestingly, this place serves frozen radish salad, and it turned out to be a real standout, haha.

Threw all the pork belly on the charcoal grill at once. The moment the meat hit the grill, that sizzling sound was pure fantasy.

Grilling over charcoal takes real skill(?), haha. I'm the one who grilled this — looks pretty appetizing, right? Hehe. The outside gets golden brown with a slight crispness (definitely not burnt), and the inside stays moist and tender, releasing more savory juices the more you chew — so good! The smoky aroma from the charcoal made it even more delicious, ugh. (This was even my first meal of the day...)

Wrapping a full bite in lettuce... Add cooked bean sprouts and kimchi on top and it's so good. Slurp. The perfect side dish to go with soju. Meat really never gets old, no matter how much you eat it.

And the pork jowl, like this

Putting the pork jowl on early so the flow doesn't break. Even when eating, my friend plans everything out thoroughly — total planner. Pork jowl's charm is its crisp, chewy texture, and grilling it over charcoal seems to boost the flavor even more. Instead of grilling it too hard, cooking it just golden brown keeps the texture better and tastier! The pork belly-then-pork jowl route — I really love this.

The myeoljeot kept bubbling away and running low, so I got a bit more refilled! Garlic and chili toppings are self-serve (a method my food-savvy friend taught me).

And as I kept eating, this dressed lettuce salad turned out to be a bit of a sleeper hit, haha. Eaten on its own it's a bit strongly seasoned, but paired with the meat it cuts the greasiness and cleans your palate — even better together! We refilled this one too, lol.

Pork skin from the receipt review event

Pork skin received through the receipt review event.

Propped it against the kimchi container in case it flew off while grilling, lol. Pork skin always makes me nervous because it tends to pop and jump around when cooking.

The charcoal was still hot enough that the skin cooked fast — that's not burnt, that's golden brown.

Grabbed the bean flour from the self-serve bar to dip it in >< Thick, chewy pork skin — hadn't had it in a while, and it tasted even better for it. Cleared even the pork skin and left with a nicely full stomach. Wanted naengmyeon (cold noodles) too, but saved room for round two. Ate cheaply and well between the two of us! If you're looking for an old-school, good-value pork restaurant in Shinbuldang, come here.