Goyang pork barbecue with kkakdugi fried rice finish: Neopttakjip

A spacious barbecue restaurant near Starfield Goyang

Today I'd like to introduce Neopttakjip Samsong Branch (넙딱집 삼송점), a place that's already earned a big word-of-mouth reputation as a Samsong favorite and is the perfect stop after a weekend trip to Starfield Goyang with family or a partner. The restaurant is spacious and really pleasant to visit by car, so it's a place I truly want to recommend.

Doesn't the exterior alone give off that heavyweight famous-restaurant aura? If you're wondering what to have for dinner near Starfield Goyang, there's no place as hearty and satisfying as this. Parking is well provided, so those coming by car can park and eat comfortably without any stress. The interior is so spacious and comfortable that it works just as well as a Samsong company dinner venue or a big family meal out.

Walking in and looking at the counter, one wall was covered with autographs and visit photos from famous celebrities. How good must this place be for so many people to have come through — my expectations shot up before I'd even tasted the meat.

Ordering Sancheong black pork saeng-galbi with the grilling vegetable set

We sat down and looked over the menu with anticipation. There were various pork specialty cuts and à la carte dishes. We ordered the Sancheong black pork saeng-galbi (unmarinated fresh pork ribs, 400g) + grilling vegetable set, which proudly carries the recommended mark at the very top of the menu. It's Neopttakjip's signature dish, and they say they use top-grade aged meat that's beyond comparison, so there was no way we couldn't order it!

Oh, and on one side of the table there's a friendly notice about the Naver receipt review event. Partway through your meal, tap 'write a review', verify your receipt and show it to a staff member, and you can get Neopttak spicy ramyeon, one serving of kkeopdegi (pork skin) or a soft drink on the house. You've got to grab a solid perk like this when you visit, right?

Black pork saeng-galbi grilled on the hot plate

At last, our main dish, the black pork saeng-galbi, arrived! Don't the thick cut and the glistening bright-red color look absolutely mouthwatering? The grilling vegetable set, great for cooking on the grill alongside the meat, comes in very generous portions too. Chewy rice cakes, plump sausages, sweet onions and mushrooms — grilled in pork fat, there's no way this perfect combo could be anything but delicious.

Once the grill was nicely heated, we piled on the big pieces of meat and plenty of vegetables. The grill's heat is so strong that the meat quickly browned up crispy outside and juicy inside. The savory smell unique to saeng-galbi hit my nose, and my mouth was really watering while waiting for it to cook.

Three ways to make saeng-galbi taste even better

They cut it into the perfect bite-sized pieces and cooked it through to the center. The juicy look with all that juice locked in was a work of art. After grilling all the meat, a staff member kindly explained how to enjoy this delicious saeng-galbi even more.

• Dip it in the special sauce made with sesame oil, perilla seeds and salt. The nuttiness doubles with every chew and really lifts the deep flavor of the black pork itself.
• Eat it with a bit of spicy chili pepper. It cleanly and refreshingly cuts through the finish of pork that could otherwise be greasy, so you never get tired of it.
• Eat it with garlic scapes, whose crisp, crunchy texture is superb.

All three ways they showed us were so delicious, each with its own charm, that I couldn't pick just one. Alternating between them in order and eating diligently, the meat on the grill vanished in an instant.

Finishing with kkakdugi fried rice

After a hearty meal of meat, no matter how full you are, fried rice is a must-do course for any Korean! We ordered the kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) fried rice as our after-meal dish, and I strongly, strongly recommend it if you visit. The crunchy texture of well-fermented kkakdugi and the salty yet spicy-sweet-salty fried rice seasoning came together to cut right through the meat's grease — a perfect finish. It was generously sprinkled with seaweed flakes and sesame seeds, the ultimate in nuttiness. We scraped the pan clean before leaving.

If you're looking for a spacious, comfortable barbecue restaurant near Starfield Goyang with easy parking, or want to taste saeng-galbi and Samsong samgyeopsal (pork belly) on a whole different level of quality, I sincerely recommend Neopttakjip Samsong Branch! It'll be an excellent choice with no regrets for any gathering, from dinner after a weekend family outing to a Samsong company dinner that needs a big space.