Jayang Market Korean BBQ: three beef cuts then pork belly, Ssamchae

Senior colleagues kept telling me to eat lots of grilled meat before giving birth, so lately pork belly restaurants have been on my mind nonstop. That's how I ended up at this Jayang-dong Korean BBQ restaurant, Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal!

An early Sunday evening at Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal in Jayang-dong

I went with family on a Sunday. Wanting to eat at a relaxed pace, I arrived earlier than usual dinner hour, and there were plenty of open tables.

A clean wall with a sign hanging on it. Maybe they'll expand to more locations soon?

The menu at Ssamchae, and why the order you eat in matters

There were set menus and a huge variety of meat cuts. Even the side dishes and noodle options were extensive. Since pork uses the iron lid and beef uses the charcoal brazier, it's worth planning your order sequence a bit.

Side dishes and the self-serve wrap-greens bar

The side dishes that come out by default on the table: wild garlic leaves, onion salad, white kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi, gooseneck barnacle seaweed, and more.

Wraps and basic side dishes are available at the self-serve bar, along with sauces like curry powder and soybean powder. A generously stacked pile of wrap greens waiting there.

Loading up on a good variety of wraps in advance to get ready to eat.

First round: chuck flap, flat iron and short rib over charcoal

We started by ordering beef first. A little of each — skirt steak, flat iron, and short rib — to try one by one! None of us had seen skirt steak come out as a whole cut like that before, so the whole family was impressed.

Since it's beef, it's grilled on the charcoal brazier. Cooked through, dipped once in salt, and also wrapped up in greens! I love onion and garlic, so no matter the combo, I always add onion and garlic to my wraps.

Iron-lid pork belly, grilled for you by the staff

Next up was the main event: pork belly.

Once we switched to pork belly, they changed the griddle to an iron lid. Thanks to the curve of the cast-iron lid, the fat drips down to the edges so the meat almost fries as it cooks, and the fat seeps into the side dishes underneath — such a great effect.

The thick iron lid itself also has that old-fashioned countryside feel, which makes it more charming and comfortable somehow. Personally I like the iron lid because it doesn't burn as easily. A regular griddle sticks and burns quickly if you're not careful, but the iron lid is definitely more forgiving.

Interestingly, we grilled the beef ourselves, but for the pork, a staff member cooked it piece by piece for us. Bracken fern, kimchi, and bean sprouts sizzling away in the fat alongside it — I love that so much.

Pork belly really is the ultimate truth... There's a reason it's called iron-lid pork belly. And who on earth invented grilling bracken fern? Haha, the combination of meat and nutty bracken is just too good.

Finishing with cold mul-naengmyeon and kimchi noodle soup

And to finish, we ordered noodles too. My whole family loves noodles, so we always have to try the cold noodles somewhere — and this place earned my approval. Sometimes a BBQ restaurant's cold noodles are genuinely disappointing, but here the broth and the chili paste combo worked really well!

And since we couldn't just eat cold noodles alone, we tried the kimchi noodle soup too. The broth felt similar to the cold noodles, but the kimchi was very sweet and spicy, giving it a bolder flavor.

Strangely, no matter how full I am from pork belly, cool noodles always slip right in — such a charm.

Beef or pork belly? How to order at Ssamchae next time

I was satisfied that Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal offers such a variety of meats that we could enjoy beef and pork belly in sequence. But if I come back, I think I'll focus mostly on pork belly. Personally, the pork belly was far tastier than the beef.

• The side dish spread is substantial enough that you never get tired of just eating meat
• Plenty of wrap greens are stocked at the self-serve bar, so you can refill without having to order more
• The noodle dishes are surprisingly good for a BBQ restaurant, which is a big plus for our noodle-loving family haha

Now I'm curious how jjapaghetti would pair with pork belly next time... If you're near Jayang Market looking for a spot for a family gathering or a long-overdue meat outing, this place is worth recommending.