Yongun-dong charcoal BBQ in Daejeon: ₩34,000 pork set, Jeonbotdae

I came for dinner at Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop, a well-known Dong-gu, Daejeon restaurant. This place is already famous for being great value for money, haha.

Naver Reservation: menu picked ahead, side dishes already on the table

Here are the basic side dishes at Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop. Since I'd made a reservation, everything was already set up when I got there — so nice. When you book through Naver, you select your menu in advance, and it's all preset so you can just sit down and eat right at your reservation time, haha.

The basic side dishes here are pickled radish, kimchi for grilling, scallion and lettuce salad, perilla leaf pickles, seaweed and pickled chili, myeongnan mayo (pollock roe mayo), ssamjang (dipping sauce), and garlic, haha. They all pair perfectly with pork belly, haha.

Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop even has a Hangang Ramyeon self-serve machine! You might get a coupon for it as an event when you book through Naver, so if you're planning a visit, definitely use Naver Reservation!

A converted house you enter shoes-off: chair tables or floor seating

Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop is uniquely a shoes-off restaurant. One side has standard table seating, and the back has floor seating. It looks like a converted house, and you can pick whichever seating style is more comfortable, haha.

Pork neck + fresh pork belly, one geun for 34,000 won

Here's the menu at Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop. There's a one-geun (about 600g) menu — pork neck plus fresh pork belly for ₩34,000!! Wait, ₩34,000 for a geun of it?! And that's fresh meat too!!

So I ordered it right away, haha, the pork neck and belly one-geun combo. It came out sliced nicely into fresh belly and neck cuts, and the portion is really generous!

Since Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop is such good value, lots of local residents come here. That's why even in the early evening it was nearly full, haha.

Grilling kimchi and myeoljeot (fermented anchovy sauce) on the charcoal too

They lay the belly and neck out in a row on the grill, haha. On one side they put the kimchi they provide, and on the other side they simmer myeolchi jeot, haha. Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop grills everything over charcoal. You know charcoal-grilled meat just tastes better, right? Haha.

What to eat while the pork cooks: steamed egg and kimchi pancake

Steamed egg and kimchi pancake came out, haha. The steamed egg at Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop has a really soft, jiggly texture. It was savory, slightly salty, and so smooth and delicious, and the freshly made kimchi pancake had kimchi that was well-fermented and really tasty, haha. These are snacks you can enjoy while the meat's still cooking, haha.

How does the pork belly taste? A cut with cartilage running through it

The pork belly cut at Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop was really great. It was a genuine belly cut with little bits of chewy cartilage scattered through it, so the fat layer on top was chewy and savory while the lean layer stayed juicy — so delicious. It wasn't too thick, so it didn't take long to cook, haha. The juices were so savory, haha. Wrapped it in lettuce, topped it with scallion strips, yum yum, haha.

The signature wrap: roasted gim, myeongnan mayo and pickled chili

Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop has its own unique way of wrapping. First, you lightly toast the raw seaweed they give you on the grill. Then you place a piece of pork belly on top, add myeongnan mayo, and top it with a pickled chili that the owner said his mother makes. Pop it all in your mouth in one bite, and the spicy chili meets the savory pollock roe for a really special combination, haha haha.

Here's the pork neck at Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop. The pork neck here was a leaner, cleaner-tasting cut. Dipping it in the simmering myeolchi jeot really brings out the flavor, haha. And the scallion strips and lettuce salad they served alongside were really tasty!

Were the doenjang rice and bibim noodles worth ordering?

We also ordered the doenjang sajangbap (owner's-recipe soybean paste stew with rice), haha. The doenjang stew was mild, not overly seasoned, true to the basics, and came out bubbling with the rice, with generous amounts of tofu and zucchini in it. The tofu in particular was so soft and savory that I really wanted to know where it was from, haha.

We also ordered bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles), and the version here at Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop was mildly spicy and appetite-whetting.

Wrapping the meat with these noodles was so good, haha. Bibim guksu is better eaten together with the meat rather than saved for the end, haha. It's a subtly spicy kimchi bibim noodle that really stirs up your appetite, haha.

Bottled drinks, plus mix coffee and dental floss on the way out

I ordered a drink and Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop served it in a bottle. Bottled drinks somehow just taste better than canned ones, haha haha.

For dessert they've got mix coffee and candy ready! And thoughtfully, there's also fabric deodorizer and dental floss set out so you can get rid of the meat smell, haha.

Location in Yongun-dong and where to park

Jeonbotdae Sutbul Ogyeop, which was such great value, is located here: 36-2 Saeul-ro 81beon-gil, 1st floor, Dong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea. For parking, you can use the Yongun Market public parking lot.