Korean BBQ for two in Pyeongtaek: belly & peanut sauce refills, Binbin

Today I'm introducing a place I found for really good, thick-cut pork belly, something I haven't had in a while! It's Binbin Charcoal Garden (빈빈숯불가든), a Korean BBQ restaurant in Pyeongtaek. The owner and staff were so kind, and as a cross-aged pork specialist, the food was seriously good. Let's go see!

Where do you park at Binbin Charcoal Garden?

Binbin Charcoal Garden is in the Sosabeol dining district of Pyeongtaek. You can park on floors 2 to 5 of the J Tower parking building, and up to 3 hours of parking is covered. If there's no space in the building, use the nearby Clock Tower parking lot, which is covered too.

Easy parking was the first plus I noticed as we arrived! With up to 3 hours covered, you don't have to worry about time at a meal or group gathering. Do keep it in mind!

Inside Binbin Charcoal Garden: rooms and a Saturday evening

The interior is fairly spacious with round tables, and there are even rooms separated by doors, which you rarely see at a BBQ place! We visited around 7 pm on a Saturday. The rooms were already full with reservations, and the outer tables kept filling up.

I understand it only just opened, but it seems it's already getting word-of-mouth as a Sosabeol favorite in Pyeongtaek!

A Pyeongtaek BBQ with only pork belly, neck and jowl: we ordered 500g of belly

Binbin serves only pork belly (samgyeopsal-style five-layer belly, ogyeopsal), pork neck and pork jowl, which felt fresh. You rarely see ogyeopsal at BBQ places, but here it's the signature! We're a couple who love ogyeopsal and even go looking for it, so I personally loved this, sooo much! It's exactly our taste. We ordered 500g of pork belly only.

After ordering, we peeked at the aging cabinet off to one side. The meat looked plump just at a glance, and it was incredibly thick. Being cross-aged made it extra special.

What side dishes come at Binbin Charcoal Garden?

The basic sides are kimchi from a Korean kimchi master, crunchy radish salad, and young perilla leaf salad tossed fresh to order. And this is the kicker!

The pork belly alone had us fully excited, but the sides were all distinctive too! Honestly I thought, isn't good meat enough? But with great meat plus distinctive, well-matched sides, we were really satisfied.

Crazy-thick pork belly and glasswort salt

Wow, the thickness is crazy. This is how pork belly should be! The owner is clearly serious about meat 👍 And there's glasswort salt (hamcho jayeom) that adds savory depth! It really felt like a Sosabeol favorite that stands apart.

Banga-peanut sauce, refilled once more

Cheers with soju! Among the basic sides comes a homemade banga-peanut sauce (banga is Korean mint), and everyone, this thing is a little devil. It was so good we refilled it once. A gently nutty peanut sauce, and it goes so well with the chewy pork belly.

My boyfriend loves piling things onto fresh lettuce wraps, and with so many tasty sides he made a wrap that overflowed one bite, haha. He was excited, saying he wanted to put this in and that in too! He said it's the best pork belly he's had recently!

The young perilla leaf salad is a real treat too. The seasoning is sweet and salty but moderate, never too much, so your hand keeps going back! Tell the staff and they'll bring any side in as large an amount as you like, so eat as much as you want.

Kimchi noodles and the free kimchi stew

The kimchi-malli guksu (cold kimchi noodles in broth) we ordered separately seemed designed to maximize the chill and highlight the kimchi's crunch! Surprisingly, it seemed to use medium-thick noodles rather than thin somyeon, and the springiness was just right. The noodles are springy on their own, so anyone can enjoy it.

The kimchi stew that followed is a free service with a meat order! The pork inside is also cross-aged, so it's so tender it crumbles, which is amazing. It melts softly! It made me wonder if I'd ever had meat this tender.

There are rooms and lots of tables, so company dinners work too. If you want a Pyeongtaek BBQ place everyone will like, I strongly recommend Binbin Charcoal Garden!

Finishing with Binbin's special shrimp ramen

The meal ends with shrimp ramen! This one is incredible. True to the name Binbin special shrimp ramen, it tasted like nothing I've had elsewhere, and I hear the owner, who is skilled at cooking, developed it himself.

It keeps the clean, refreshing feel of shrimp ramen but adds savory depth, so eaten with the meat it cuts the richness in one go. I really recommend trying this!

Who should go to Binbin Charcoal Garden?

Honestly, with the meat, shrimp ramen and kimchi stew, it's a Pyeongtaek BBQ place where nothing you order fails! Go with couples, family, company dinners, any kind of group. The meat at Binbin Charcoal Garden is really good! I'll definitely come back, haha