Wonju makchang restaurant birthday dinner with scallops: Yeon Makchang

I had a birthday coming up and was trying to figure out where to celebrate — my friends said they were craving meat. Where would be good enough that people would talk about it?! So I went to Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch, newly opened in Dangye-dong, Wonju!

There are honestly tons of BBQ places in Dangye-dong, but finding one with really good makchang (pork intestine) is surprisingly hard, right?! Since this one was new, I was curious and went to check it out — and to cut to the chase, I've already put it at the top of my list for best pork makchang in Dangye-dong, I swear~~~~!

How long is the wait at Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch?

Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch had several signs posted at the entrance, and you could register on Catch Table when there was a wait. When I went, I got seated right away, but it even showed the estimated wait time, which seems really convenient during busy hours.

The inside was bigger than I expected, with lots of tables. There were quite a few customers when I visited, but the spacing between tables wasn't cramped at all, so it was fine even for a group visit.

What we ordered: par-grilled makchang and premium makchang

The Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch menu had a good variety — par-grilled makchang, par-grilled premium makchang, Korean pork cold samgyeopsal, fire chicken feet, and more.

We ordered the par-grilled makchang and the premium makchang!

The menu said the makchang is aged at low temperature in lotus leaves, and maybe that's why, but when I actually ate it, I barely noticed any gamey smell.

Before the makchang came out, they set up the basic side dishes, and there were quite a lot of things to pair with it. There was bean sprout soup too, plus pickled onions, sauces, chili, garlic, and perilla leaves, so it was fun to mix up combinations while eating the makchang haha

Do the staff grill the makchang for you?

The par-grilled makchang at Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch comes already partially cooked from the start, so you just put it on the grill and finish it off until golden brown.

While we were waiting, a staff member came over and grilled it for us directly!

I was curious whether they always grill it for you, so I asked — and they said that when the restaurant isn't too busy and they have some slack, they come by periodically to grill it for you.

It wasn't just grilling either — they also explained how to eat it for the best taste, which I really liked.

Does the pork makchang have a gamey smell?

The most important thing, the taste of the makchang, was great because there was hardly any gamey smell. Everyone in our group said it was delicious too — the outside was golden brown while the inside was chewy and savory, and I kept reaching for more.

Some people can't eat pork makchang because of its distinctive smell, but here there was none of that, so it was easy to eat. In my opinion, this might be the number one pork makchang spot in Dangye-dong, Wonju, seriously ㅠ

Adding scallops: the combo to grill with makchang

I saw a recommendation on the menu board and added scallops too! It said to try scallops together with makchang, so I ordered it right away — and this combo was seriously amazing ㅠㅠ

Eating the chewy, savory makchang together with the soft scallops felt like a completely different experience.

I immediately understood why it's the recommended combo lol. If you like scallops, definitely order them together!!

Self-serve bar, sauces and restrooms at Yeon Makchang

Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch has a separate self-serve bar, so you can take as much lettuce, perilla leaves, water dropwort, cheongyang chili, garlic, onion, kimchi, and so on as you want. If you run low while eating, you can just go grab more, so it's convenient, and with so many ingredients to pair with the makchang, I never got tired of it till the end.

And this sauce container! You can take as much sauce as you like, but there was a note attached saying to always shake it before use. It felt like they'd thought ahead about the sauce settling or clumping, which struck me as a thoughtful little detail. It might seem minor, but stuff like this actually makes a difference when you're using it, right?

And the restroom, which is honestly a bit of a big deal when you go to a BBQ place! The restroom was inside the restaurant and separated by gender. When I visited, the inside was kept clean too, which I liked.

Is Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch worth it for a group dinner?

I was curious about Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch since it was newly opened, and the makchang had almost no gamey smell, was chewy and savory, and the scallop combo was fantastic too. The staff grilled it for us when they had time and even told us how to eat it for the best taste, and with such a varied self-serve bar, the whole meal felt comfortable. Everyone in our group said it was delicious, so I think I'll be back whenever I'm craving makchang!!

There's a review event going on too! I never got to use my 10% birthday discount coupon, so I guess I'll have to go back and use it this time! hahaha

On my way out after paying, I spotted a slushie machine, and getting to have a cool slushie while pleasantly tipsy was such a treat. If you're looking for good pork makchang in Dangye-dong, Wonju, I recommend Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch~~~!

A pork makchang restaurant in Wonju: Yeon Makchang Dangye Branch