Hapjeong wedding-invite dinner at a Korean BBQ with pasta: Champpoppo

Today my friends and I wanted to do a wedding-invite dinner in Hapjeong, so while looking around for a place to eat, we ended up at Ppoppo Jjokgalbi (pork rib BBQ).

When you're doing a wedding-invite dinner you usually end up eating Western food or a course meal, but that day I was craving something a bit different haha. So we went for pork ribs, and it turned out way better than expected!

It's a great spot to meet friends after work, and also good for a group visit like ours, so I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good BBQ restaurant near Hapjeong Station. We enjoyed it so much we already decided to come back lol.

Where is Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch, and when is it open?

Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch is at 77 Yanghwa-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 1F. The sign is easy to spot even from a distance.

• Address: 77 Yanghwa-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 1F, South Korea
• Hours: Mon-Thu 17:00-24:00 / Fri-Sun 17:00-1:00 (next day)
• Last order: Mon-Thu 23:00 / Fri-Sun 00:00

The interior had a slightly old-school vibe, which is honestly my taste haha. Easy to chat, good music... felt kind of rare to feel this excited and cozy in a while.

Ordering the pasta set for 2-3 people

From the Ppoppo Jjokgalbi menu, we first ordered the pasta set for 2-3 people. A pasta set at a pork rib place is a bit unexpected at first, right? Lol but the pasta here is genuinely delicious... All three of us love cream pasta, so from the first bite we kept going back for more.

The salad also felt like the kind we used to eat as kids, you know the one.

Free side dishes at Champpoppo, chicken porridge included

They give you chicken porridge to fill you up first. I've never seen a place serve chicken porridge as a side haha.

The sides alone are generous. As soon as you sit down they set up salad, chicken porridge, potato, pork skin, corn cheese, and radish. By the time the ribs actually arrive, you're already kind of full from snacking on these lol.

Pork ribs that arrive pre-grilled

After a short wait, the pre-grilled pork ribs come out.

But of course the main dish is separate... If you're looking for a BBQ restaurant near Hapjeong Station and want to eat well with plenty of sides too, this setup is great.

Since they're already pre-grilled, you just finish them off briefly on the table grill. There's surprisingly a lot of meat around the bones too.

They also give you gloves to make eating easier — cotton work gloves with plastic gloves on top.

How well does Champpoppo work for a wedding-invite dinner?

A wedding-invite dinner with my friends after a while. I'm not usually much of a drinker, but eating pork ribs that day made me really want a beer lol. We were like, we have to have a beer with this...

Having a cold beer, catching up with friends after a while, and eating delicious pork ribs on top of that — that's happiness right there haha. A wedding-invite dinner doesn't have to be Western food or a course meal. Eating meat casually like this while chatting is pretty great too.

So I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a wedding-invite dinner spot, or a place for a work dinner after hours. Especially if you're making evening plans in Hapjeong, keep this BBQ restaurant near Hapjeong Station in mind.

There's something fun about grabbing and tearing into the ribs with your hands like this lol. The soy sauce marinade is salty and sweet, the kind that keeps your hands reaching back for more.

The cream pasta is insane!! Eaten with the bread... it just disappears.

How spicy is the rib marinade?

Personally I liked the marinated version even more. The base flavor wasn't as spicy as I expected — about as spicy as Shin Ramyun by my standard. They can adjust the spice level too, so if you like it hot, feel free to go spicier.

Adding another serving of pork ribs and a cream pasta

In the end we added an extra serving of ribs and another Ppoppo cream pasta lol. We didn't plan to order this much at first, but as we kept eating it felt like we needed more.

The sides and dishes here have more variety than I expected, so it was great to order a mix of things instead of just ribs. Next time I want to try the boneless charcoal-grilled chicken feet — I kept wondering about it while looking at the menu lol.

In the end we scraped our plates clean and ordered one more round... Personally, I think a slightly spicy version of the cream pasta would be even better. Still, the cream pasta itself is quite good, so I'd recommend ordering it alongside the ribs. I came in thinking only about the meat at this BBQ restaurant near Hapjeong Station, but the sides ended up being just as satisfying.

We also added one more marinade, and it was definitely worth it haha.

Pork ribs with cream pasta: how the pairing tastes

And surprisingly, the combo I remember most from that day was pork ribs plus cream pasta. Eating the cream pasta together with the ribs was actually delicious. We even put a bit of pasta on top of the ribs and ate them together — it works surprisingly well lol. Since all three of us love cream pasta, it disappeared in no time.

Finishing the meal with corn cheese

At the end we added corn cheese too. Sweet and savory, it was the perfect way to finish off the ribs. We only meant to eat the ribs at first, but then we added pasta, then corn cheese... and ended up eating an incredibly full meal lol. Still, everyone said it was delicious, so I felt kind of proud too.

If you're craving meat in the Hapjeong area but want something other than the usual pork belly or beef, Ppoppo Jjokgalbi is worth trying as a spot for pork ribs in Hapjeong. Good for pork rib lovers, and also great if you bring along pasta lovers so everyone has something to pick from!

If you're looking for a place for a work dinner or gathering in Hapjeong, or want something a bit different for meat, keep this in mind. Next time I want to try the boneless charcoal-grilled chicken feet haha. If you're looking for a BBQ restaurant near Sangsu Station and don't mind heading over to Hapjeong, this is worth considering too. We had such a good meal with my friends this time that I think we'll be back again :)