Pangyo pork belly with minari and wasabi pairings: Dwaeji Mansion

It had been a while since my sister and I went out to eat, just the two of us. She's about to give birth soon, so I figured she wouldn't be able to hit up a barbecue place for a while — so this time we went to Dwaeji Mansion, a Pangyo Avenue France restaurant known for proper grilled meat. 😎

I pass through Pangyo often and had walked by Dwaeji Mansion at Avenue France many times, just glancing at it, but this was actually my first time going in. In the end, it wasn't just about the meat — the staff taught us so many different ways to eat it that the whole meal turned out to be pretty fun.

First visit to Dwaeji Mansion in Pangyo: side dishes and kiosk ordering

At Dwaeji Mansion Pangyo Avenue France Branch, as soon as you sit down, a variety of side dishes made to go with meat are set out. From white kimchi to green onion salad to pickled wood ear mushroom and wasabi, tasting each one slowly got my appetite going even before the meat arrived.

Ordering was convenient since it's done right at the table via kiosk. We ordered pork belly and kimchi jjigae (spicy kimchi stew) first, then tasted the side dishes while waiting for the meat.

Staff grill the pork belly for you at Dwaeji Mansion

Dwaeji Mansion's pork belly came out together with green onion, minari, mushrooms, garlic, and more. But what I liked most was that a staff member grilled the meat for us directly!

They didn't just grill the meat — before we even asked, they explained each ingredient that came with it and told us exactly which combinations tasted best. Following their instructions, I felt like the character for 'delicious' was practically writing itself in my head, haha. There was definitely more fun in mixing and matching than just eating plain pork belly.

Pairing it with herring roe was delicious, and wrapping well-grilled green onion around the pork belly and dipping it in sauce was also a favorite combo of mine. They also showed us how to add wasabi and ginger to the pork belly, and once I tried it their way, the flavor kept changing bite after bite, so I never got tired of it.

The minari pairing that won over a minari hater 👀

Personally, the funniest moment of the day was something else entirely. My sister, who normally never touches minari, tried the pork belly and minari combo at Dwaeji Mansion, and her eyes went wide — she ended up finishing the whole thing, haha.

It was pretty amazing that it made her reach for an ingredient she usually avoids. As I tried the combos the staff recommended one by one, I found the meal a lot more entertaining than just grilling meat plain.

The pickled wood ear mushroom and white kimchi were also nice to snack on in between. When pork belly starts to feel greasy after a while, picking up one of these felt like it reset my palate.

Is the kimchi jjigae at Dwaeji Mansion worth ordering?

And then the kimchi jjigae we ordered alongside the pork belly! One spoonful in, and I immediately let out a satisfied 'ahh, so refreshing' — it was properly sour and spicy. I was personally glad we ordered it with the meat; skipping it would have been a bit of a regret.

A bite of pork belly followed by a spoonful of kimchi jjigae was a great combo, so if you want a full meal alongside the meat, ordering it together is a good idea.

A small detail: clean tables and tidy grills

Beyond the taste, there was one more thing I personally liked. At a lot of barbecue places, the container holding the tongs and scissors just sits out on the table, but at Dwaeji Mansion, these tools were tucked away inside, so the table looked much cleaner.

It might be a really minor detail, but not having a cluttered tabletop throughout the meal was something I appreciated quite a bit.

Final verdict on Dwaeji Mansion, Pangyo Avenue France 😉

Dwaeji Mansion, our Pangyo pork belly spot, made for an easy meal thanks to staff who grilled the meat kindly and explained everything from the ingredients to the tastiest combinations. What stuck with me most was how many different ways you could enjoy pork belly — herring roe, grilled green onion, wasabi with ginger, minari, and more.

Above all, seeing my sister — who normally doesn't eat minari — enjoy it so much made me feel weirdly proud, haha. It had been a while since the two of us went out to eat together, and seeing how satisfied she was made me glad I suggested Dwaeji Mansion. If you're looking for a staff-grilled barbecue spot at Pangyo Avenue France or want to try pork belly in a variety of combinations, this place is worth checking out :)