Korean BBQ in Ruwon City, Incheon: owner's eating order, Heukdwaeji

What is Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul in Ruwon City, Incheon?

Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul (흑돼지형제들) is a Jirisan black pork BBQ spot in Ruwon City, Gajeong, Incheon. The owner is sooo proud of his food, seriously! You might think pork is pork, but one bite and you get humble real fast, haha.

They gather only top-grade ingredients and even make every sauce in the shop, so my tongue reacted the moment I ate ^^

• Location: 15 Yeomgok-ro 464beon-gil, Seo-gu, Incheon (421 m from Gajeong Station Exit 4)
• Hours: 16:30–24:00 (open every day / Sat–Sun 12:00–24:00)
• Parking: Three M Tower parking lot (free for 3 hours)

Parking and seating at Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul

You can park free for 3 hours inside Three M Tower, where the restaurant is~

We went around 4 p.m., so there was plenty of parking space, haha

The inside is spacious and clean, and there are separate private rooms, so it's perfect for gatherings or company dinners!

Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul menu and prices

Black pork cuts

• Aged Jirisan black pork Yukbaek-i set (aged pork neck + pork belly, 3 servings) ₩62,000
• Super thick aged black pork neck (400g) ₩42,000
• 7-day aged black pork belly (200g) ₩22,000
• 7-day aged black pork jowl (170g) ₩22,000
• Raw black pork skin (150g) ₩9,000

Meals and sides

• Gochujang stew (고추장찌개) packed with fresh black pork ₩9,000
• [Gentle and hearty] doenjang sul-bap (된장술밥, soybean paste rice) ₩6,000
• Slurpy briquette ramyeon ₩5,000
• Bomb steamed egg ₩4,000

Cold noodles and muksabal (acorn jelly soup)

• [Cool and clean] muksabal (묵사발, acorn jelly soup) ₩8,000
• [Sweet and tangy sauce] bibim muksabal ₩9,000
• Bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles) with homemade sauce ₩9,000
• Homemade mul naengmyeon (cold noodle soup) ₩8,000

What ingredients does Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul use?

They say Heukdwaeji picks every ingredient one by one: domestic Jirisan black pork, Shinan sea salt, house doenjang ssamjang, and meljeot (anchovy dipping sauce) from Yeonggwang large anchovies. I heard the place was originally famous for black pork in Paju~ With prices so high these days, sticking to good domestic ingredients can't be easy, but they say the owner makes everything himself in the shop, from the banchan (side dishes) to the sauces, with nothing artificial~

• Pork: domestic Jirisan black pork
• Salt: Shinan sea salt with bittern drained for 5+ years
• Ssamjang: made with house doenjang aged 4+ years
• Rice: Suhyangmi from Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang
• Meljeot: large anchovies from Yeonggwang, Jeolla

You can check all of this through the friendly owner's explanation and the screen in the shop^^ The more I listened to him, the higher my expectations got, haha

Do staff grill the Yukbaek-i set for you?

The Yukbaek-i set is Heukdwaeji's signature, and staff grill it over briquettes for you. We ordered the Yukbaek-i set (3 servings, aged black pork neck + belly)~ It's Jirisan black pork aged 7 days at low temperature, and it comes as 600g for 3 people, so is that why it's called Yukbaek-i (600)? Haha

They show you the meat first, then grill it right there over a briquette fire full of smoky aroma~

Since they grill it where you can see, you eat with your eyes too ^^

When they're not busy, they kindly explain how to eat it and the menu~ They say no place has pork neck as thick as Heukdwaeji. So the chew must be amazing, right? First they put the thick meat on strong briquette heat and sear the outside crisp to lock in the juices~

They cook it evenly through to the middle over the briquettes, so all we have to do is eat, which couldn't be better~ When moms go to BBQ places, they're busy grilling and feeding the kids, so this is such a relief ^^

The owner's recommended order for eating black pork

The owner's recommended order is simmering the meljeot, sea salt, shiitake sauce, then the reduced meljeot. Grabbing and eating it any which way is tasty too, but to enjoy this pork 200%, the "eating order" the owner taught us matters.

1. Simmer the meljeot (salted anchovy sauce)

Put the homemade Yeonggwang anchovy meljeot over the fire and keep simmering it down until rich~

Meljeot has to be simmered properly to get pleasantly salty with a deep anchovy flavor~

Try the foil-wrapped mushrooms once they're fully cooked later~ The juice runs out and they're so chewy. Even the mushrooms are good here, haha

2. First bite with Shinan sea salt

Just dab it lightly in the Shinan sea salt (bittern drained 5+ years) to get the black pork's deep flavor and juices as they are~

Try the pork neck and the belly and you'll see: you can't tell if it's pork, beef or mushroom, it's so springy and chewy, you just marvel~ haha

3. The secret shiitake mushroom sauce

Dip it in the owner's special secret sauce for a whole different savory depth~

The owner said it's the most expensive sauce, a mushroom sauce loaded with shiitake, and oh my, what is this taste?

Store-bought sauce can't imitate this~ Please really try the shiitake sauce~ It's pleasantly salty, the mushrooms are chewy, and the umami explodes, a perfect match for pork!

4. Meljeot, the cheat code

Finally, dunk it deeeeep into the nicely reduced meljeot

Dunk it deeeeep into the meljeot properly reduced over the briquettes and the pork just melts in your mouth, ugh

How are the side dishes at Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul?

The sides here are a real bargain, like the ₩9,000 gochujang stew and the ₩4,000 bomb steamed egg. We finished with the pork-packed gochujang stew.

The gochujang stew should be renamed "pork bomb gochujang stew," and the bomb steamed egg was also fluffy and soft~ They say it's not watered down, and each steamed egg uses 4 jumbo eggs ^^

Verdict: Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul, a Gajeong pork belly favorite

Everyone's taste buds are the same, aren't they? ^^

Whenever I go to a popular place I feel it: people's tastes are so similar that famous places always have a reason ^^ The chewy, springy, nutty Jirisan black pork texture that wraps your tongue, plus the owner's inimitable homemade sauces, make a taste that's hard to find elsewhere~

Parking is easy and public transit access is good, so I highly recommend it to anyone looking for BBQ in Gajeong, Incheon or Ruwon City~! A top-tier BBQ place where you never once think about whether it was worth the money ^^