Hwamyeong-dong BBQ, Busan: lemon Cass, bracken potato cake, Go Ok-hui

What kind of BBQ restaurant is Go Ok-hui Hwamyeong Main Branch?

Go Ok-hui Hwamyeong Main Branch (고옥희 화명본점) is a pork restaurant in Hwamyeong-dong that specializes in pork belly and pork skin, and the kitchen grills everything and brings it out on one plate. Great value, and it's also a solid pork belly spot for a family meal with a kid!!!

Location, parking and hours

Go Ok-hui Hwamyeong Main Branch is about a 10-minute walk from Hwamyeong Station. You can park in the underground garage of the building, and 2 hours are covered per table.

• Hours: 17:00–22:30 (daily), last order 21:30
• Separate men's and women's restrooms, groups and reservations welcome
• Corkage available (fee), parking available

The hall isn't very big, but you can reserve, so it's best to book before you go. (A few tables had families who came with kids.)

Go Ok-hui is seriously serious about its seasonings,, those jars of all kinds of ingredients have such a presence 👀

Is the Go Ok-hui small set enough for two?

The small set at Go Ok-hui is ₩35,500 for 500g, made up of plain pork belly, seasoned pork belly and pork skin. You order from a tablet at the table, and the set menus on the menu looked great! The two of us ordered one small set.

I like that you can pick the seasoning you want. We went with spicy for the pork skin, and plain pork belly plus gochujang (chili paste) pork belly!

Basic table setting

The basic setting at Go Ok-hui is lettuce, perilla leaves, chili peppers, garlic, wasabi, ssamjang (seasoned dipping paste), aged kimchi, myeongi namul (wild garlic greens), ssam-mu (pickled radish wraps), scallion salad, shiitake wasabi, soybean powder, curry powder, salt and mayonnaise. There are plenty of ways to dip the meat and pork skin, so nothing is missing for a pork belly meal!!

Non-alcoholic lemon cass and a thoughtful milk thistle

I ordered a non-alcoholic lemon cass, and a somaek (soju mixed with beer) too,, and they thoughtfully gave me milk thistle????? (to protect my liver before drinking.....) hahahahaha I started drinking with a much easier mind 😏

A plate of potato, mushroom and tteok before the meat

At Go Ok-hui, a plate of potato, mushroom and tteok (rice cake) comes out before the meat, and this little thing is nothing special but so tasty....! The bracken (fernbrake) is nicely salty, and the potato and tteokguk tteok (sliced rice cakes) get grilled golden~~~

Eat it in one bite like this and it's nutty and delicious...... An appetizer this good before the meat, I love it 🤤

How long does the grilled pork belly take?

The meat at Go Ok-hui is 100% grilled and comes out on one plate, which took about 15 minutes. It's served on an iron plate, so turn on the induction burner and eat it warm to the end!!

This is one small plate (500g, ₩35,500). From the bottom: plain pork belly, gochujang pork belly, spicy pork skin. For this much meat, isn't the value really good?! Two of us ate it all and were just right full~~

Plain pork belly with salt, shiitake wasabi and wraps

Salt or shiitake wasabi is just right with the plain pork belly at Go Ok-hui. The fat ratio was good and it was rich and tasty~~

You've got to make pork belly wraps~~~~~ Ssam-mu with scallion salad and chili pepper for a tangy, spicy wrap. Another one with myeongi namul - tangy and spicy, the flavors burst in your mouth!!! The plain pork belly is so good for wrapping all sorts of ways 🎊

Charcoal gochujang pork belly

The gochujang pork belly at Go Ok-hui has a charcoal gochujang marinade, and this place is truly serious about marinades ❤️🔥 Smoky and quite spicy, and so delicious....!

It's spicy so it goes well with the mayo sauce too, and eating it with aged kimchi was perfect~~~

Highly recommend the charcoal gochujang marinade!!! (a place serious about marinades) (next time I plan to try the myeongran pork belly with pollock roe too)

How spicy is the spicy honeycomb pork skin?

The spicy pork skin at Go Ok-hui is somewhat similar in texture to the gochujang pork belly marinade, just a bit spicier 🚨

Both the soybean powder and curry powder go well with it. The marinade itself is just right, so it's totally fine on its own..... Since it's honeycomb pork skin, the marinade soaks in properly and it's really intense ❤️🔥

Finishing with fluffy steamed egg and self-fry fried rice

To tone down the spice, I ordered the fluffy steamed egg (₩3,500) at Go Ok-hui. No tricks, just a very pure steamed egg, right??!

It was literally fluffy and mild, a soft steamed egg like pudding 💛 Eaten together with the pork skin it's a great combo~~~~

With a bit of marinade left on the iron plate, I decided to finish with fried rice~~~~ (this place's marinade is so good....) At Go Ok-hui you fry the rice yourself (self-fry fried rice, ₩3,000). It comes with seaweed flakes and kimchi. Spread it thin on the plate and let it crisp a little as you eat.

Fried rice cooked in the spicy pork skin marinade - again nothing special in it, but fluffy, tangy and spicy,, fried rice never betrays you 🥄

Two of us, one small plate plus steamed egg and fried rice - we ate really full and great value!

Is Go Ok-hui Hwamyeong Main Branch worth going back to?

Go Ok-hui Hwamyeong is a grilled pork spot with great pork belly and pork skin! Everything is grilled in the kitchen, so it's easy to eat at the table with a kid (recommended for family meals), and the value is very good (a plate of meat for two in the ₩30,000 range). The marinades are the real deal, so I never got sick of it the whole meal.

If you're looking for a great-value pork belly place in Hwamyeong-dong, I recommend Go Ok-hui (a place I'll go back to).