Seongdong Korean BBQ with skirt meat and free refills: Pujutgan

I think this was my first visit in nearly five years. I used to think Wangsimni itself did not have much going on, but I came back after a long time—and would you believe there are quite a few great places tucked into the Haengdang-dong alleys?

So I looked up a Haengdang-dong favorite and visited Pujutgan Saenggogi-jeom, where ordering cauldron-lid pork belly gets you unlimited cold noodles and stew!!

Where is Pujutgan Saenggogi-jeom?

Wangsimni is a major transfer station, so you need to make sure you take the right exit. This spot is in the food alley about a 5–7 minute walk from Exit 10 of Wangsimni Station; head a little farther into the alley and you will find it.

There were plenty of reserved tables farther inside, and when I had a 7 p.m. reservation on a weekday, the place was full. That told me it is a pretty popular restaurant. There were especially lots of families dining there.

The table was already set with an impressive spread of banchan (Korean side dishes): whole-leaf kimchi, garlic, seasoned lettuce, wrap vegetables, myeongi-namul (pickled wild garlic leaves), salt dip, ssamjang (savory soybean dipping paste), potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and pickled radish sheets for wraps.

A menu with both beef and pork

One advantage of Pujutgan Saenggogi-jeom in Haengdang-dong is that you can enjoy both beef and pork. Personally, I am more of a pork person than a fan of tender beef, so I ordered a good variety of pork.

• Pork belly
• Pork neck
• Pork skirt meat

That made three cuts in total. When you order meat, onions and potatoes to grill alongside it come out too. I really love potatoes, so I was very happy about that.

One reason it is known as a Haengdang-dong favorite is that when you order meat, they put a whole head of kimchi on the grill like this. It is a lot of whole-leaf kimchi for two people, but I absolutely love grilled kimchi this way. And they grill all the meat for you, too.

So while you watch the meat cook and chat away with your group, delicious meat gets served up!! Isn’t that just the best? Haha. With this much convenience at this price, how could I not come here?!

Before long, we had nicely browned pork belly, pork neck, pork skirt meat, grilled kimchi, onions, mushrooms, and potatoes—such a great variety. The one most disappointing thing here is that there is no steamed egg. Sob, sob, why is my soul food missing?

Still, you can fully get that rustic rural-stay feeling of grilling meat on a sizzling cauldron lid right here in Haengdang-dong. I guess I should have brought my mom-pee pants, haha?

We kept chatting as we ate, watching the meat turn such a delicious color. Try it simply dipped in salt, with a beautifully grilled potato, or wrapped in greens, and this place is definitely paradise.

How do the unlimited noodle and stew refills work?

And it does not matter whether you have pork belly, pork neck, pork skirt meat, or even beef at this Haengdang-dong spot. When you order meat, the noodles and stew come with unlimited refills.

• Mul-naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles in broth) or bibim-naengmyeon (spicy mixed cold noodles)
• Doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) or kimchi-jjigae (kimchi stew)

You can choose from these, and they will refill them once you finish. I chose mul-naengmyeon and doenjang-jjigae. The doenjang-jjigae had large chunks of tofu in it too, so I do not think two people would need a refill anyway, haha.

Final thoughts

The location was great too, since it is not far from Wangsimni Station. There are lots of outdoor drinking spots nearby, so it is easy to head out for a second round. I cannot let go of that cauldron-lid rural-stay vibe~~

The meat was clean-tasting and delicious, but the real kicker was the unlimited noodle and stew refills. Honestly, the two of us could not eat that much, but I think it would be even better value with about four people.