Siheung Korean BBQ for aged pork belly: Hamdon Baegot

I stopped by Hamdon Baegot (함돈 배곧직영점) while looking for somewhere to have dinner in Baegot! Even though I visited just after weekday dinner time, it was already full, so I waited about 30 minutes before getting in 🥹 I was hoping it would be worth the wait—and I totally got hooked on the pork belly that day, so after finishing our first order, we added it twice more 🐷

Hamdon Baegot

Hamdon Baegot hours

11:30–23:00 Last order: 22:30

You can see meat aging right in front of the entrance 🤤

There was a wait even on a weekday evening

We joined the waitlist on the Catch Table machine and got a KakaoTalk notification when it was our turn, but by the time we went in, every remaining table had filled up too! Definitely a Baegot favorite!! 👍 The tables are all separated into individual sections, so it looked like a nice place to eat and chat with your group.

The complimentary sides and bone gomtang

Once you sit down, they set out all the basic sides. There was quite a variety to enjoy with the meat, from minari (water dropwort) to green-onion kimchi, garlic, peppers, and several kinds of sauce.

And bone gomtang (beef bone soup) comes as a complimentary side too! I didn’t expect much since it was included, but I was surprised by how much meat was still on the bones haha. It was piping hot and perfect for a few bites before the meat arrived.

My favorite side here was the green-onion kimchi! It was spicy and sweet, and absolutely perfect with the o-gyeopsal (pork belly with skin). I asked for more sides several times while eating haha.

Our cross-aged o-gyeopsal and galmaegisal order

• Cross-aged o-gyeopsal 160 g ₩17,000
• Fresh galmaegisal (pork skirt meat) 130 g ₩17,000
• Red yeast rice, 2 bowls ₩2,000
• (Extra) Cross-aged o-gyeopsal 160 g ₩17,000
• (Extra) Cross-aged o-gyeopsal 160 g ₩17,000

Our first plate of o-gyeopsal and galmaegisal! I was especially happy with the pork belly as soon as it arrived because of how thick it was. The lean meat and fat layers were clearly defined, and each piece was so chunky that I was excited before it even hit the grill 🤤 A whole king oyster mushroom comes with it too.

A staff member par-grills the meat first, so you can eat comfortably. Thick cuts can end up burnt on the outside or undercooked inside if they’re grilled wrong, but having them cook it partway first made things so much easier.

After the par-grilling is done, you just cook it a little longer on the grill and eat! The smell as it turned golden brown was insane 🤤🤤

Chewy, savory aged o-gyeopsal

Writing this post is making me want it again,,, The outside of the meat was nicely browned while the inside stayed juicy, so the juices really burst out when I bit into it. The fat wasn’t overly soft; it was chewy and savory—exactly my kind of o-gyeopsal!!

The galmaegisal was chewy and delicious too. Dipping it in the sauce that came with it added a salty kick, making it just right with rice!

My favorite combinations for o-gyeopsal

Put o-gyeopsal on top of rice, then add a little garlic and sauce for one bite 🫨 I also loved wrapping it with minari and green-onion kimchi. The o-gyeopsal is on the savory side, so eating it with aromatic vegetables like these meant I never got tired of it and just kept going haha.

In the end, I couldn’t resist adding another serving of o-gyeopsal,, At this point, I still thought this would be the last one ^^

Golden brown again 🔥 Just like the first time, it was thick but not tough, with a satisfying chew, so I didn’t regret the extra order at all.

And then we added o-gyeopsal one more time

And then, of course, we added o-gyeopsal one more time ^^ We started with two servings and the two of us ended up leaving absolutely stuffed after four servings total 🐷 I already like o-gyeopsal normally, but the chew here is seriously different. Please, really, go.

I was a little surprised that there was a wait even on a weekday evening, but after eating at Hamdon Baegot, I could see why it was so busy! The galmaegisal was good too, but my clear number-one pick is the cross-aged o-gyeopsal ✨ The staff’s par-grilling made it convenient, and there were plenty of things to pair with the meat, like green-onion kimchi and minari, so I could enjoy it without getting tired of it until the end. This is the kind of place I’ll think of again when I want thick aged o-gyeopsal in Baegot! Next time, I’m going to try arriving a little earlier to avoid the wait haha.