Frozen pork belly BBQ in Seongbuk: mixed platter at Jangheungjip

Long time no see, but my boyfriend and I caught an episode of Odysseus, then went out for frozen pork belly and soju. I'm honestly more of a fresh-pork person than a frozen-pork person, but I found a place that broke down my prejudice against frozen samgyeopsal (pork belly). Even as I write this post I'm already dying to go back — here's my honest review of Jangheungjip, a frozen samgyeopsal spot near Seongshin Women's University Station.

Where to eat frozen pork belly near Seongshin Women's University Station: Jangheungjip

We visited Jangheungjip on a Sunday evening. There are honestly so many samgyeopsal places around here, but among the frozen-pork specialists, Jangheungjip might be the standout. I'm on Team Fresh Pork so I didn't know much about it, but my boyfriend, who's Team Frozen Pork, already knew it as a place that's appeared on Running Man.

What's in the ₩54,000 medium mixed platter at Jangheungjip

Hearts racing, we look over Jangheungjip's menu. We chose the medium mixed platter (₩54,000). Since it lets you try quick-frozen pork belly, pork neck, and beef brisket all at once, I'd recommend it to anyone visiting Jangheungjip for the first time. Taste it, find your favorite cut, then order more of that one~~

Jangheungjip's side dishes: the green onion kimchi steals the show

The side dishes came out first. So many samgyeopsal places these days don't even serve kimchi, which is genuinely disappointing for a kimchi lover like me. Getting both green onion kimchi and napa cabbage kimchi here is a real point in their favor. That green onion kimchi in particular is such a marvel that I wanted to take some home and eat it with Chapagetti. Seeing old-school sausage again after so long was a nice surprise too.

Grilling order at Jangheungjip: brisket, then frozen pork belly, then pork neck

The mixed platter we ordered arrived. Is frozen pork allowed to look this pretty? From front to back: beef brisket, frozen pork belly, and pork neck, every single one gleaming. The owner put minari (water dropwort), bracken fern, and kimchi on the grill and told us to eat the beef brisket first. Honestly, I wondered whether it even made sense to eat beef before pork,, what a silly thought that was haha.

The owner grilled the brisket the owner had set down first. I'd had my fill of beef brisket recently at Imun-dong Geujip, so I thought I wouldn't want more, but the smell alone had me drooling.

We dip it in the special brisket sauce and wrap it with green onion and chili. You know that sweet-and-sour-and-savory flavor, right? A familiar taste is a dangerous thing — I think I ate almost all the brisket that day.

Pork neck as thick as a shoe insole

Next up, the pork neck. It was so thick I thought it could double as a shoe insole. Grilled with a generous dusting of pepper.

We wrap it in a bite with shredded green onion. A mouthful of pure meaty juice. I used to think frozen pork belly and frozen pork neck were tough and smelly, but this had zero off-flavor and was genuinely delicious. Now I get why people love frozen samgyeopsal. The texture and flavor of these thin cuts, so different from regular pork belly, are really the best. Especially for drinkers like us, frozen pork with a shot of soju is heaven itself. Even after all that brisket, this was good enough to slap beef across the face.

Brisket doenjang stew, kimchi noodle soup and fried rice to finish

The beef brisket doenjang (soybean paste) stew that came with the set. It was so packed with brisket that I wanted to mix it with rice and eat it as a stew-rice bowl. But since we also wanted the kimchi noodle soup and the fried rice, we held back.

Finishing off with cool kimchi noodle soup and fried rice completed the meal. The fried rice even came topped with a fried egg, so we got our carbs, protein, and fat all covered. The kimchi noodle soup had a perfectly sweet-and-sour broth and perfectly boiled noodles, giving the noodles a wonderfully springy texture. This is basically K-omakase!!!

From the meat to the side dishes to the extra menu items, everything was delicious without exception — this was my honest review of Jangheungjip, a samgyeopsal spot near Seongshin Women's University.