Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ on a Saturday, kimchi vs doenjang stew: Cham

On a Saturday I went to Cham Dwaejitgan (참돼짓간), a minari pork belly place near Jongno 3-ga Station that always has a wait. Maybe because the staff grill for you, it's super popular! There were lots of big groups too, so it seems good for company dinners. Not just the pork belly, even the jowl was amazing. Let's get started.

Where is Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch, and what are the hours?

Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is a one-minute walk, about 50m, from Jongno 3-ga Station, and it's open every day from noon to 11pm. It's also close to Euljiro 3-ga Station, Anguk Station and Jonggak Station, and it stays open late.

• Address: 137 Donui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Picadilly CGV ground floor, unit 1-89)
• Hours: daily 12:00-23:00
• Parking: not available
• Reservations: Catch Table waitlist and booking

It's unit 1-89 on the ground floor of Picadilly CGV. Don't go into the building; just walk left from the entrance and you'll find it! You can book on Catch Table, so reserve ahead.

How to find Cham Dwaejitgan in the Piccadilly CGV building

Here's what Cham Dwaejitgan looks like.

The key thing to remember: don't enter the CGV Picadilly building, just walk left from the entrance and it's right there. Of course, if you go inside and come out to the left it's quick too, but it's even better to skip the building and walk a little straight along the left of the entrance. The big Cham Dwaejitgan sign is visible from far away.

Saturday waits at Cham Dwaejitgan: book on Catch Table

At Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch you can join the waitlist at the Catch Table kiosk on site, or book ahead in the Catch Table app. You can reserve not just for the same day but in advance too, so definitely reserve either way. I went on a Saturday, and with how popular it is, the line grew fast.

This is the whole place as you walk in. Totally full, it's wildly popular. Both the left and right sides seemed to have company dinners and big groups.

Cham Dwaejitgan menu and prices

Signature dishes

• Pork belly (Boseong green-tea-fed pork) ₩16,000
• Flower neck (kkotmoksal, Boseong pork) ₩16,000
• Jowl (hangjeongsal, Boseong pork) ₩19,000

Recommended dishes

• Jirisan black pork belly ₩19,000
• Jirisan black pork neck ₩18,000
• Jirisan kudzu cold noodles (mul naengmyeon) ₩7,000

Drinks

• Soju ₩5,000
• Beer ₩5,000

The signature at Cham Dwaejitgan is the pork belly from pigs fed Boseong green tea, haha. It's a real pork belly spot. The Jirisan cold noodles are popular too. They were so popular they were sold out, so I hope you get to try them. Soju and beer at ₩5,000 aren't expensive, just right.

What we ordered with friends: three Boseong pork cuts and two stews

• Pork belly (Boseong) ₩16,000
• Flower neck (Boseong) ₩16,000
• Jowl (Boseong) ₩19,000
• Kimchi stew ₩8,000
• Doenjang (soybean paste) stew ₩7,000
• Fried rice ₩3,000

We ordered a lot of everything. First, look at the color of the raw belly, neck and jowl. Fresh.

Cham Dwaejitgan side dishes and self-serve bar

Sauces and seasonings came as doenjang, wasabi, spicy sauce, salt, garlic and ssamjang (dipping paste). Basic side dishes were ssam vegetables, scallion salad, pickles and salad, plus minari (water dropwort), kimchi, bean sprouts, shishito-style peppers and mushrooms to grill alongside. Quite a variety of basic sides, right?

The minari and sides all came in generous amounts, so we didn't refill. There's a self-serve bar, so if you need more, take as much as you like. The best!

Do the staff grill the meat at Cham Dwaejitgan?

Yes, Cham Dwaejitgan is a BBQ place with a grilling service where the staff grill everything for you.

The main grill for the meat uses real charcoal, and the side area next to it has adjustable heat, which was really handy. The meat is grilled nicely over charcoal, and the staff move finished pieces to the side. So convenient.

The meat all done and moved to the side 💕 lol

How did the cham pork belly and jowl taste?

Grilling the peppers together boosted the meat's flavor, and grilled mushrooms and minari eaten with a piece of meat on top were so good.

Maybe because the meat is good, it was incredibly nutty and sweet. You know that meat that's so nutty it turns sweet? That was exactly the feeling. Nutty and sweeeet.

Wrapping it in a leaf with nicely grilled minari and bean sprouts is heaven lol

Kimchi stew vs doenjang stew: which one to order?

These are the doenjang stew (₩7,000) and kimchi stew (₩8,000). I liked both, but my friends liked the kimchi stew more, haha. If you can't decide between the two, try the kimchi stew first!

Fried rice to finish

And finally, the fried rice too! Oddly it tasted like bibimbap (mixed rice), and it was good. It's a nutty egg fried rice with no kimchi in it. There's even a suggested classic combo for pork belly, haha.

Cham Dwaejitgan review event and ingredient sourcing

With the Naver receipt review event you get a free drink or fried rice, so be sure to claim it!

You can see the fresh raw meat, and the notice says they use same-day ingredients such as real charcoal, domestic minari and Jirisan black pork 👍 Fresh. If you're around Jongno 3-ga this weekend, definitely go eat here!

Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno at a glance

• A minari pork belly hotspot at Jongno 3-ga, a go-to for office workers
• Catch Table reservations mean no standing in line
• Works for group dinners

The owner is super kind, and above all the meat is really springy and nutty-sweet, haha. I think it's better not to order too many sides and fill up on meat instead, haha. The meat itself is excellent. We ordered a ton, and we scraped the plates clean without leaving a single piece of meat, haha.