5pm family dinner Korean BBQ platter in Mokpo Pyeonghwa Square: Simdon

Simdon, a Korean BBQ restaurant near Mokpo's Pyeonghwa Square, and its assorted platter

Today I went out for pork belly again after a while, to a Korean BBQ restaurant called Simdon. It was a meal out for meat, but it wasn't just grilling plain pork belly — it turned into an evening of enjoying several different ingredients on one platter and chatting comfortably. In particular, their signature menu, the assorted platter, lives up to its name by bringing out a variety of meats and side ingredients all at once, and it made a strong first impression.

These days, when I go to a BBQ restaurant, I think not just about the taste of the meat itself, but about how it's served, how comfortable the meal feels, and whether I can focus on conversation with the person I'm with. On that front, today's Simdon had several strengths, along with a few minor drawbacks. Overall, considering today's prices, I thought it was a place worth being reasonably satisfied with.

Lots of variety packed into one handsome platter

Simdon's signature menu is the assorted platter. Pork belly, pork skin, and flower pork collar all come out on one platter together, and having more than one type of meat is this dish's biggest appeal. You can eat some pork belly, try the pork skin, then move on to the flower pork collar, enjoying a different texture and flavor with each cut.

Pork belly gives a familiar, comforting flavor, pork skin has an appealingly chewy texture, and flower pork collar offers yet another kind of meat quality. With such different cuts all together on one platter, the meal never felt monotonous. For anyone who loves meat, there's fun in trying a little of each cut, and it's also great for chatting with your companion about which cut tastes better or has a different texture.

Above all, the way the platter is presented is quite handsome. Rather than just plain meat plopped down, several ingredients come together in a way that looks appetizing the moment it lands on the table. There's a certain anticipation when food arrives at a BBQ restaurant, and today's assorted platter fully lived up to that anticipation.

Side ingredients grilled together with the meat

The assorted platter here doesn't end with just meat. Chives, enoki mushroom, pineapple, minari, bean sprouts, kimchi, and myeoljeot sauce all come out together. I liked that there were so many ingredients to pair with the meat, letting you create various combinations even within one platter.

When you eat a lot of meat, the flavor can get greasy, but eating vegetables like chives or minari alongside it changes the feel in your mouth. Enoki mushroom pairs well when grilled with meat, and bean sprouts and kimchi are a familiar, comfortable combination. Pineapple gives a slightly different feeling from the other ingredients, adding an unusual touch when eaten together with the meat.

With so many ingredients on one platter, the way you eat the meat naturally becomes varied too. Sometimes I ate pork belly with kimchi, sometimes with minari or chives, and sometimes I combined pork skin with other vegetables. The same meat feels different depending on what you pair it with, so there was little chance to get bored while working through the platter.

Grilling meat and vegetables together makes the dining atmosphere a bit richer. As the meat cooks, the side ingredients cook alongside it, and the mingling aromas on the table bring the particular joy of a BBQ restaurant to life. It felt less like just eating meat and more like enjoying the whole platter as one experience.

The pairing of myeoljeot sauce and meat

Myeoljeot sauce comes out with the assorted platter too. The role a sauce plays when eating meat matters more than you'd think, since the same meat can taste completely different dipped in sauce.

Myeoljeot sauce adds a distinctive savory depth when eaten with pork. Paired with a fatty cut like pork belly, it deepens the flavor of the meat, and it works in a different way with pork skin or flower pork collar too.

When eating meat, it's easy to rely only on familiar sauces like salt or ssamjang, but having myeoljeot sauce alongside let me experience a wider range of flavors. It was nice being able to switch things up — enjoying the meat's own flavor first, then adding sauce for variety.

Of course, sauces are a matter of personal taste and can be hit or miss. But for a menu like this, where you're enjoying several cuts of meat on one platter, I thought this kind of sauce suited it quite well. With the meat, side ingredients, and sauce all coming together, the character of the assorted platter really came through.

Staff grilled it for us, so waiting 20 minutes felt comfortable

One of the most memorable parts of today's meal was that the staff grilled the meat themselves. At a BBQ restaurant, grilling the meat takes more attention than you'd think — you have to flip it before it burns, watch how well-done it is, and once you're grilling several cuts at once, the conversation sometimes drops off.

But at Simdon, since the staff grilled the meat for us, we could focus more on the meal and conversation. There was about a 20-minute wait for the meat to cook, but that came with the benefit of a much more relaxed meal.

Even for someone used to grilling their own meat, having someone else do it means less to worry about during the meal. Especially when dining with several people, you don't have to worry about who's going to grill, and you can naturally leave the cooking process to someone else. Today, that let us focus more on talking with each other.

I think satisfaction at a BBQ restaurant comes not just from the taste of the meat but also from this kind of ease. Grilling the meat yourself can be part of the fun, but sometimes it's much more relaxing to have someone else do it. Today leaned toward the latter.

5pm, and the room full of families

I visited today at 5pm. It was a bit early to start dinner, but there were quite a lot of families around. Some had come to eat with young children, others were just there to enjoy a relaxed dinner.

Personally, I liked this atmosphere. You'd expect a BBQ restaurant to be loud and chaotic, but even with so many families in at this hour, it wasn't noisy. The surrounding noise wasn't distracting during the meal, and it was easy to talk with my companion.

Even when the food is delicious, a BBQ restaurant can be hard to enjoy if it's too loud. Especially when catching up with someone you haven't seen in a while, or when a family wants a relaxed meal together, atmosphere matters quite a bit. On that front, today's Simdon gave the impression of a place where you could eat without any pressure.

