Cheonan Korean BBQ with thick frozen pork: Sampyeong Sikdang

I had such a delicious time eating frozen pork belly at Sampyeong Sikdang with a friend last time, so I came back again with my husband!

Location and parking at Sampyeong Sikdang Cheonan Sinbu Branch

• Location: 9 Meokgeori 9-gil, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
• Hours: Weekdays 15:00–24:00 / Weekends and public holidays 13:00–24:00
• Last order: 23:00
• Parking: Use Sinbu No. 5 Public Parking Lot

It is in the inner alley across from the terminal. Even from a distance, the interior has such a retro feel.

There is a standing menu board outside, so you can take in the menu at a glance. Even if you were not thinking about pork belly, you would naturally end up walking in when passing this alley hahaha.

A menu ranging from frozen pork belly to samhap

This is the menu at Sampyeong Sikdang (삼평식당). I also find it so cute that they call it a charimpan, meaning a table setting, staying totally true to the concept haha. Along with frozen pork belly, they have frozen pork neck—naengmok(?)—and flower-cut pork belly too. There is also a huge range of Sampyeong Samhap, set meals, and side dishes. After much deliberation, we ordered the Sampyeong Samhap and had a look around the restaurant.

A retro-filled dining room

Isn't the interior completely retro!!! The owner is seriously committed to the décor. The wood, that strange purplish shade I often saw in my parents' old album photos, and those chairs—I am sooo curious whether they were custom-made or somehow found somewhere hahaha.

Even the napkins are hanging from the ceiling.

Soju is practically the rule with pork belly, but sometimes you crave a sweet highball too, right? Sampyeong Sikdang has no fewer than four kinds of highball. They are also running a 3+1 promotion, so it would be nice to order a variety with your group. Sadly, we drove, so we had to pass.

A staff member quickly set our table. It looks so green at a glance, right? Vegetable prices are no joke these days ㅠㅠ, but everything came out incredibly generous~~~ There is zero chance your mouth will get greasy while eating frozen pork belly.

Sampyeong Samhap stir-fried by the staff

Sampyeong Samhap (medium) — recommended for 2 people ₩33,000 A Yeosu-style samhap of octopus, shrimp, and pork stir-fried in a spicy sauce

The moment the dish arrived, I could not help but go, “Wow!!!” They gave us heaps and heaps of frozen pork belly and seafood~~~ The staff came by and stir-fried everything for us, so we could eat comfortably without lifting a finger.

Once the samhap ingredients had cooked down a little in the sauce, they piled on lots of minari (water dropwort).

The frozen pork belly was so thick and large. Some places slice it so thin that you wonder, is this practically daepae, paper-thin pork belly..? But Sampyeong Sikdang cuts its frozen pork belly big and thick, which gave it a great texture. The shrimp were so plump that you could feel them pop with one bite, and eating them in one mouthful with minari and bean sprouts never got tiresome right to the end.

Make a wrap with frozen pork belly + shrimp + octopus + garlic + bean sprouts + minari, all in one bite.

Pure. Bliss.

But seriously, the samhap sauce here is really delicious ㅠㅠㅠ The frozen pork belly is great too, but I really hope everyone gets to try the samhap.... ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Even soybean paste stew with crab

Sampyeong Sikdang has an enormous range of side dishes: dirty steamed eggs, soybean paste stew, soybean paste rice with alcohol, spicy kimchi stew, spicy mixed noodles, perilla oil makguksu (buckwheat noodles), and more and more... We wondered which side to pair with the samhap, but the Sampyeong Samhap was already so generous that we settled on the safe choice of soybean paste stew.

But what a surprise.... There was crab inside, so the broth was anything but ordinary, seriously. Then I noticed that the trivet under the earthenware pot was a comic book, and burst out laughing again at the owner's relentless love for the retro concept hahaha. I recommend it for a generous meal near Cheonan Terminal!! The décor is pretty too, so enjoy your meal and take lots of photos~