Nowon pork neck restaurant with chewy pork skin: Moksam Hwaro

Today I visited Moksam Hwaro, a place near Nowon Station that's known for its delicious pork neck. This was the spot that broke my assumption that pork neck is a dry cut — it was smoky, chewy, and just tasted like pork neck should.

Where is Moksam Hwaro and what are its hours?

• 📍 Location: 15-7 Nohae-ro 85-gil, Nowon-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor
• 📍 Hours: Mon–Thu 17:00–23:00 / Fri–Sat 16:00–23:00 / Sun 16:00–22:00
• 📍 Other: Wi-Fi, reservations, group bookings available, waiting area, separate men's/women's restrooms, restrooms located inside the restaurant

It's located in an alley about a 2-minute walk from Nowon Station Exit 1!

Inside Moksam Hwaro: atmosphere and seating

There were about 8–10 tables inside. And before the inner door, there was a separate area where the owner does the first grilling pass!

One thing I really liked was the wide tables! At BBQ places I especially hate when the tables are cramped (because — I eat a lot). But here they're spacious, plus the chairs have storage space underneath, which was great!

Moksam Hwaro menu and what we ordered

This was the menu, and since we came specifically for the premium pork neck, we ordered two servings of premium pork neck, aged kimchi stew, and chewy pork skin ☺️

Side dishes and green onion kimchi

They brought the side dishes first, and I loved how clean and neat they looked alongside the meat — wild mountain vegetables (myeong-i namul) with wasabi, a basic sauce, and pollack roe (myeongnanjeot) too, perfect for eating several different ways...!

And then the thing I think is Moksam Hwaro's real kicker — green onion kimchi (pa-kimchi)..❤️ It came topped with sesame seeds, perfectly fermented with a sharp, spicy kick, delicious even eaten on its own! They also gave us breadcrumbs and pork cutlet sauce separately, haha.

They showed us the raw meat before taking it away to do the first grilling pass, haha.

The free cheese steamed egg

While waiting for the meat, the free cheese steamed egg (gyeranjjim) that comes as standard service arrived! Places that give you cheese steamed egg for free are rare...

I scooped up a big spoonful, and honestly it was the best cheese steamed egg I've ever had (why is this free..?). It didn't taste like what I expected — the egg itself was seasoned just right with no fishy egg smell at all, and the cheese didn't overpower the flavor but maximized the savory richness instead. So good, I nearly cried.

Aged kimchi stew for 6,000 won

Then the aged kimchi stew (mukeunji kimchi-jjigae) we ordered arrived! For ₩6,000 the quality was excellent, packed with tofu, pork, and aged kimchi — so delicious. It wasn't an artificial flavor but the genuine deep umami of aged kimchi itself, totally satisfying..🫶 You have to try the aged kimchi stew!

Premium pork neck, seared first and grilled at the table

Soon after, the pre-grilled meat was brought over to finish grilling a second time at our table! Look at that color on the meat...

I thought pork neck barely had any fat, but visually it looked moist and chewy — is this really pork neck?

Once fully cooked, they placed the meat on a plate for us, so it stayed warm the whole time without burning — I liked that a lot.

It was great being able to enjoy the meat in different combinations! Dipping it in pork cutlet sauce with breadcrumbs made it taste like actual tonkatsu, and topping it with myeong-i namul and pollack roe gave it real umami depth.

The pickled vegetables paired with pollack roe and wasabi were also delicious, and then there was the green onion kimchi too...!! With so many ways to eat it, every bite felt new and never got old, haha. The quality of the meat itself was just so tender and chewy..? Not a hint of dryness, absolutely delicious.

Chewy pork skin you grill yourself

We felt like we wanted more, so we ordered the pork skin too! The pork neck is grilled for you, but the pork skin you have to grill yourself! It was thick with proper knife scoring, so I was really looking forward to it.

Can you see the thickness and shine on that pork skin..❤️ Proper scoring too — pork skin can get too hard and tough to eat if done badly, but this one was chewy-soft? With just a hint of crunch, very easy to eat, haha.

For the pork skin sauce, they gave us injeolmi (sweet rice cake) powder and a spicy sauce! The injeolmi maximized the nutty, savory flavor and made it delightfully soft and chewy, while the spicy sauce added a bit of heat that cut right through the richness of the meat, making it impossible to stop eating, haha.

Is Moksam Hwaro in Nowon worth a visit?

I really think this is the best pork neck spot in Nowon... I'm planning to bring my family back next time, haha. It's honestly better than most chain restaurants, so if you're looking for a great BBQ place in Nowon, I recommend 'Moksam Hwaro,' haha.