Samsong family BBQ dinner with macaroni salad refills: Neopttakjip

Went for the meat, stayed to lick the side dishes and the perilla oil noodles clean. 🐷🔥

We had errands in Deogyang-gu over the weekend, so we decided to grab dinner nearby with family. 😊 This time we visited Neopttakjip Samsong Branch! Since it was our first time at this particular BBQ spot, I was a little worried whether it would suit everyone's taste. 🧐

I wish this place were in my neighborhood

— that's honestly what I thought, haha. The meat was delicious, but the side dishes and extras were just as satisfying, so I already want to go back. 🐷💕 Once I tasted everything, I understood why this Samsong restaurant is always packed. ✨👍🏻 The meat, the sides, everything held up, so I bookmarked it on the spot for next time. ⭐️

Weekend evening wait and parking at Neopttakjip Samsong Branch

Being a weekend evening, there was a wait. Luckily we arrived early evening so it wasn't too long. Peeking inside while waiting, the place was packed — clearly a spot the locals visit often. 👀✨👍🏻

Parking is available in the same building as the restaurant. 🚗 Turning the left corner while facing the main sign, the parking entrance was easy to spot. When you're moving around with family by car, not stressing over parking really matters. The lot had plenty of space too, so it was easy to use. 😊

Aren't these pigs adorable? 🐷 Huddled together eating rice cake, haha. Maybe it means the meat is as chewy as rice cake — I kept glancing at it while waiting, haha.

Cute, but it makes you hungry. 🤣

Turns out a YouTuber had already visited this place. 👀 Guess I'm just late to the party, haha. 🤭

Even before sitting down, the appetizing side dishes caught my eye. 👀 Better sit down and get ready to eat, haha. 🥢

What comes in the special mixed grill at Neopttakjip Samsong Branch?

The menu also had a weekday lunch special. It included meat plus a rice meal, which seemed like a solid, filling lunch option too. What we ordered was the special mixed grill, grilled vegetables, cheonggukjang, and perilla oil buckwheat noodles. 🔥

The special mixed grill lets you try five different cuts: pork neck, belly, skirt meat, kkodeulsal, and hayansal. Getting to sample a variety of cuts made it a great choice for sharing with a group. 🥢

Aged kimchi and curry quail egg macaroni salad: refilling side dishes

The generous portion of kimchi caught my eye first. 🧡🌶️ It was well-aged mukeunji (fermented old kimchi), and as a kimchi lover I was already delighted. Looked homemade 🧐 — the well-aged flavor really won me over. My chopsticks went straight for it, imagining it grilled with the meat. 🥢👍🏻✨

Alongside came dipping sauce, scallion salad, and a yellow-tinted macaroni salad. ⭐️ At first I assumed it was just the usual macaroni salad. 😋 But wow, it was completely my taste. 🤤

It's a curry-flavored macaroni salad loaded with quail eggs. Salads like this usually get sickening from the mayo pretty quickly, but here the subtle curry flavor cut through that richness, so I kept reaching for more. 💛

Brought back a second plate. ✌🏻 It must have been that good — refilling a pasta salad at a BBQ restaurant. 🤭😋 A small side dish, but it made a real impression. 💛

You can easily grab more of any side dish you're running low on at the self-serve bar. 😊

I kept craving the curry quail egg salad, so I grabbed another plate. Haha, I was really committed to that side dish refill. 🤭💛

Are the perilla oil buckwheat noodles worth ordering?

The side dish you absolutely must order here is the perilla oil buckwheat noodles. 🥢 Five stars, genuinely!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Topped with seaweed flakes and sesame seeds, it already looked nutty and fragrant. Turns out it's not a dish you can dismiss as just a BBQ side. Wait, is this actually a perilla oil noodle restaurant?! 🤣 I never expected to fall this hard for noodles when I came for the meat.

