Bucheon pork belly BBQ grilled for you, Starbucks parking: Cham

Hi, this is Mangom.

I had a date planned in Bucheon and was trying to figure out what to eat. I found out there was a pork belly place where the staff grill everything for you, so I decided to check it out.

What kind of Korean BBQ restaurant is Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch?

The place we visited was Cham Dwaejitgan. They grill the meat over rice-husk-smoked charcoal. I wondered what rice husk even was — turns out it's the outer shell of rice grains. Apparently using it alongside the meat while grilling gives off a distinctive nutty aroma and charcoal fragrance that soaks into the meat, taking the flavor up a notch!

Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch Address: 68 Jungdong-ro 262beon-gil, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 1st floor Hours: Mon–Sun 00:00–24:00 (break time 08:00–11:30) Parking: Not available

Where do you park at Cham Dwaejitgan in Bucheon?

Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch doesn't have its own parking lot. We drove that day and were told parking wasn't available, so we parked at a nearby Starbucks instead. And well, coffee after a meal is a must anyway haha. Since buying a drink at Starbucks gets you an hour free, it worked out to kill two birds with one stone.

Dining room size, seating and the meat-aging fridge

I figured the place wouldn't be small going in, but when I actually saw it, I was like, whoa, whoa. It was a genuinely massive restaurant. Seating comes in 4-person and 8-person tables, so it's great for group visits too. And even though I didn't get a photo, you could see the meat aging right there in the restaurant, which made it feel more trustworthy to eat.

When we sat down, the charcoal and rice husk were already set up on the grill. I'd been curious about the rice husk, and getting to see it pre-set on the grill before it was cooked made the whole experience even better.

The self-serve bar and what we ordered

Once we settled in, we spotted the self-serve bar and headed over. It had wrap vegetables, cabbage salad, bean sprouts, baechu kimchi (napa cabbage kimchi), garlic scapes, ssamjang (soybean paste dip), garlic, and more.

What we ordered Black pork ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly), 1 serving: ₩19,000 Boseong Nokdon samgyeopsal (pork belly), 2 servings: ₩32,000 Rice (gongginbap): ₩1,000 Cider, 2 cans: ₩4,000

We ordered one serving of black pork ogyeopsal, two servings of Boseong Nokdon samgyeopsal, rice, and cider.

Interestingly, Cham Dwaejitgan wraps the meat in thin potato slices. Would potato wraps actually taste good?? I suddenly got really curious, and it made me want to eat even faster.

The pork and how the staff grill it for you

I only managed to get photos of the meat when we ordered extra, unfortunately — I missed the ogyeopsal shots. But looking at just the samgyeopsal, the cuts were plump with a good balance of fat and lean meat, and the meat was fresh, which I appreciated.

When grilling the meat, the staff grilled the kimchi, bean sprouts, minari (water dropwort), kkwari peppers, and garlic all at once. Usually staff only grill the meat, so having everything grilled for us meant we could just sit back and eat, which was so convenient and nice.

After the meat is cooked, they move it down to the lower part of the grill. That lower section seems less about cooking further and more about keeping everything warm.

Are the potato-slice wraps really that good?

After the meat's grilled, they put the potato slices on. While the potatoes cook to the right doneness, you can eat meat in the meantime, so the order of eating worked out perfectly. Once the potatoes were fully cooked, I wrapped some meat in one and tried it... wow... seriously... this is actually delicious!! The crispy texture and the nutty flavor from grilling hit right away, and it cut through the greasiness of the meat perfectly. Honestly, I wish every other BBQ restaurant would switch from thick potato slices to thin ones like this.

The dipping sauces on the table

For sauces, they gave us ssamjang, salt, a spicy sauce, wasabi, and mushroom wasabi. I'd never seen mushroom wasabi as a sauce option before, so that was a fun surprise. You can eat the meat however suits your taste — I tried it with the ssamjang, salt, and spicy sauce, one at a time. As always, though, I think I'm partial to the classic sauces.

Free extras at the checkout counter

After eating happily and finishing up, we headed to the counter to pay. Next to the counter, they had candy, mouthwash, Febreze, and more to get rid of any lingering smells. That kind of attention to detail was such a nice touch!!

There was even dental floss and lens cleaning wipes — the level of thoughtfulness was incredible..! And finally, being able to wash it all down with mix coffee to cut through the grease was another nice bonus.

My verdict on Cham Dwaejitgan

4.8/5.0. There's no parking lot, so you'll have to use a public one nearby, but the meat quality was solid and having it grilled for us made things convenient and enjoyable. The restaurant is also huge, so it can easily accommodate a group — great for gatherings too.