Changwon market BBQ for a four-person minari dinner: Hanpanjip

This past Sunday at 6pm, I took my mom and her friends out for a meat feast — four of us in total. We were trying to decide where to go when one of my mom's friends mentioned a new BBQ place had opened in Gaeumjeong, Changwon, and that it was supposed to be really good! So we headed there. The energy was so intense that the moment we walked in for our reservation, a waiting line practically appeared behind us out of nowhere. Let me introduce this true local hotspot: Hanpanjip Changwon Gaeum Branch.

How to find Hanpanjip inside Gaeumjeong Market in Changwon

Hanpanjip Changwon Gaeum Branch is located inside Gaeumjeong Market! Make sure you go inside the market, not around the outside, so you don't get confused about the route..! Even from outside, it looked like a proper local favorite at first glance!

Fully booked on a weekend night: why we reserved ahead

Once inside, the place was 100% packed with customers enjoying their BBQ, exactly as you'd expect on a weekend evening. A BBQ restaurant is supposed to be loud and full like this, right? That's when the meat tastes best. The lively atmosphere had my energy up the moment we walked in. Nice touch too — there was a spot inside the chairs to stash your belongings.

Since I didn't want to make the older folks wait around, I booked through Naver Reservations! If you reserve through Naver, you can also use a 10% discount coupon, so I'd definitely recommend booking ahead or doing an opening run if you're visiting on a weekend!

The biggest reason this place is so popular is that the staff grill the meat for you from start to finish. Since the restaurant was fully booked and each order is grilled with real care, it does take a little while for the hot plate to be set on your table. But not having to do the grilling yourself — and not coming home smelling like BBQ — meant the four of us could focus completely on our conversation. Genuinely satisfying.

Is the 900g double minari platter enough for four people?

The main menu includes the minari single platter (small) 550g for ₩39,900, minari double platter (large) 900g for ₩63,000, single platter (small) 600g for ₩39,900, and double platter (large) 1kg for ₩63,000, along with a variety of rice dishes!

With four of us, we ordered the minari double platter (large) at 900g! Honestly, the amount of meat felt a little light for four people, so if you're visiting with 3–4 people, I'd recommend ordering the 1kg double platter (large) and adding extra minari, or pre-ordering extra à la carte meat. Next time I visit, I'm planning to add pork jowl or fresh pork skin, since they're not part of the set!

The receipt review event and the six sauces at Hanpanjip

And you can't skip the receipt review event!! It's already amazing that they give you doenjang jjigae or kimchi fried rice, but throwing in a bottle of soju too is genuinely wild haha. They even had instructions for how to eat it the best way, so we decided to follow along, hehe.

First, a generous spread of side dishes came out along with Hanpanjip's signature six sauces! I'll give you my full review after trying each one, haha.

While we waited for the meat, we got a complimentary steamed egg, and the moment I took a bite, a strong sesame oil aroma hit my nose. It had that exact fluffy, nutty texture you get with the steamed egg that comes with delivery yeoptteok (spicy rice cakes) — we scraped the bowl clean in no time!!

Best sauce pairings, from pork belly to pork skin

After the wait, the minari double platter finally arrived! The visual was seriously insane... The hot plate came packed edge to edge with pork belly, pork neck, pork skin, fragrant minari, white kimchi and bean sprouts! Knowing all of this would be grilled for us made everything so easy haha.

We enjoyed it all with the classic BBQ pairing of minari, green onion kimchi and the special sauce. And now, the highlight!

Three sauce combinations tried cut by cut

• Pork belly + garlic salt: the salty, pungent garlic salt perfectly complements the bursting juiciness of the pork belly.
• Pork neck + teriyaki sauce: dip the tender pork neck in the sweet teriyaki sauce for the textbook definition of sweet-and-salty.
• Pork skin + curry powder: the chewy texture of the pork skin paired with spicy-sweet curry powder makes for the perfect drinking snack!!!

With six sauces on the table, it might feel overwhelming at first, but trust my picks and follow along! Besides these, the ssamjang, breadcrumb, and sesame sauce combos were also pretty good, haha.

Of course we had to do wraps too! Out of the three, my favorite was number one!!! A lettuce wrap loaded with onion, meat, ssamjang, minari, bean sprouts and — hidden in there — kimchi too, stuffed with everything I wanted, was the tastiest haha.

Finishing with cheese kimchi fried rice and plum tea

For our final dish, we chose the cheese-loaded kimchi fried rice as part of the receipt review event, and it wasn't just cheese-loaded in name — actual mozzarella cheese was poured on like a blanket. Every scoop stretched heavily with cheese, and its savoriness made for the perfect ending to the meal.

Before you head out after eating, make sure to have a cup of the plum tea Hanpanjip offers. It washes away all the pork belly grease and helps with digestion in one clean sip.

This visit was made possible through sponsorship, but not having to grill anything ourselves meant we could focus purely on enjoying delicious meat — my mom and her friends were 100% satisfied. If you're looking for a spot for a family dinner or a gathering where conversation matters, or if you just want to enjoy juicy Korean pork without any of the grilling hassle, be sure to stop by Hanpanjip, a Gaeumjeong, Changwon favorite!