Pyeongtaek charcoal-grilled pork belly at Jugeokjip

Where is Jugeokjip, and is it convenient for gatherings?

Jugeokjip (주걱집) is on the first floor at 35 Jisan 1-ro 70beon-gil, Pyeongtaek-si. It occupies its own building, with a private parking lot beside it, and the original post lists its hours as daily from 10:00 to 22:00.

The interior was spacious, with tables set apart from one another. There were also rooms, so I thought it would work well for family or group gatherings; there were indeed many group diners.

What is on the menu, and how does the additional-meat discount work?

There was a broad selection of meat dishes, including jugeoksal, woodeugalbi, charcoal-grilled pork ribs, yukhoe (seasoned raw beef), and samgyeopsal (pork belly), along with sides. We ordered two servings of samgyeopsal, doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew), and mul naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles in broth).

There was a notice saying that additional meat was half price after each person ordered one menu item. The restaurant also promotes unlimited soju refills, but we did not drink, so we did not try them.

What is available at the self-service bar and among the side dishes?

The self-service bar had wrap vegetables, assorted side dishes, soup, and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). It was convenient to keep bringing back wrap vegetables to eat with the meat. The side dishes, including japchae (glass noodles) and tteokbokki, also suited my taste.

I especially kept reaching for the dotorimuk (acorn jelly). Yangnyeom gejang (seasoned raw crab) also came as a side to have with the meat.

How was the charcoal-grilled samgyeopsal?

The samgyeopsal came thick-cut, and I thought the meat was in good condition. Grilling it over charcoal added a smoky aroma that I liked.

It was crisp outside and moist inside. I did not notice any unpleasant odor, and it was juicy when I bit into it.

The samgyeopsal quickly browned over the charcoal. I also enjoyed alternating it with the many side dishes or wrapping it in greens.

Did the mul naengmyeon and doenjang-jjigae pair well with the meat?

The mul naengmyeon was generously portioned, cool, and tangy. It used the restaurant's own homemade broth, which tasted clean with a subtle meaty-broth aroma.

I also liked eating the samgyeopsal with the naengmyeon. We kept grilling meat as we ate, and the portion felt generous too.

The doenjang-jjigae was savory and had large pieces of tofu in it. I had it alongside the samgyeopsal and kimchi.

The samgyeopsal itself was delicious that day, but I especially liked being able to have it with the variety of side dishes and stew.

Are there snacks to grill after the meal?

After the meal, we could also grill snacks such as marshmallows and corn. Grilling them ourselves made it feel a little like camping, and the corn was both fun and tasty—I ate three.