Jayang-dong pork belly for two with ₩2,900 drinks: Ssamchae

When people ask what matters as much as the meat itself at a pork belly place, I always say the wraps. This time I went to Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal near Guui Station, where the self-serve wrap greens bar was actually unlimited. And on top of that, every drink was just ₩2,900! Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal turned out to be seriously good value.

What's on the unlimited wrap greens bar at Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal?

The wrap greens bar at Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal is unlimited — take as much as you like. It was the first thing I noticed walking in. The variety of greens was pretty impressive.

Alongside the usual lettuce and perilla leaves you see at pork belly places, there was cabbage and several other kinds of wrap greens, plus garlic and chili peppers you could grab as much of as you wanted. I already tend to eat a ton of wraps when I have pork belly, so it was fun switching up the combinations with every bite.

Best of all, eating this many wraps somehow made me feel a little less guilty about the pork belly haha. I ate meat and vegetables in almost a 1:1 ratio, so I'm calling it a balanced meal.

How thick is the pork belly? Two servings at Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal

The main order that day at Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal was pork belly, two servings. The side dishes were also set up neatly.

The pork belly was pretty thick! Staff grill everything for you, so there's nothing to worry about haha, super convenient.

Cooked golden-brown on the iron lid, the surface got nicely crisped while the inside stayed tender the way pork belly should. Eating the fat and lean parts together, it wasn't dry at all — juicy and good.

Kimchi, bean sprouts and bracken grilled on the iron lid

At Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal, kimchi, bean sprouts, and bracken get grilled in the fat rendered from the pork belly. The meat itself was already good, but the combination with these iron-lid sides was even better. It's hard for this to taste bad honestly haha. The well-fermented kimchi especially cut through the richness of the meat and added a tangy note, while the bean sprouts kept a crunchy texture that paired well with the pork belly.

We also added minari (water celery) here. They gave us a generous amount too. Pairing it with the pork belly after a few bites was great — it felt like it reset my palate each time.

So I started off just eating the meat plain, then kept switching combinations — pork belly with grilled kimchi, pork belly with bracken, pork belly with bean sprouts. This is exactly the fun of iron-lid pork belly, I think. If you like grilling the meat and its sides together, this is a satisfying pork belly spot.

Kimchi noodles (kimchi mari guksu) to finish — spicier than expected

For dessert that day at Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal, we finally settled on kimchi noodles. You can't skip carbs after finishing pork belly.

All the dessert sides looked good so it was a tough call, but after eating so much meat, I wanted something that could finish things off refreshingly rather than something heavy like fried rice. It turned out to be much spicier and sharper-tasting than I expected.

I went back and forth between a few desserts, but kimchi noodles was the right pick that day. If you order it not expecting much heat, you might be surprised at how spicy it actually is — worth keeping in mind.

How much are drinks? Every bottle is ₩2,900

At Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal, Saero is ₩2,900, Jinro Is Back is ₩2,900, and Cass is ₩2,900 — every basic drink priced the same. This was just as impressive as the wrap greens.

These days soju or beer prices at Korean BBQ places can sting a little, but ₩2,900 is such a nice price..! How can you not have a drink with that haha?

Final verdict on Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal in Jayang-dong

Grilling thick pork belly on the iron lid and cooking kimchi, bean sprouts, and bracken in that same fat was already great on its own. Add in the wide variety of wrap greens you can take as much of as you want, and it was especially satisfying for someone like me who loves wraps.

The kimchi noodles I finished with were spicier and sharper than expected, which actually made a great finishing dish after pork belly. And with drinks at ₩2,900, it was a Jayang-dong Korean BBQ spot where you could comfortably enjoy meat and a drink without worrying about the bill.