Sejong Korean BBQ with spring cabbage and stew bibimbap: Hanmaeum

You know those moments when you're desperately craving good barbecue? Grilling at home never tastes the same and it's a hassle, so I end up looking for a pork belly place in Sejong. Today I'm telling you about Hanmaeum Jeongyuk Sikdang Sejong Daepyeong Branch (한마음정육식당 세종 대평점), a great find in Daepyeong-dong, Sejong.

Location and hours of Hanmaeum Jeongyuk Sikdang Sejong Daepyeong Branch

The restaurant is at 207 Sydney Hill, 35 Sicheong-daero, Sejong, South Korea (Daepyeong-dong 665). It's open weekdays 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m., with a break time from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. On weekends it's also open 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m.

Hanmaeum Jeongyuk Sikdang Sejong Daepyeong Branch is a premium aged raw-meat specialist using German aging technology, and you can try pork and beef that has gone through two aging stages of 144 hours at low temperature.

Half a pig, 500g: enough for two?

The half-pig set is 500g of pork, a quantity that fills two adults up nicely. I liked that the menu prices are posted outside, so you can check them before going in. We ordered the half pig to try.

On your way out there's a coffee machine and organic ice cream, so you can neatly wrap up with coffee and dessert too.

Can you bring kids? The kids' zone

The restaurant has a kids' zone with padded mats, so children who finish eating can happily play while the adults relax. With game machines and a play area for burning off energy, it makes mealtime fun for kids as well as adults.

There are plenty of baby chairs, too.

Size and interior: good for a company dinner?

This is a spacious BBQ restaurant in Daepyeong-dong, Sejong, so I think it would work well for a company dinner. The ventilation is good, and the air inside was really pleasant.

What's at the self-serve bar?

The self-serve bar had ssam greens, scallion salad, macaroni salad, cabbage kimchi, ssamjang (seasoned dipping paste), garlic and pajeori (seasoned scallion salad). Doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) is there too, so you can get refills.

Side dishes and the free jjolmyeon

The side dishes were lettuce, macaroni salad, seasoned bean sprouts, spring cabbage geotjeori (fresh-seasoned salad), kimchi, cabbage salad, pickled chili peppers, pickled onion, ssam radish, pajeori and even jjolmyeon (chewy spicy noodles). It was a really generous spread!

I love that jjolmyeon comes out too. The chewy noodles, crunchy veggies and spicy-sweet-tangy sauce go so well together. It's perfect as an appetizer when you're hungry. Let's start with the addictive jjolmyeon, yum!

I bet it's great with meat, but I was so hungry I just inhaled a mouthful of jjolmyeon first. Haha.

Doenjang stew comes free

At most BBQ places you'd pay extra for doenjang stew, so I loved that it's included here. You can heat it on a mini induction burner and eat it piping hot.

The stew was packed with cubed, soft, nutty tofu, radish and lots of other vegetables. Its savory, mild flavor was just right.

The aged half-pig cuts and the grilling

The aged half-pig set is a 500g set with a good mix of pork belly, neck, jowl, ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly) and gabrisal (pork rib-cap), a fitting amount for two adults. They put the aged half pig on the grill for us.

It's pork, so I flipped it diligently to cook it through. They gave us scissors and two pairs of tongs, so we each grabbed a pair and grilled away.

First up, a well-grilled piece of neck, yum! Maybe thanks to the aging, the meat was definitely not tough and was full of juice, so it was delicious even on its own.

Enjoying it with ssam, pajeori and spring cabbage geotjeori

It's also good wrapped up in lettuce with a piece of well-grilled meat, crunchy tangy ssam radish, pajeori and ssamjang.

I also tried it simply, with meat on top of the spicy-sweet, crunchy pajeori.

Lettuce, pajeori, meat and ssamjang wrapped up, nom nom~ The vegetable sides come in lots of varieties and are fresh, which made it even tastier.

I ate it with the spicy spring cabbage geotjeori kimchi too. Wouldn't it be good to make that spring cabbage bibimbap that was all the rage?

Mix doenjang stew into rice, top it with spring cabbage geotjeori kimchi, and yum~

Would I recommend Hanmaeum Jeongyuk Sikdang Sejong Daepyeong Branch?

With all its fresh, tasty side dishes, chewy aged-meat barbecue, kids' play area and self-serve bar, I highly recommend Hanmaeum Jeongyuk Sikdang Sejong Daepyeong Branch, a great spot in Daepyeong-dong, Sejong.