Diced kimchi pork jowl and kimchi noodles in Seohae: Sammi-jip

Today I'm introducing a cauldron-lid pork belly place in Cheongna, Incheon that's a real local favorite. Kimchi is just so good with cauldron-lid pork belly, right? The sizzling cauldron-lid grill had me excited before I even sat down. With pork belly, thickness and how it's grilled really matter, and here the staff grills it for you along with the vegetables, which is so convenient — plus you can even choose the thickness, which made it even better.

Sammi-jip

Location and atmosphere of Sammi-jip in Cheongna

Sammi-jip in Cheongna is about a 10-minute bus ride from Gajeong Station, near Cheongna Lake Park Station. Since it's in a busy food alley, there were plenty of people around, and being a well-known spot, it was full of customers too.

Are there baby chairs and group seating?

Inside, the restaurant had baby chairs available for young kids, and since the space is spacious, there was seating that works for groups too. It's not a private room, but there are somewhat separated private-feeling seats where you can eat comfortably.

Sammi-jip's menu, set courses, and lunch specials

The menu includes premium Korean beef chadolbaegi (thin brisket), kimchi samgyeopsal, kimchi mok-samgyeopsal (pork collar), diced kimchi pork jowl, cheese potato pancake, minari (water celery) pancake, and more. Since everything comes out on the cauldron lid, I had high expectations — kimchi with a cauldron lid is basically cheating, it's bound to be delicious.

• Full Sammi kimchi + 700g doenjang stew: ₩73,000
• Half Sammi kimchi + 520g doenjang stew: ₩56,000

There's also a lunch special menu, so it seems like a good place to stop by for lunch too.

Side dishes: minced garlic sauce and icy dongchimi

The side dishes at Sammi-jip, a Cheongna pork belly favorite, include an assortment of wrap vegetables, dongchimi (watery radish kimchi), and sauce. The sauce is packed with minced garlic flavor and really brings out the savory taste of the meat, so be sure to dip it in. The dongchimi broth is clean, and the icy slush in it is no joke — it wraps around the punchy flavor of the kimchi and rounds off the meal well. I kept reaching for more.

Kimchi kalttongjip samgyeopsal, 2 servings

Kimchi kalttongjip samgyeopsal ₩17,000. I ordered 2 servings first, and the staff grilled the meat, kimchi, and various vegetables together in a nice presentation, which made it easy to eat. The kimchi in particular has a strong sweet-and-salty flavor that pairs so well with the meat, and eating it with minari helps cut through the meat's richness. The sweet sauce on the scallions blends in too, and once grilled, the flavor doubles. The bean sprouts grilled in the meat fat are nutty and even more delicious.

Kimchi bibim noodles, a great side

Kimchi bibim noodles ₩8,000. Eating this kimchi-mixed cold noodle dish alongside the meat is so good. It's just the right size as a side dish. The portion of noodles was generous enough for two people to share.

Bite-sized diced kimchi pork jowl

Diced kimchi pork jowl ₩18,000. I ordered 1 serving. It comes out already grilled, so it was convenient and ready to eat right away. Grilling it together with minari worked great, and since it's cut into bite-sized dice, it was easy to eat in one mouthful. I wanted to finish with fried rice at the end, but I was already too full from the kimchi bibim noodles and meat, so I sadly couldn't manage it ㅠㅠ Next time, for sure.

Sammi-jip info

• Hours: Daily 10:30–22:30
• Address: 18 Cheongnacanal-ro 233beon-gil, 1F, Seohae-gu, Incheon, South Korea