Suwon Station BBQ with cheese fried rice finish: Taejang Sikdang

Wanting to have a proper meat meal near Suwon Station for once, I headed to Taejang Sikdang, known for its nengsam (frozen sliced pork belly). Sometimes you crave the thick cut of samgyeopsal, but other times it's that distinct nutty flavor of thinly sliced frozen pork belly you're after. Add a retro atmosphere on top of that, and I went in with high expectations.

Where is Taejang Sikdang Suwon Station Branch, and where do you park?

Taejang Sikdang Suwon Station Branch sits on Hyanggyo-ro, an easy walk from Suwon Station, so accessibility is pretty good. There's no dedicated parking at the restaurant itself, so if you're driving, it's best to use a nearby public parking lot.

Inside the retro dining room, arcade machines included

Walking into Taejang Sikdang Suwon Station Branch, the first thing that struck me was how different the retro vibe was from the sleek, modern BBQ places you see these days. Seeing an actual arcade game tucked into one corner really brought the old-school feel to life. It was fun coming in for meat and ending up browsing arcade games too. The tables ranged from 4-person seats to larger group setups, making it a good spot for gatherings with friends or a regular dinner out.

What we ordered at Taejang Sikdang and what it cost

We ordered generously: nengsam (frozen pork belly) for 11,000 won, cheese egg custard for 4,000 won, arrowroot bibim noodles for 6,000 won, and Taejang fried rice for 4,000 won with cheese added.

The basic table setting: side dishes and sauces to mix

The basic table setting was pretty generous and caught my eye. Fresh lettuce wraps, scallion salad, kimchi, bean sprouts, fernbrake, and corn salad — a full spread of sides that pair well with grilled meat. There were also several kinds of sauces on offer, so the same piece of pork tasted different depending on what you paired it with. It was good dipped lightly in salt, dressed with the house sauce, or topped with scallion salad — all worked well.

How the frozen pork belly and cheese egg custard tasted

Since the nengsam is thinly sliced, it started sizzling and cooking fast the moment it hit the grill. Picking up a piece cooked golden brown, I was pleasantly surprised by how good the meat quality was. Thanks to a decent thickness, it didn't just turn crispy from being too thin — the texture of the meat itself still came through, and the more I chewed, the more a clean, nutty flavor came out.

Right around the point where eating meat alone started to feel a bit heavy, we brought out the cheese egg custard. Melty cheese on top of the soft, fluffy egg custard deepened the nuttiness, and the warm, pillowy texture made it a great thing to eat between bites of pork belly.

Arrowroot bibim naengmyeon and Taejang cheese fried rice

The arrowroot bibim noodles came tossed in a sweet and tangy sauce, and wrapping a piece of pork belly around the noodles is honestly a combination that's hard to mess up. The bright, tangy sauce cut through the richness of the pork belly's fat and cleaned up the palate nicely.

Last but not least, the true dessert for any Korean meal: Taejang fried rice. Adding cheese on top made it look even better from the start. The melted cheese blended in smoothly, adding an extra layer of nutty flavor.

Final verdict: when is Taejang Sikdang worth a visit?

Taejang Sikdang near Suwon Station felt less like a place where you just eat nengsam and more like somewhere you get to enjoy a meal playfully, mixing side dishes and sauces to your own taste. The retro interior gave it a distinctive atmosphere, the nengsam was nutty and clean-tasting, and switching things up with cheese egg custard and arrowroot bibim noodles kept things interesting all the way to the fried rice at the end.

If you're looking for a BBQ spot near Suwon Station with a different kind of atmosphere, or you want somewhere relaxed to sit down with friends and pair nengsam with a drink, Taejang Sikdang is worth checking out. It's especially worth a visit if you like your pork belly with a wide variety of side dishes and sauces to combine. After properly working through the nengsam, cheese egg custard, arrowroot bibim noodles, and cheese-topped fried rice, I left full and thoroughly entertained by the atmosphere. If you're hunting for pork belly near Suwon Station, Taejang Sikdang and its retro charm should stick in your memory.