I mixed it well and took a bite — I'd happily come back just for this dish alone. 🤎 At a BBQ place you'd expect the meal item to just be decent since meat is the main event, but I couldn't stop reaching for the noodles. 🤤🤤

The cheonggukjang also arrived piping hot. We already ordered meat and noodles, but a stew on the side just makes the meal feel complete. 😊

Grilling the five pork cuts, name tags included

The special mixed grill has arrived! 🐷🔥 Five kinds of meat plus rice cake and sausage, piled generously on a big plate. Just seeing it all served at once was satisfying. 🤤😋

Each cut had a little tag with its name stuck in. I'm not great at identifying meat, so when a mixed platter comes out I often wonder 'what cut is this?' — but having the names right there made it instantly clear. Knowing what I was eating made it more fun and easier to remember which cut I liked. 👍🏻✨ This kind of detail! Totally my style, haha. 👍🏻

Meat onto the grill! 🐷🔥 Watching it sizzle away, chopsticks in hand, ready to go, haha. 🥢

Grilling the rice cake and sausage alongside added some fun in picking what to eat next. 🥢

Each cut had a different shape and thickness, so they cooked differently too. Some cuts were familiar, but kkodeulsal and hayansal were new to me, and I was curious what texture they'd have. 🧐

The grill looked small, but the heat was strong so the meat cooked quickly. 🔥

Well-cooked pieces got moved to the side. Picking off pieces at your own pace while adding the next batch to the grill — that little side space turned out to be more useful than I expected. ✨

Tried putting grilled meat on top of the perilla oil noodles. 🥢 The noodles were delicious on their own, but with the meat on top they went together perfectly. Don't just order the meat — make sure to pair it with the perilla oil noodles too. 🤎

Top pick: skirt meat, with crisp-chewy hayansal close behind

My personal favorite was, as always, the skirt meat. ❤️ It's a cut I already love, so my bias played a role, but it was also genuinely the tastiest here. I tried every cut, but my chopsticks kept drifting back to the skirt meat, haha.

Ordering the mixed grill also meant fun comparing notes with family about everyone's favorite cut. ☺️

Pork belly can't be left out either. 🐷 Grilled to a golden brown, it was great plain or paired with a side dish.

They also put kimchi on the grill for us. I really love the combo of grilled kimchi with meat. 🧡🌶️ Grilling the kimchi I already liked made my chopsticks head for the belly naturally too, haha.

When I first saw hayansal, I thought it might feel similar to hangjeongsal (pork jowl). 🧐 Tried it straight off the grill and again once it had cooled slightly, and it turned out different from the soft, tender texture I expected — a deep, crisp-chewy bite instead? Skirt meat was still my favorite, but it was great being able to try the other cuts too. 😊

Interior, seating and one drawback at Neopttakjip Samsong Branch

Being able to see the meat storage and aging process with your own eyes made it feel more trustworthy and appetizing, haha. 🥩

The signs and little phrases scattered around the space also fit the vibe well. 🙌🏻✨ From the rice-cake-eating pigs at the entrance to these small details, it's clear a lot of thought went into the concept, haha.

There's a separated, room-style space in the back too. We ate in the main hall, but next time I'd love to try eating in the room with family for a cozier meal. ☺️

The unisex restroom was a slight drawback, but I was grateful I didn't have to go far, since it's available right inside the restaurant. 😊

On the way out, the signatures posted at the counter caught my eye. 👀 So many people have visited already~ 🤤 While waiting I wondered how the food would be, but everyone in the family said they ate well, and honestly that made me proud too. ☺️💕

The origin of the ingredients was also posted separately in the restaurant, and the pork was labeled as domestic (Korean). There were mint candies at the counter too, nice for a palate cleanser after the meal. 🍬😊

Verdict: is Neopttakjip Samsong Branch good for a family dinner?

Went for the meat and came away refilling side dishes and falling for the noodles — that's Neopttakjip Samsong Branch. 🐷🥢

Finding a place where everyone in the family, including parents, enjoys the food is harder than it sounds. Everyone was satisfied, which made the meal even more enjoyable. ☺️ If only it were closer, we'd go more often! 🥹 Next time we're in Deogyang-gu, this is the Samsong restaurant I want to revisit. And I'll definitely order the perilla oil noodles again, haha. 🤎

From the meat to the perilla oil noodles, even my parents enjoyed it. 🤎 If it were closer, I'd make it my regular Samsong BBQ spot. 🐷💗