Munjeong Station Korean BBQ with icy Terra draft beer: Minari Naengsam

📍Location: 114 Beopwon-ro, C-dong 127, 128, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Walk from Munjeong Station Exit 4 toward M State, turn left past Geumbyeol Beer, and it's right next door) ⏰Hours: Mon–Sun 16:00–24:00 (last order 23:30) 🅿️Parking: Available in the building (M State underground level B2 / first 2.5 hours free / 50% off on weekends)

Today's restaurant is Minari Naengsam, a frozen pork belly spot in Munjeong-dong! I was supposed to have Korean BBQ with Mr. Eongdaeng today, so we were looking around, and I found a place with unlimited minari (water dropwort) — which is precious stuff — so we came here haha 🤩

Where is Minari Naengsam, and what is it like inside?

The outside of the restaurant! It's unusual because there are entrances on both the left and right side~ The left was packed so we went in through the right haha

The signature dish is minari flower-cut pork belly! Since minari is unlimited refill, my crazy-for-minari self got really excited 💗 We came here planning to wrap the pork belly in minari, hehe~

The interior! When we walked in the left side was full and the right was empty, but by the time we were eating the right side had filled up too — must be a real Munjeong Station favorite 🤩

Side dishes and the perilla red sauce at Minari Naengsam

The basic side dishes! There were more than I expected, so we could wrap things in different combinations and dip into sauces — never got boring 👍

The minari and kimchi that come standard! They say the minari is brought in fresh every day from Garak Market~ Maybe that's why it was so noticeably fresh. Just thinking about wrapping the pork belly in it got my heart racing 🫀 As for the grilled kimchi, need I say more — eaten with the meat, it's pure heaven~

There's a chogochujang-style sauce dusted with perilla powder, salt, salt-oil, ssamjang, and green onion kimchi — the green onion kimchi is great wrapped with the flower-cut pork belly, and dipping minari into the perilla-powder sauce is seriously good 🤤 You absolutely have to dip the minari into that red sauce with the perilla powder ⭐️

Lettuce, perilla leaves and shredded green onion! The container on the left is pepper~ Just sprinkle it right onto the pork belly

Garlic and wasabi! Grill the garlic, and topping the pork belly with wasabi works great too 👍

Flower-cut pork belly (14,900 won) or pork jowl (13,900 won)?

We ordered the signature minari flower-cut pork belly, one serving (₩14,900), minari pork cheek and jowl, one serving (₩13,900), and one bowl of rice (₩1,000)! The staff were fast — our order came out within 5 seconds of ordering — and the flower-cut belly came with maybe 6 or 7 pieces, while the pork jowl had about 8~

On the left is the thinly sliced flower-cut pork belly, and on the right is the slightly thicker pork cheek and jowl! They say the flower-cut belly is made by rolling up domestic grade-1-or-higher female pork, flash-freezing it, then slicing it thin so the cross-section blooms like a flower — hence 'flower' pork belly 🌸 First time trying it, so it felt kind of novel haha

Mr. Eongdaeng grilling the meat deliciously 😍 He's really skilled at it~^^

Looks appetizing, right? Just looking at these photos makes my mouth water 💦👅 Frozen pork belly is great because it cooks quickly! Highly recommend for people who want meat but don't feel like waiting around for it to grill ⭐️

Aah, this is a wrap Mr. Eongdaeng made for me (yes, I'm bragging lol) Since I don't like garlic, I think he made it with flower-cut pork belly, shredded green onion, minari, and rice, no garlic~ Tastes even better when he wraps it for me 😘

This is the minari flower-cut pork belly! Really thin, right? So soft it just melts away in your mouth haha Kind of like chadolbagi (thin beef brisket) texture~

Super fatty, so wrapping it with green onion kimchi and rice will knock you out — highly recommend that combo too ⭐️ The flower-cut belly is so thin it cooks in no time, so you can eat it right away, while the pork jowl is thicker and needs more time — grill the jowl while you're clearing out the flower-cut belly~

This is the pork cheek and jowl! Nicely chewy texture, softer and more savory than the flower-cut belly haha Being a prized cut, this pork jowl was legendary good;;

Fattier and thicker than the flower-cut belly, so this one's perfect wrapped up and popped in one bite~ Wrapped in minari and dipped into the red perilla sauce, it's just as good 🫪

Between the flower-cut belly and the pork jowl, the jowl's chewy texture won us over so much we added another order of it!

How many minari refills did two people get through?

We refilled the minari twice in total~ When you refill, they give you almost double the original portion, which was great haha

Minari pro tip! If you cook it too long it gets tough, so blanch it just briefly and dip it into the red sauce with perilla powder ⭐️

After all that pork belly I wanted something fizzy, so we ordered two 500ml Terra draft beers (₩5,000)! The glass itself was cold and the beer was cold too, so it was basically an ice-cold draft lol Literally had a thin layer of ice slush floating in it haha Beer really is the ultimate match for meat 👍

Ending the meal with hairtail jeotgal fried rice, 5,900 won

We finished up with hairtail jeotgal (salted fermented fish) fried rice (₩5,900)! The hairtail jeotgal aroma really comes through — stronger than expected, so it might be a love-it-or-hate-it thing, and I was firmly in the love-it camp haha They provide egg too, which upgrades the fried rice, but I'd also recommend saving some minari and leftover meat, cutting it up, and mixing it in — you get bites of minari and meat throughout and it's even better~ If the jeotgal smell feels too strong, leave a lot of minari aside, chop it up, and mix it in to tone the smell down. Note to self: save minari and meat 📝

There was candy by the register, so Mr. Eongdaeng and I each had one — perfect as a palate cleanser 🍭 Great touch from the owner 👍

Looks sizzling and delicious, right? If you're near Munjeong Station, I recommend Minari Naengsam ❗️

Final verdict on Minari Naengsam

• Since the meat is thin, it cooks like regular pork belly but grills fast, so you can eat without waiting around (a big plus of frozen pork belly)
• Thick pork belly and pork neck can get tough when grilled, but frozen pork belly never has that issue
• It cooks so fast that you can quickly grill a piece, wrap it up neatly with rice, and it's incredibly delicious
• Having unlimited minari refills was really great
• The subtle fragrance of the minari, dipped in the special sauce with a piece of meat and wrapped up, brings together the minari's aroma with the meat's savoriness and juices, and the special sauce cuts through any heaviness, so it's just so enjoyable to eat
• The grilled kimchi hits just right when you're getting a bit tired of the meat — pure heaven
• Personally, the pork cheek and jowl was really chewy with just the right amount of lean meat mixed in, so the texture was excellent (top pick: pork jowl)
• A glass of beer was so refreshing (highly recommend the draft)
• The hairtail jeotgal fried rice is rice seasoned with hairtail jeotgal, which could be love-it-or-hate-it, but the flavor was good
• Though the jeotgal smell might be divisive, the taste was good (chopping up minari, leftover meat, and green onion and mixing them in makes it insanely good)