Dongtan grill house: pre-cut pork belly kimchi jjim for 2, Yangpuni

Why I chose pork belly kimchi jjim for 2 near Dongtan's Gaenari Park

I ordered the pork belly kimchi jjim (braised kimchi stew) for 2 at Yangpuni Kimchi Jjigae & Samgyeopsal (양푼이김치찌개&삼겹살) in Bansong-dong, Dongtan. I wanted a proper, filling meal in Dongtan, so I searched for restaurants near Dongtan's Gaenari Park and ended up here.

That day I wanted something spicy that goes well with rice. (The weather is getting chilly and I'm craving something kick-y... okay, honestly I always am.. haha) The kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew) looked good too, but I wanted something a bit more generous, so I went with the pork belly kimchi jjim for 2.

Kimchi jjim at Yangpuni: do you need scissors?

The pork belly kimchi jjim at Yangpuni arrives with the meat and kimchi already cut into bite-size pieces, so you don't need to snip anything yourself. And the fun of kimchi jjim is eating it while it bubbles away, right? haha

So no scissor work was a real convenience. You just let it boil and eat~! haha

Is the pork belly kimchi jjim for 2 big enough?

The first thing I liked when the pork belly kimchi jjim came out was how generous it was. That quietly matters with kimchi jjim, doesn't it?

Not enough meat is a letdown, and lots of meat but too little kimchi is a letdown too, haha. Here both the kimchi and the meat were plentiful, and I was really satisfied.

There were two of us, and from the start I never had that "what if this isn't enough?" worry, so I could eat at ease. A bite of kimchi, a bite of meat, then kimchi on top of meat again... with so much food, mixing and matching was half the fun.

Pork belly kimchi jjim with tofu, eaten like tofu kimchi

The pork belly kimchi jjim at Yangpuni comes with tofu, so if you top it with kimchi and meat you can eat it like dubu-kimchi (warm tofu with stir-fried kimchi). I liked that the tofu was in there too.

Kimchi and tofu taste great together, and if you add a piece of meat on top it's almost exactly like dubu-kimchi. Warm tofu, well-cooked kimchi and a piece of pork in one bite was a treat in itself, haha. I ordered one kimchi jjim, but eating the kimchi, meat and tofu separately or together gave me more combinations than I expected.

Pork belly kimchi jjim with black rice

Yangpuni serves rice mixed with black rice instead of plain white rice, which I personally liked. I liked the rice itself, too.

Kimchi jjim is best with warm rice, after all. Wrap a big bundle of kimchi in warm rice, add a piece of pork, and~~ ahh! It's that deeply savory taste you're imagining~ haha

The tangy, deep flavor of the kimchi with a piece of meat, then a bite of rice, and it just keeps going down. No special side dishes needed: one kimchi jjim and you can finish a bowl of rice in no time, haha.

I especially liked the generous portion. With kimchi jjim you sometimes end up rationing the meat, but here I ate with no such worry. It was good for two, but I also felt it would work well for a bigger group. (When we arrived, tables already had reserved signs on them~ I wondered if it's a popular spot for company dinners..)

Is it a good spot for a group dinner near Dongtan's Gaenari Park?

Kimchi jjigae and kimchi jjim at Yangpuni are dishes that rarely divide opinion, so they're an easy choice for a company dinner or gathering near Gaenari Park in Dongtan. If you're looking for a Gaenari Park restaurant where several people can sit comfortably, this kind of menu is quietly a good fit, isn't it?

Meat lovers can focus on the meat, kimchi lovers can eat kimchi with rice, and people like me who go for the tofu too can eat it like dubu-kimchi, haha. For me, what matters in kimchi jjim is how well the kimchi and meat amounts match, and Yangpuni has plenty of both, so I was quite satisfied the whole way through.

If you want something spicy and filling near Dongtan's Gaenari Park, or you're looking for a good restaurant or group dinner spot there, the pork belly kimchi jjim is worth trying, not just the kimchi jjigae. That day I piled kimchi onto warm black rice with a piece of pork belly and tofu, and left well fed, haha. Next time I'll try the combo the shop's name promises: kimchi jjigae with pork belly.