After-work pork belly, Seomyeon Station: wild garlic & pig rice, Don J

I heard there was a great pork BBQ place near Seomyeon Station, so I headed straight to Don J Busan Seomyeon (돈제이 부산서면점) after work.

Where is Don J Busan Seomyeon, and what are its hours?

Don J Busan Seomyeon is at 52 Gaya-daero 784beon-gil, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea, on the 1st floor. It's open 17:00 to 01:00, with last order at 23:30. It's a well-known BBQ spot near Lotte Department Store in Seomyeon.

Here's the outside of Don J.

Is Don J Seomyeon good for a work dinner?

The place is really big, so it looked great for a company dinner (hoesik). I went late on a weekday and there were still quite a few customers inside, so it really felt like a popular spot.

Don J menu: what we ordered

The menu had a neck-and-pork-belly set, so that's what I ordered! There's also a really wide range of side dishes, so you can pick whatever you like.

Pork grilled on a pot lid, yum yum!

This is what I ordered!

What are the Don J side dishes like? Pickled wild garlic and more

The basic table setting comes with a generous spread of side dishes, which I love. I especially remember the myeongi-namul (pickled wild greens) being perfect for my taste.

The wrapping vegetables were super, super fresh too.

If you order a cola, they bring a cup of ice with it. Such a thoughtful touch, right~~?

Pork neck and belly set, plus pig rice (₩2,000)

The neck and pork belly set!!! Just look at it, the meat quality looks amazing, right~~?

The thick, appetizing meat goes straight onto the grill!!

Unusually, Don J serves pig rice (dwaeji-bap, ₩2,000) instead of plain steamed rice, with rice, seaweed and seasoned sauce all together, so it's even more filling and tasty. Mix the rice into the homemade sauce, wrap it in seaweed and dip it in soy sauce. It's seriously good!! It was so good that we ordered one more bowl of pig rice, haha.

The kimchi stew looks insanely good too.. 😭 We'll boil it up and eat it.

Does Don J grill the meat for you?

At Don J Busan Seomyeon, the staff grill all the meat for you, so you can just relax and eat.

Meat, bean sprouts, kimchi, even bracken, all of it goes on to sizzle!

The staff member's grilling skills are great too. Please grill it up deliciously for us!

All the meat cooked through, a mouth-watering sight..😭😭🤤 They recommended the best ways to eat it too, and we followed them exactly, haha.

Best ways to eat Don J pork belly: salt, or breadcrumbs with tonkatsu sauce

Don J pork belly is delicious just dipped in plain salt,

but the most unusual thing at Don J was the breadcrumbs and tonkatsu sauce combo!!! You dip the meat in breadcrumbs and the special sauce, and it tastes just like eating a pork cutlet. It was so novel and special, and since I'd never tried that combo before, it really left an impression.

The kimchi stew is the kind packed with pork, which was right up my alley. I also loved that you can grill potatoes and try all sorts of things.

As you finish up and head out, add them as a friend (on the messenger app) for the event and you'll get free ice cream, so don't forget!

Why I want to go back to Don J Busan Seomyeon

What I liked most at Don J Busan Seomyeon was how incredibly kind the staff member who looked after us was. It was the best restaurant service I've ever had, and it really stuck with me! I'd want to visit again just because of this person. The meat was great too, so I plan to go back soon!