Paju BBQ near Starfield Unjeong with kids: pork skin at Tannae

Why we stopped at Tannae on the way from Byeokchoji Arboretum to Starfield Unjeong

Tannae Paju Main Branch is a charcoal-grilled BBQ restaurant in Garam-maeul, Unjeong, Paju, Gyeonggi. Today's plan was Byeokchoji Arboretum then Starfield Village Unjeong — but since there's not much good food near the arboretum, I went hunting for a good restaurant near Starfield Unjeong instead, and found this place.

They have the pork ribs my kid loves, and apparently the owner grills them over charcoal — not something you see often?!! Straight there we went.

Parking and opening hours at Tannae Paju Main Branch

If you enter it into navigation, it takes you to the back alley where there's a parking lot with room for about 4 cars.

There's also a public parking lot right out front, which seems usable too.

Cutting across the building brings you to the front entrance.

Hours are weekdays 5 PM–11 PM, weekends 4 PM–11 PM. Looks like they don't do lunch service. Our timing was a bit awkward — right between lunch and dinner — so we went in almost as soon as they opened, but there were already a few people there.

A briquette grill at every table, with the owner searing the meat first

About 10 tables, each set up with its own charcoal grill. The owner pre-grills the meat at the main station.

What we ordered at Tannae: marinated giant pork cuts, pork skin, steamed egg, bibim naengmyeon

Looking at the menu with a kid in tow, we went with the sweet marinated pork king cuts, the marinated pork skin adults love, steamed egg (a must with kids), and bibim naengmyeon on the side — order complete!

Ssamjang, garlic sauce, and salt are given individually per person, and personally, that sweet garlic sauce was the highlight — so good. Tastes exactly like the sauce you get with garlic bossam (boiled pork wraps). They also give you a myeolchi-jeot (fermented anchovy sauce) that you're supposed to briefly boil before dipping.

Side dishes at Tannae are self-serve refills

The side dishes: corn salad, great to eat grilled before the meat arrives, and shiitake wasabi, which is unreal with the meat.

Side dishes are self-refill, which I loved haha. Refilling the corn salad before the meat arrives is basically the law — heck yes.

There's a grilling station in the middle of the hall — that one's the owner's exclusive turf.

And this is that pro touch pre-grilling the meat!!!! Meat grilled by an expert is simply the best.

Free crab doenjang stew and the steamed egg

You automatically get one crab doenjang stew (fermented soybean paste stew) with real crab in it. It's a spicy stew, great for adults, but kids can't handle it.

The steamed egg my kid demolished a whole bowl of rice with — solid, solid. Said it was so good and ate it right up. Fluffy steamed egg at a BBQ place is just the best.

Marinated pork ribs grilled over briquettes

Enter the charcoal. Charcoal grilling really does taste amazing, but I think I heard Baek Jong-won say it's hard to maintain and tough on the staff — from a customer's point of view though, it's great because it's delicious...

The marinated pork ribs, one serving, arrive!!! Since they're pre-grilled, you just cut them and finish cooking them a bit more on your side.

The charcoal wasn't too hot so nothing burned, everything cooked perfectly. My kid said it was so so so good and ate happily hahaha. Mom said it was tender and lovely too. The whole family was satisfied. The one who dragged everyone here felt proud.

My favorite: dip in garlic sauce first, then the myeolchi-jeot. Honestly, the meat is already marinated so it's delicious even without dipping. The sauce feels like it'd pair even better with raw meat, but I'm a sauce person, so I dip the already-marinated meat in sauce anyway haha.

Bibim naengmyeon eaten alongside the pork

The palate-cleansing bibim naengmyeon arrives. Personally, I prefer eating it alongside the meat rather than as dessert, so I order it early. I didn't pour in the broth — just drank it cold like a beverage while eating. After sweet marinated meat, you can't resist spicy cold noodles.

Served one piece at a time, almost like omakase

It's a bit like omakase — the owner grills and hands over one piece at a time hahaha. Second chunk arrives, gone in a flash. Since he's pre-grilling meat for every table himself, he seems to be rotating through them in turn. It meant we got perfectly cooked meat without interruption, which was really nice and convenient.

The pork skin also comes pre-grilled, and being on the thicker side, the chewy texture was amazing hahaha. If I weren't already full, I'd have wanted another plate...

Final verdict on Tannae Paju Main Branch

Good prices, good meat, good menu, good side dishes — I liked it enough that if I'm ever back in the area, I'd definitely visit again. Solid, solid!