Hapjeong Korean BBQ dinner with spicy ribs: Champpoppo

I visited Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch, which opened near Hapjeong Station about a month ago. It feels like lots of new restaurants have been popping up around Hapjeong Station lately, so my husband and I went for a date in a lively area for the first time in a while. Maybe because the weather has gotten nicely cool, every restaurant in the nearby alleys was quite full; having dinner somewhere bustling like this again somehow made it feel like a real date. Champpoppo Jjokgalbi is along the cherry-blossom street when you walk from Exit 5 of Hapjeong Station.

Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch: basic information

• Address: 77 Yanghwa-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울 마포구 양화로6길 77 1층)
• Hours: Mon–Thu 17:00–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Hours: Fri–Sun 17:00–01:00 the following day (last order 00:00)
• Parking: Not available

Inside, there was a menu board on the wall along with a little “Ppo Jjok newsletter,” and those small touches were fun.

The dining room was not huge, but it mainly had round tables and enough of them that it looked suitable for a group meal or work dinner. Since it is newly opened, it was also quite neat. We had a 5 p.m. reservation, so we walked straight in without waiting. But once we had started eating, people began lining up from around 5:30 p.m. If you are visiting at dinnertime, arriving a little early or making a reservation seems like a good idea.

One thing that personally stood out to me was seeing the staff use polite speech with one another. It is lovely when staff are kind to customers, of course, but it was nice to see an atmosphere where they seemed to respect each other too.

A starter spread that was nice while we waited

As soon as we sat down, they set out the starter spread: potatoes, pork skin, samgye juk (chicken ginseng porridge), salad, pickled onions, pickles, white kimchi, and three sauces. I liked that there were plenty of things to nibble on before the pork ribs.

At Champpoppo Jjokgalbi, the ribs are first partially cooked in an oven in the kitchen, then finished over charcoal at the table, so the main dish does not appear the instant you order. That means there is a short wait while the ribs are par-cooked, and I thought it was thoughtful that they provided chicken porridge, potatoes, and pork skin to eat first. Rather than simply waiting for the main dish, we could snack a little, so the wait did not feel as long as I expected.

The Tear Gas Set for 2–3, shared by two

My husband and I ordered the Tear Gas Set that day. It is designed for two to three people, and after trying it, I found it quite filling for two. If two people add lots of other dishes as well, it could be too much. On the other hand, if three people visit, adding one side or rice/noodle dish would probably work nicely. The dishes included in the set were more substantial than I expected, so it was not lacking at all for two people.

Pork ribs with soy sauce and seriously spicy seasoning

We ordered two portions of soy-sauce ribs and one portion of seriously spicy ribs. Once the par-cooked ribs arrived, we put them over the charcoal at our table to finish cooking them. Watching the ribs slowly cook over the fire made my appetite shoot right up. In particular, the charcoal aroma made them definitely taste even better than they would otherwise.

The soy-sauce flavor is the standard one, so they recommended grilling and eating that first. Its savory-sweet seasoning went well with the ribs, and it was an easy flavor to start with. The seriously spicy flavor we tried next was, true to its name, quite hot. Personally, though, it reminded me of the tear-inducing spicy chicken skewers I ate as a student, which was fun. I feel like it had been a long time since I had tasted this kind of heat; it left my mouth tingling but kept making me reach for more.

Alternating between the soy-sauce and spicy ribs kept the flavors from becoming boring. Personally, I would recommend ordering a mix rather than sticking to just one flavor. Above all, because the ribs were attached to the bone, it was fun to pick them up and gnaw on them with our hands. As my husband and I chatted and grilled them one by one, we had eaten quite a lot before we knew it.

Tear Gas rice balls with spicy cartilage

We also tried the Tear Gas rice balls that came with the set. They contain spicy odolppyeo (crunchy pork cartilage), so the rice balls themselves have a spicy kick. Having them with the ribs was nice because we could break up all that meat with some rice. If you like spicy food, they are a good dish to have alongside the ribs.

Spicy soft-tofu ramyeon that we finished despite being full

My unexpected discovery that day was the spicy soft-tofu ramyeon. We were already very full from the ribs and the Tear Gas Set, so even after adding the soft-tofu ramyeon, I initially thought, “I really should only have one bite of this.” But when I tried it, it was so deliciously spicy and warming. In the end, we left without a single bite of the ramyeon. It was the kind of flavor that kept drawing me in even though I was full.

It would pair well with the ribs whenever you start craving a spicy, warming broth, so if I visit again, I think I will order the soft-tofu ramyeon again. Personally, it is a dish I really want to recommend trying at Champpoppo Jjokgalbi.

Next time, Ppoppo cream pasta too

While paying, I happened to see Ppoppo cream pasta being served at another table. It was not something we ordered, so I did not get to taste it myself, but it looked like it had a thicker cream sauce than expected and came with bread too. The combination of cream pasta at a pork-rib restaurant also felt a little unusual. Champpoppo Jjokgalbi seems to have pasta set menus as well, so if I visit again, I would like to try the pasta dishes we missed this time. I am curious what ribs and pasta together would be like.

If you are looking for pork ribs for dinner near Hapjeong Station

Overall, Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch was fun because we could grill the ribs over charcoal, and the set had a good selection and satisfying portions. I also liked that we could eat dishes such as chicken porridge and pork skin while waiting for the ribs, so the wait did not feel particularly long. My husband and I shared the Tear Gas Set as two people, and with the other dishes, we became very full.

The most memorable unexpected dish of the day was the spicy soft-tofu ramyeon. I was so full at first that I planned to have just one bite, but it was delicious enough that we finished it all. Above all, we could eat right away with our 5 p.m. reservation, but people started lining up from around 5:30 p.m., so it seems to get quite busy at dinnertime. If you are looking for good pork ribs or a dinner spot around Hapjeong Station, it is worth a visit. Next time, I would also like to try the Ppoppo cream pasta and the other pasta dishes we missed.