The 5pm timing probably helped, but the number of families around gave the sense that this is a relatively comfortable place to eat. It seemed well suited to people who'd rather eat quietly and talk than sit in a loud, chaotic setting.

Clean, well-trained service from the part-time staff

Another thing I liked about today's meal was how tidy the part-time staff's service was. The grilling process itself was comfortable, but the overall service was so well-organized that there was almost no inconvenience during the meal.

At a BBQ restaurant, staff have to do a lot at once — grill the meat, check the grill plate, check the side dishes, bring whatever's needed. Today, the staff handled all of this so naturally that, as a guest, it felt quite comfortable.

In particular, I got the sense that the staff were well-trained. They served everything cleanly and took care of whatever was needed, which was impressive. Good service at a BBQ restaurant isn't just about friendly greetings — it's about handling everything a guest needs so they're never inconvenienced during the meal.

I was satisfied on that front today. The staff took care of what was needed without being overbearing, so I felt naturally at ease throughout the meal. That's the kind of thing, separate from the food itself, that makes me want to come back.

The complimentary tall cheese egg custard

Today we also got a complimentary tall cheese egg custard. It's always a welcome sight when egg custard shows up while eating meat. Egg custard with cheese in particular pairs well with meat, adding a savory cheese flavor to the soft egg.

True to its name (gobong means 'heaped high'), the egg custard came piled generously, and it looked appetizing too. Pairing soft egg custard between bites of meat adds a bit more variety to the flow of the meal. Having a dish like this alongside the meat, rather than just eating meat non-stop, changes the feel in your mouth and adds to the enjoyment.

I also liked that it was a free extra. These days, with dining-out prices having risen so much, having a complimentary dish on top of the main menu often boosts satisfaction quite a bit. Today's cheese egg custard was a welcome bonus in that sense.

For anyone eating meat, egg custard is a especially good match. When the rich flavor of the meat lingers, pairing it with soft egg custard makes the meal feel a bit more comfortable. Today, being able to enjoy both the assorted platter and the cheese egg custard was a nice touch.

The filling doenjang sul-bap

After eating meat, you sometimes need a dish to round off the meal. Today I ordered doenjang sul-bap (soybean paste rice), and it turned out to be quite filling.

Rather than ending with just meat, finishing with doenjang sul-bap made the meal feel more complete. It has that distinctive savory doenjang flavor, and with rice mixed in, it was filling enough to work as a meal on its own.

After eating meat, you sometimes crave a rice dish, and doenjang sul-bap fits that moment well. It works whether you eat it alongside the meat or as a way to finish the meal.

After thoroughly enjoying the meat and side ingredients, finishing with doenjang sul-bap made the meal feel well-rounded. Having a dish like this on top of just meat leaves you feeling a bit more full and satisfied.

The portion was a bit disappointing, though

That said, there were a few disappointing parts to today's meal. I thought the portion might feel a bit small for young people with bigger appetites.

The assorted platter had plenty of variety in cuts and side ingredients, so it was fun to eat, but anyone who eats a lot of meat might find the portion a bit lacking. Young people or big eaters in particular might feel that one platter isn't quite enough.

Of course, satisfaction with portion size varies by person. Someone who eats a moderate amount of meat and finishes with rice or another dish might not feel it's lacking at all. But for someone who wants to eat meat as the hearty centerpiece of the meal, it might feel a bit disappointing.

Still, considering today's dining-out prices, I thought it was reasonable overall. With a variety of cuts, a generous set of side ingredients, and staff grilling the meat for you, it's not a place that feels overpriced. Rather than expecting an extremely generous portion, I think it's a good option if you view it as a relaxed meal of enjoying various meats and ingredients together.

A reasonable choice given today's prices

These days, even going out to eat once means thinking about price. Meat dishes like pork belly in particular add up quickly when eating with several people, so overall satisfaction matters just as much as taste.

Today's assorted platter at Simdon had a variety of cuts, plenty of side ingredients, and staff grilling for us, which made the meal comfortable throughout. With the complimentary cheese egg custard and the doenjang sul-bap on top, it was overall a reasonably satisfying meal.

It was a bit disappointing that the portion wasn't very generous, but considering today's prices, I thought it was a reasonable place. It might feel a bit lacking for big eaters, but for anyone who wants to try several cuts, enjoy them with side ingredients, and have a comfortable meal, it's a solid option.

Today's verdict

The biggest appeal of today's visit to Simdon is being able to enjoy a variety of meats and side ingredients on one platter. Pork belly, pork skin, and flower pork collar all come out together, paired with chives, enoki mushroom, pineapple, minari, bean sprouts, kimchi, and myeoljeot sauce, letting me enjoy several different flavors within a single platter.

I also liked that the staff grilled the meat for us. There was about a 20-minute wait for it to cook, but that made the meal comfortable and let me focus on conversation with my companion. Even at 5pm, with plenty of families around, it wasn't noisy, and the staff's service was tidy, making the overall atmosphere relaxed.

The complimentary tall cheese egg custard was a nice bonus, and the doenjang sul-bap rounded off the meal in a filling way. My only disappointment was that the portion might feel a bit small for young, big eaters.

Still, considering today's prices, I think it's a reasonable place overall. Taking into account not just the taste of the meat but the variety of side ingredients, the comfort of having someone else grill for you, and the tidy service, it was a reasonably satisfying meal.

If you want to enjoy several cuts of meat on one platter in a relaxed setting, Simdon's assorted platter is worth trying once. Big eaters might find the portion a little lacking, but for a day when you want to leisurely enjoy various cuts and side ingredients, it makes a good choice.