After-work Korean BBQ for two in Hongdae: pork skirt & kimchi jjigae

A Hongdae Korean BBQ spot: Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch

After work, I headed to Hongdae for dinner. I'd been craving meat for a while, so after searching for a Hongdae Korean BBQ place, I ended up at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch.

Hongdae has so many restaurants that I had trouble deciding where to go, but this place specializes in pork, offering everything from ogyeopsal (thick-cut pork belly) to specialty cuts and pork skin. I was looking for somewhere in Hongdae where I could eat properly without spending too much, and the menu lineup looked good, so I decided to visit.

A place with a waiting line even in the evening

We came in the evening and there were already quite a few people eating. In Hongdae, weekday evenings tend to get busy anyway, and here too I saw a lot of office workers who'd come after work, as well as groups of friends.

By the time we finished eating and left, a waiting line had already formed. I'd originally just come here to eat meat in Hongdae, but it turned out to be more popular than I expected. Seeing people waiting right as we were leaving, I'd say if you're visiting during dinner peak hours, it's worth arriving a bit early.

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch info

• Address | 172 Donggyo-ro, 1st and 2nd floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours | Mon-Thu 12:00-24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Fri, Sat, Sun 12:00-2:00 next day (last order 1:00)

There was also a good variety of banchan (side dishes) on the table.

A place that lets you enjoy pork's natural flavor

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch overall focuses on bringing out the natural flavor of pork. Through systematic aging and trimming, the meat is set up so you can enjoy pork's taste comfortably, and with everything from basic ogyeopsal and pork shoulder to specialty cuts prepared, it seemed like a good spot to sample several different cuts.

Among their signature dishes is 'pilsal pork skin,' apparently grilled directly over the flame with a thin layer of fat still attached. I was busy eating ogyeopsal and pork skirt that day so I didn't order it, but I'd like to try it next time.

There are tons of samgyeopsal (pork belly) restaurants if you want to eat meat in Hongdae, but being able to choose from a range of cuts seems to be one of Chopilsal Pork Grill's strengths.

What we ordered for two

The two of us decided to try a bit of everything that day.

• Salted ogyeopsal x2 servings
• Pork skirt (rear leg meat) x1 serving
• Chondwaeji kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew)
• Rice x2
• Double cheese egg custard x1

Rather than just eating meat, we also ordered kimchi jjigae and egg custard, and it was really good.

Salted ogyeopsal, 2 servings

The salted ogyeopsal I was most looking forward to. Ogyeopsal has both fat and skin attached, unlike samgyeopsal, so it's popular with people who love a rich, savory flavor. Here the meat comes trimmed to a consistent thickness, so it was easy to grill. True to its name, salted ogyeopsal was a menu item good for tasting pork's flavor on its own.

Chondwaeji kimchi jjigae

We also ordered kimchi jjigae, a must when eating meat. It's apparently made with aged kimchi and thick-cut chunks of ogyeopsal. The stew had big chunks of meat inside, which went well with rice.

Especially after grilling and eating meat, taking a spoonful of kimchi jjigae paired really well, so I was glad we ordered it alongside the meat. We also got 2 servings of rice to eat with the stew — after all, a meal isn't complete without rice after meat, haha. Since it's a soup dish with kimchi in it, it also helped cut through the richness of the ogyeopsal, so it paired nicely.

As the meat grilled on the pan, the fat slowly rendered and a savory aroma rose up — maybe because it was after-work meat, it tasted even better. Especially since we didn't add too many extra sauces and just ate it with salt and simple sides, we could really taste pork's characteristic meaty aroma and savory fat.

Double cheese egg custard

And out of curiosity, we ordered the double cheese egg custard. Apparently it's egg custard loaded with two kinds of cheese, adding a richer, more savory flavor than regular egg custard.

The soft egg custard with cheese mixed in definitely had a distinct savory flavor, and it was good to eat in between bites of meat. With the two of us already eating meat, kimchi jjigae, and rice, I worried adding egg custard might be too much, but we ended up finishing it better than expected — nice!

Pork skirt, 1 serving

Eating just ogyeopsal can get a bit greasy, so we also ordered a serving of pork skirt (rear leg meat). It felt different from ogyeopsal. Since it's not a fatty cut, it's good for tasting the meat itself, and it worked well alternated with bites of ogyeopsal. Rather than sticking to one cut, ordering a different cut alongside it kept the flavors from feeling monotonous through the meal.

A satisfying Hongdae BBQ dinner after work

I went there because I'd been craving meat, and there ended up being more customers than expected — with a waiting line forming by the time we left, it seems like a pretty popular spot in Hongdae.

The salted ogyeopsal was great for really tasting pork's savory flavor, and alternating it with the pork skirt kept things interesting. On top of that, adding the chondwaeji kimchi jjigae, rice, and double cheese egg custard made for a quite satisfying dinner after work.

If you want to eat meat with friends or a partner in Hongdae, or you're after-work looking for a decent-value pork restaurant, this place is worth a visit.