Bupyeong Korean BBQ with skillet pork belly: Dongducheon

A cast-iron-lid pork belly spot on Bupyeong Culture Street

It had been a while since I’d had samgyeopsal (pork belly), so I visited Dongducheon Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal Bupyeong Branch (동두천솥뚜껑삼겹살 부평점). It’s a fun place where you grill meat on a huge cast-iron lid, and what I especially loved was that a cast-iron-lid platter comes with soybean paste stew and steamed egg.

These days, lots of BBQ restaurants make you order stew or steamed egg separately, so having them included made the spread feel extra generous.

• Hours: 11:30–23:00
• Parking: None~

Dongducheon Sotttukkeong Fresh Samgyeopsal sits right in the middle of Bupyeong Culture Street. It’s such a bustling area, so the alley has a lively feel! In neighborhoods like this, it’s so easy to fill up on pork belly for round one, then carry on having fun for rounds two and three~

The restaurant has that timeworn old-school feel! The whole concept is set in the 1980s, so it was fun just looking around~

Ordering the whole pork belly platter and pork jowl

Here’s the menu at Dongducheon Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal. We ordered the whole pork belly platter and added pork jowl, because the kids love pork jowl.

The basic side dishes were set out, while kimchi, bean sprouts, seasoned chives, and meljeot (fermented anchovy sauce) were arranged on the cast-iron lid~ There was plenty of pork fat for greasing the lid, too.

There was whole pork neck, whole pork belly, and whole pork jowl. You could tell at a glance that the meat was good quality~

Meat and accompaniments cooking together on the cast-iron lid

The staff cut all the meat and arranged it so prettily for us.

Thick pork belly went on all at once with kimchi, bean sprouts, and mushrooms, and it looked mouthwatering before it had even cooked.

As the meat cooked, the kimchi and bean sprouts cooked in the pork belly fat too, and the smell was amazing. The meat was clean-tasting with no off odor, and it was wonderfully juicy—every bite was satisfying.

Being able to try bean sprouts, kimchi, ssam (lettuce wraps), pickled onions, and meljeot in so many combinations made the cast-iron-lid platter really fun.

Soybean paste stew, steamed egg, fried rice, and cold noodles

The soybean paste stew that comes with the cast-iron-lid platter was quite good, too. Its savory broth had plenty of tofu and other ingredients, making it perfect for a spoonful between bites of meat. Meat on its own can get a little rich, but the stew refreshed the palate here and there, so we could keep eating happily.

The steamed egg came out soft and fluffy, and the kids especially loved it. A spoonful of warm steamed egg followed by a bite of pork belly was just the perfect combination.

And the fried rice here is the real deal. The rice arrives already seasoned, and that seasoning is a little spicy but so moreish. We were stuffed after all that meat, but we ordered it thinking, “Let’s just have a taste,” then completely cleared the plate.

Even though we were full, we couldn’t give up cold buckwheat noodles, so we ordered mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth) too. The chilled broth and chewy noodles were really nice. It cleaned up the palate after the meat, making it an ideal final dish.

Topping it with a piece of pork belly confirmed it: meat and cold noodles never fail. The broth was cool without being overly intense, and it tasted like something I’d crave as hangover food the next day, too.

Dongducheon Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal Bupyeong Branch had good meat, but the satisfying basic set made it even better. Even with just one cast-iron-lid platter, you get soybean paste stew and steamed egg, plus kimchi and bean sprouts to grill, for a hearty meal. It was a Bupyeong BBQ restaurant where we left full and happy after a delicious meal.