Pork belly restaurant in Seohae, Incheon: Sammi-jip family dinner

I visited Sammi-jip for a family dinner with my son, who loves samgyeopsal (pork belly). I wanted to avoid the hassle of grilling meat at home, and since the meat arrived grilled, we could eat comfortably.

Where is it, and was parking convenient?

Sammi-jip is in Cheongna 4 Complex’s dining alley. We came by car as a family and parked comfortably in the spaces in front of the restaurant. The hours listed in the original post are daily from 10:30 to 22:30, with last orders at 21:30.

Was the space good for a family meal?

The high ceiling and wide spacing between tables made the restaurant feel comfortable. It had a white-and-brown interior with plants, and we sat at a window table. There was also a space for groups, so it looked suitable for company dinners as well.

What did we order?

We checked the menu and ordered from the tablet at the table. There were kimchi full platters and half platters with several cuts of meat and doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew), but this time I wanted only pork belly, so I chose the kimchi scored whole pork belly.

• Kimchi scored whole pork belly 3
• Bowls of rice 2
• Fried rice 1
• Injeolmi ice cream 1

Side dishes included minari (water dropwort), cheese potato pancake, minari pancake, naengmyeon (cold noodles), kimchi-jjigae, doenjang-jjigae, and budae-jjigae (army stew). Bottled water was provided.

What side dishes came with the pork belly?

While we waited for the meat, we were served cool, tangy dongchimi (radish water kimchi), lettuce, perilla leaves, peppers, garlic, ssamjang, and Himalayan pink salt.

Kimchi, minari, mushrooms, shredded scallions, and bean sprouts also came to grill alongside the meat. There was a good variety of accompaniments.

Fragrant minari and Sammi-jip’s signature sauce were prepared as well.

At the self-service station, I could also take ssam-mu (pickled radish wraps), pickles, and garlic scapes in addition to the basic side dishes. Once we set everything out, the table was full.

How did the pork belly arrive, and how was it?

The pork belly arrived on a large sotttukkeong (wok lid).

The grilling service was convenient because the meat arrived grilled. I did not have to pay much attention to grilling it, which made it good for a family meal.

The wok lid held pork belly and kimchi together.

Shredded scallions, minari, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and onions were added. We cooked the meat and remaining ingredients a little longer before starting to eat.

The thick pork belly was crisp outside and moist inside. I first dipped it in salt, which made it easy to taste the meat itself.

I also ate it as ssam (wraps), filling lettuce and perilla leaves with meat and various ingredients. It was enjoyable to change up the minari, kimchi, and other accompaniments.

My son also enjoyed the pork belly dipped in ssamjang. The staff were kind, and with little burden of grilling the meat, I was satisfied with it as a place for a family meal.

How were the wok-lid fried rice and dessert?

We were full after the pork belly and side dishes, but I was curious about the fried rice made on the wok lid, so I ordered it.

A staff member made the fried rice on the wok lid.

At the end, they added an egg and cooked it into scrambled eggs to finish it.

The fried rice was even better when I let it stick to the wok lid and ate it like nurungji (scorched rice). It was also a good combination with a piece of pickled chili pepper.

After tasting the fried rice, my son picked up the bowl and ate from it. For dessert, we ordered injeolmi ice cream.

Soft vanilla ice cream was topped with savory soybean powder and almonds. The portion was fairly generous, making for a satisfying end to the meal.