Salted ogyeopsal with garlic-mentaiko at a Hongdae Korean BBQ

Back when I used to go to Busan all the time, Chopilsal Pork Grill was a must-eat! The pork skin looks amazing and the ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly) is so good it became famous — and now it's opened several branches in Seoul haha.

I visited another Seoul branch last time and it tasted just as good as what I remembered from Busan, so I went into the Hongdae branch with high expectations!!! (Spoiler: it's just as good as Busan ✨)

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch, outside

Getting to eat Chopilsal, something I could only get in Busan, right here in Seoul was honestly moving,,

Interior mood and seating

I visited on a weekend afternoon, and since the weather had warmed up nicely they had the windows wide open, so cool and breezy!!! Now that it's outdoor-seating season plus even cooler weather, sitting by the window would be perfect haha.

There are 8 tables haha. Recommend booking through Naver reservations if you're going on a weekday evening or weekend!

Menu and what we ordered

The menu!!! We were planning to fill up entirely on meat today so we ordered a good variety of meat dishes, and every menu item requires a minimum of 3 servings on the first order!

• Salted ogyeopsal × 2
• Dwitgogi (pork neck meat) × 1
• Chopilsal mixed naengmyeon × 1

And if you join the Naver review event they give you a free taste of 80g pilsal pork skin, so everyone should definitely join the review event!!!!!!!

The table setup — side dishes and the garlic+mentaiko combo

The side dishes come out super generously at Chopilsal Pork Grill — three kinds of pickles great for wrapping with meat, rinsed aged kimchi, perilla leaves and pickled radish, radish salad, and other classic side dishes that pair well with the meat, all really nice! And at BBQ places the tables can sometimes get greasy, but this one was kept so clean and well-managed :)

This is a garlic+mentaiko (salted pollock roe) combo I've never seen anywhere else — just so you know, refills are paid haha. It's an unexpected combo but so good I almost added more..

The house-made ssamjang (dipping sauce) has such great depth of flavor too! Every single side dish at Chopilsal Pork Grill is made with real care.

Salted ogyeopsal, 120g for ₩12,000 — how does it taste?

The ogyeopsal came out first! One serving is 120 grams, 4 pieces! It might look like a small amount, but at ₩12,000 per serving and given how good the meat quality is, it never feels overpriced.

The fat-to-lean ratio was perfect,, and the chewy pork skin that's the whole point of ogyeopsal was excellent too ㅠㅠ The meat looks so pretty and clean-cut haha.

We were hungry so we threw it straight on the grill~!

They cut the big pieces of meat into nice bite-sized portions for us

For the first bite I tried the combo I'd been most curious about — mentaiko+garlic — and it was totally the kick I was hoping for..👀 I never expected garlic and salty mentaiko to work this well together, and thanks to the mentaiko the seasoning is nicely salty too!! Even my friend who was trying ogyeopsal for the first time raved about it and cleaned their plate haha.

The myeolchijeot (anchovy sauce) simmered right on the grill wasn't fishy at all and tasted great! With such a variety of sauces, pastes, and jeotgal (salted seafood), it's fun to mix and match while eating.

How is dwitgogi different from ogyeopsal?

Next up, grilling the dwitgogi!!!

Unlike the richer, fattier ogyeopsal, the dwitgogi was light and clean-tasting! The texture was a bit softer too haha. I think people's preference between ogyeopsal and dwitgogi will really vary, but for me ogyeopsal is still the best!!!

Dessert: Chopilsal's mixed naengmyeon

Next up, the naengmyeon (cold noodles) we ordered as a kind of dessert!!! There's no separate water or spicy version, just the one mixed naengmyeon haha.

It was basically the spicy style but served with broth poured over it!!! I always add broth to spicy naengmyeon anyway so this suited my taste perfectly, tangy and sweet and delicious! Interestingly, instead of a boiled egg, they piled it high with egg garnish (jidan) haha. It looked pretty and tasted great too.

Getting to try Chopilsal Pork Grill, so famous in Busan, here in Seoul was such a treat! I think most people only know this place for its pork skin, but the ogyeopsal is the real deal too...^^ Everyone go eat some ogyeopsal!!!