Suwon Korean BBQ for day drinking: 340g pork neck at Jipbul Taebaek

Is Jipbul Taebaek on Nahyeseok-gil, Suwon good for a 4pm drink?

Jipbul Taebaek Suwon Ingye Branch (짚불태백 수원인계점) is a BBQ restaurant on Nahyeseok-gil in Ingye-dong, Suwon. We went around 4pm, after the lunch rush, and there were no other customers, so it was a quiet meal. We came for pork neck and a glass of somaek (soju mixed with beer).

It had been a really long time since I'd been to Suwon. I heard there are lots of great restaurants on Nahyeseok-gil in Ingye-dong, and while searching I found a BBQ place called Jipbul Taebaek that looked delicious, so we went for pork neck and somaek.

We got there around 4pm, after lunchtime, so there was nobody else, and I loved being able to eat in peace! Later I found out that a famous meat YouTuber has visited Jipbul Taebaek too. The place says it uses top-grade raw meat, and knowing that a YouTuber who's serious about meat came here made me trust it even more.

Inside Jipbul Taebaek Suwon Ingye Branch: the window seats

Jipbul Taebaek Suwon Ingye Branch is a new BBQ place that hasn't been open long, so the interior was clean. When we walked in, we saw how tidy it was.

I heard it just opened recently, and maybe that's why the inside is so clean. Personally, that made me like it even more!

We were shown to a window seat, and sitting there gave off exactly the right mood for a glass of somaek on Nahyeseok-gil.

Jipbul Taebaek menu and prices: what we ordered

• Straw-fire pork neck, 2 servings (340g) ₩34,000
• Taebaek kimchi stew ₩7,000
• Chamchisoreom (soju), Terra (beer) ₩5,000

What side dishes come with Jipbul Taebaek's table setting?

Once we ordered meat, the staff filled the table with side dishes.

The sides were seasoned radish, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), gungchae (stem lettuce), green onion kimchi, lettuce and a variety of sauces. They also brought kimchi and bracken, and those two get grilled on the plate along with the meat so you eat them together.

340g straw-fire pork neck, grilled to the end by staff

Jipbul Taebaek's straw-fire pork neck is ₩17,000 for a 170g serving, and we ordered 2. As soon as you order, the kitchen sears the meat over a straw fire and serves it to the table, and a staff member grills it for you from start to finish.

As I mentioned, they grilled the kimchi and bracken together with the meat.

As the straw-seared meat cooked, a faint straw-fire aroma rose with the smoke and my mouth started watering.

Once it's mostly cooked, they cut it into big pieces. When the scissors cut through, you can see with your own eyes how springy the meat is, so you know right away it's good meat.

Which sauces go with the straw-fire pork neck?

Once the meat was done, our first bite went in black sesame salt, the second in yukjang sauce (savory beef-broth sauce), the third in angelica pesto, and the last topped with neungi mushroom pesto and wasabi. All four combinations had their own charm.

Two free rice cake wraps at Jipbul Taebaek

Rice cake wraps (tteok-ssam) are on the side menu at Jipbul Taebaek, and I was debating whether to order them, but the staff grilled 2 and gave them to us as a freebie.

They topped the rice cake with kimchi and meat and dipped it in roasted soybean powder. I wondered whether rice cake and meat would go together, and this combination blew that doubt away in one bite.

The chewy, sticky texture of the rice cake added a new texture to the pork neck, and the nuttiness of the soybean powder and the kimchi grilled in pork fat was oddly a perfect match. I really enjoyed it.

Also, the Jipbul Taebaek staff really grill meat well. I didn't get a single dry piece of pork neck the whole meal. That's how good they are at it!

The meat was so good that I couldn't resist and had a glass of somaek with it. The drinks came out ice cold, perfect for a daytime drink!

Jipbul Taebaek review event: free guacamole tortilla

At Jipbul Taebaek, if you write a receipt review, you get a guacamole tortilla on the house. The staff told us while grilling the meat, so we joined without hesitation and got one haha.

Pork neck and tortilla is a combination I'd never thought of, but then I realized tacos have meat in them too, so it should work.

So I put guacamole on the tortilla and ate it with the pork neck, and it tasted like a taco! Do join the review event and get the tortilla so you can try different flavors!

Taebaek kimchi stew for ₩7,000: how does it taste?

Jipbul Taebaek's Taebaek kimchi stew is ₩7,000. A stew is a must at a BBQ place, so we ordered one at the end.

We usually order doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) at BBQ places, but for some reason I felt the kimchi stew would be good at Jipbul Taebaek, so this time we made an exception.

Big chunks of kimchi came bubbling in an earthenware pot, and it passed on looks alone.

When I tried a spoonful, the first bite was a perfect match for my taste. The sourness of the kimchi was just right, and the more I ate, the more a deep, savory flavor came through, which gave the stew real charm.