Daeyeon-dong, Busan BBQ with beef brisket doenjang stew: Daepae Maket

Craving thin-cut pork belly to wrap up the week, I headed to Daeyeon-dong after a while. This is 'Daepae Maket,' a restaurant in Daeyeon-dong with a really well-stocked self-serve bar.

Where is Daepae Maket Busan Daeyeon Branch, and what are its hours?

Daepae Maket Busan Daeyeon Branch is at 222 Suyeong-ro, 1F, Nam-gu, Busan, right on the main road in front of Daeyeon Station on Line 2, so it's easy to find. It's open daily from 16:00 to 01:00, with last order at 00:00.

• All-you-can-eat, group-friendly
• Wifi, baby chairs
• Separate men's/women's restrooms, waiting area
• Kids' playroom, takeout

There are even chairs out front for waiting.

Since it was early evening, we luckily got seated right away! The dining hall is huge, and there's even a playroom for kids. Really a perfect spot for a family meal out.

Menu and ordering rules at Daepae Maket

Here's the menu information.

The self-serve bar has a base usage fee, but the spread is really, really packed. When you order meat

the first order must be 500g or more. You can mix and match too, which is nice for variety. Since we came craving thin-cut pork, we first ordered 5 servings of Jeju native pork.

The free fish cake soup that comes with a meat order

At Daepae Maket Busan Daeyeon Branch, ordering meat gets you a free fish cake soup.

It was fun that it came in a metal kettle. There's an extra burner on the table so you can keep boiling it as you eat. Once it was piping hot, we poured it into paper cups — even as a free side, the broth was rich and delicious.

What's on the self-serve bar at Daepae Maket Daeyeon

There are so many kinds at the self-serve bar that it's easiest to grab a big plate! I keep talking about this self-serve bar because, well, just look at it... From all sorts of side dishes to vegetables to pair with the meat, tasty grilling sides, and wrap greens

There really were so many kinds. Bean sprouts and napa cabbage kimchi, essential with thin-cut pork, are a must!

On top of that, Daepae Maket Daeyeon Branch even has green onion kimchi, dried radish strips, and squid jeotgal (salted fermented squid). The squid jeotgal in particular was loaded with nutty nuts and not too salty, so it went really well with the meat.

Green onion salad, various pickles — so much! I usually eat a lot of chili peppers when grilling meat, and I loved that they had pepper strip pickles here.

This is my favorite onion pickle combo — mixing wasabi with finely chopped cheongyang chili peppers makes it really clean and tasty, highly recommend!

We also grabbed bracken, mushrooms, and garlic scapes to grill with the meat, and there was even sundae (blood sausage), rice cake, and sausage — such a wide variety. My friends and I liked the potato best out of everything. Make sure you grill it until crispy!

Fresh wrap greens!

5 servings of Jeju handon thin-cut pork, basic thickness

Finally, the meat arrived. The color looks so good, probably because it's Jeju native pork, right? By the way, you can choose between basic or thick cut for the thin-cut pork.

We went with the basic thickness. Spread it well on the grill and it cooks in no time. Being able to grill it quickly and eat right away is the charm of thin-cut pork.

Maybe because it's Jeju native pork, there wasn't a hint of gamey smell, and it was really savory. Let's grill it together with the vegetables and side dishes we brought over.

The classic combo of kimchi and bean sprouts, and one bite with green onion kimchi too! Wrapping it in perilla leaf pickle was fragrant and nice. Overall the pickles weren't too salty, which made them delicious.

The potato was sliced thin, and once grilled it turned crispy like a potato chip, so my friends and I went back for more several times. And surprisingly, the sundae was delicious once grilled too.

Naengmyeon, beef brisket doenjang stew and fried rice to finish

We also ordered naengmyeon (cold noodles), a must with pork barbecue.

The broth full of icy slush looked really tasty. But the real star of Daepae Maket Daeyeon Branch was the doenjang (soybean paste) stew. We chose between beef brisket and seafood, going with beef brisket, and we were surprised by the size the moment it arrived. It was even packed with ingredients, so the broth was incredibly rich. My friends and I ate it up marveling the whole time.

The finale to the thin-cut pork feast: fried rice! They finely chopped kimchi, bean sprouts, and shredded green onion and fried it together with the meat.

After finishing all the meat, Daepae Maket Daeyeon Branch even sends you off with dessert on your way out!

If you're looking for a great thin-cut pork belly spot in Daeyeon-dong, give Daepae Maket Daeyeon Branch a try.