Korean BBQ buffet tips in Jamsilsaenae, no solo dining: Muhan Paldo

Can you eat alone at Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae?

Solo dining is not allowed at Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae Branch (무한팔도대패 잠실새내점). I double-checked with the restaurant officially. Recruit a fellow pig-loving friend and go.

Every all-you-can-eat place needs a strategy to get the most out of it, so that's what I've put together here. I can't remember the last time I saw value this crazy. Meat buffets at this level exist, but ones with unlimited alcohol on top? Almost never.

How much is unlimited meat and soju for two?

At Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae Branch, the buffet for two plus unlimited soju comes to ₩37,800 + ₩11,800 = ₩49,600. If you want good-value BBQ in the Jamsilsaenae food alley, this is a solid choice.

You get shaved pork belly (daepae samgyeopsal), beef brisket, shaved pork neck, frozen pork belly and more, all unlimited, plus unlimited soju. Totally incomparable. Seriously, ₩49,600 for two with unlimited soju? In the era of ₩5,000 soju, two people drinking just 6 bottles would already be ₩30,000;;;;

Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae prices and rules

• Hours 11:00–24:00, last order 23:00
• Premium Paldo Daepae (per person) ₩18,900
• Ages 4–7 ₩8,900 / ages 8–10 ₩10,900
• Unlimited soju ₩5,900
• Canned drinks ₩2,000, soju/beer ₩3,000
• Cold noodles (broth/spicy) ₩4,000, bomb steamed egg ₩4,000
• Doenjang stew ₩3,000, pot rice ₩2,000
• Time limit: weekdays (Mon–Fri) 120 minutes, weekends/holidays 100 minutes; ₩5,000 per person per extra hour after 2 hours
• ₩5,000 environmental fee per table if you leave food behind

Grab the big tray first and hit the self-bar in one trip

[Big tip] When you walk into Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae Branch, they hand you a tray first. I wondered why, but there are so many side dishes to grab yourself that carrying everything at once on this big tray beats making small trips.

The place is bigger than expected, so the food is a bit of a walk from the tables, but with that tray it doesn't matter at all.

This time I got the premium unlimited shaved pork plus unlimited soju. For that price: shaved pork belly, pork neck, flower pork belly, cold pork belly, Handon (Korean pork) shaved pork, shaved beef brisket, 8 sauces plus a marinated-meat sauce, over 10 kinds of ramyeon, a vegetable self-bar, and fried rice/plain rice, all unlimited!

The restaurant is inside the Jamsilsaenae Station food alley, so it's easy to reach, and the seating is generous, which made it comfortable for a group. The self-bar has a wide range of side dishes and accompaniments you can take as much of as you like, which I loved.

How to get water and unlimited soju

[Big tip] Water is self-serve from the water purifier, but there's also a container with water bottles in the fridges! I assumed there'd be only one kind of soju, but they had every kind I wanted, so unlimited soju is a real draw.

If you enjoy meat and booze together, this setup slashes the cost, so I recommend it for company dinners or get-togethers with friends. You don't have to keep ordering to match your drinking pace, you just fetch more, which is another plus.

Which meats are worth refilling at Muhan Paldo Daepae?

The meats at Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae Branch go beyond shaved pork belly: beef brisket, shaved pork neck, frozen pork belly and more. It didn't feel like eating one thing over and over; rotating cuts on the grill was fun. The thin shaved cuts cook fast, so turnover is quick and mixing and matching is easy.

[Big tip] I tried everything, but it feels like you only need to repeat shaved pork belly, flower pork belly shaved cut, and frozen pork belly. And don't pick meat up with tongs. Scoop it straight into your bowl and dump it all at once. That's the right way.

Which of the regional Paldo sauces tasted best?

The sauce selection at Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae Branch is pretty varied. The signature soy sauce and perilla oil soy sauce were similar in style. Jeju meljeot (salted anchovy) sauce, Daegu makchang (grilled intestine) sauce and Busan mustard sauce suited my taste.

Unlimited rice, ramyeon and bread: which ramyeon is there?

At Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae Branch, rice, ramyeon and even bread are unlimited. The ramyeon is especially good, all major brands and tasty ones. Places like this often stock cheap ramyeon you've never even heard of.

Grilling order to eat more within the time limit

[Tip] Before you go load up on side dishes, put the shaved pork belly on the grill over low heat and then leave. That way you can eat right when you come back, and you eat more within the time limit.

The shaved pork belly is thin but has plenty of savory flavor. Instead of the Handon ones, I recommend picking the ones labeled shaved pork belly where the fat-to-lean ratio looks about 1:1.

There's tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) too~

Besides meat, you can pair lots of side dishes from the self-bar, so people who like ssam (wraps) or vegetable combos will be happy. Freely combining things was fun and I never got tired of it until the end.

Among the sides, I'd go for bracken (gosari) and mushrooms. Tofu and mushrooms in ramyeon are amazing!

It's starting to look like a proper drinking table. I tried all the meats, and Handon shaved pork and beef brisket crumble a bit, so I recommend using those for fried rice.

Bracken soaked in pork fat has a taste, texture and aroma that beat most pork belly.

Roll the flower-cut shaved pork belly like a wrap

After trying this and that, the base meat I settled on at Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae Branch was simply the slightly thicker frozen pork belly.

This cut labeled flower pork belly shaved cut is the kind of cut that at the notoriously pricey Seocho Galbi they'll give you only a few slices of and charge ₩100,000.

[Big tip] Flower pork belly shaved cut is thin and rolled up, so after grilling it well, use the meat itself like a wrap and fold rice or other items in. Delicious.

By the time I took these photos I'd probably eaten about 800g per person. That's already ₩100,000 worth at other BBQ places haha. We live in a world where 150g of shaved pork is ₩10,000...

But I can't stop. I haven't even had carbs yet.

Like I said, roll the flower pork belly like a wrap, and wrapping bracken in it is the best. Wow haha, it never ends.

[Big tip] When something starts to stick and burn on the grill now and then, sweep it off with a lettuce leaf like a scraper.

How to crisp ramyeon and fried rice in pork fat

Now for carbs. Since I was going to stir-fry it anyway, I boiled the ramyeon roughly, but [Tip] at this point you actually want some broth. Boil it properly and bring the seaweed separately T_T

Once you've brought the noodles, grill the pork belly extra crisp in advance.

Cooking it crisp almost like a cracker is best because it adds more umami.

[Big tip] You need to fry the noodles in fat, so spoon the pork fat that has already drained down back up onto the grill and fry them crisp. Do calories matter? You're at an all-you-can-eat place. Of course 'taste' matters.

The noodles turn chewy with a crispy texture, and that's just right.

Apply the same to fried rice. In the photo I committed the atrocity of putting meat and rice in together, but someone with no taste buds brought it over, so it couldn't be helped. Remember: grill the meat crisp, then fry the carbs on the fat-coated spot.

Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae: final verdict

Overall, Muhan Paldo Daepae Jamsilsaenae Branch was a great-value BBQ place where you can enjoy a variety of unlimited meats and unlimited soju too. Truly a legendary spot. I got so much out of it that I felt sorry for the owner.

I recommend it in Jamsilsaenae for company dinners, drinking get-togethers, or days when you just want to eat meat to your heart's content.