Ansan meat restaurant with icy kimchi noodle finish: Suamgol Jjokgalbi

I was craving jjokgalbi (boneless pork ribs) so badly today, so I looked around and found one of the well-known meat restaurants near Hanyang University Station in Ansan, famous as a group dinner spot, and decided to check it out.

Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, Ansan Hanyang University Station Branch

Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul hours, closing day and parking

Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul Ansan Hanyang University Station Branch is open from 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM, closed every Tuesday. There's an underground parking lot in the building, so no worries about parking if you drive.

• Parking: underground parking in the building — yes

• Naver receipt review event: choice of pork skin or steamed egg
• Naver reservations available

• In-building restroom — yes
• Bag storage under chairs — yes

Located near Hanyang University Station, Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul is well known as one of Ansan's best jjokgalbi spots and a popular place for group dinners, so it seemed packed every time even on weekdays, so I booked through Naver before visiting.

Self-serve side dish bar: refill as much as you want

Right at my reserved time, the side dishes were already set up on the table.

There was a nice variety of side dishes that tasted almost like they came from a proper banchan shop — stir-fried fish cake, green onion kimchi, salad, pickled onions and more — and the best part is you can grab more from the self-serve bar if anything runs low.

What we ordered: salt jjokgalbi, spicy jjokgalbi and pork skin

Salt jjokgalbi, spicy jjokgalbi Pork skin Rice / kimchi-mari noodles

Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, a great pick for group dinners in Ansan, has five jjokgalbi flavors: salt, spicy, BBQ, garlic, and crazy. Crazy looked way spicier than the regular spicy option, so worried I couldn't handle it, I just went with spicy.

The pork skin also comes pre-cooked once, and the visual is legendary...

I was also surprised by how generous the portions were for the price — another meat restaurant I went to recently charged twice as much for the same amount. Sniff... Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, the Ansan restaurant near Hanyang University Station, was incredible value.

Soft tofu stew comes included by default, and it was so hearty it looked like it had a good half a block of soft tofu in it. The broth was just spicy and tangy enough that you could easily finish a whole bowl of rice with it alone haha. Drinkers would love this.

Cold even while grilling: how strong is the air conditioning?

From the moment I walked into Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, even with quite a lot of tables already full, the place was surprisingly cool — I figured it'd naturally warm up once we started grilling. Nope, full-blast AC plus fans placed all over the restaurant meant I stayed cool the whole meal, to the point I actually got a little cold haha.

That's genuinely how cold this meat restaurant was... I've been to a lot of meat restaurants lately, but this was the first time I've seen one with such proper powerful air conditioning, and it made the whole meal so comfortable. Maybe that's why there were so many groups in for company dinners.

Jjokgalbi that arrives grilled further than the usual first sear

The meat comes out already more cooked than a typical pre-sear, so you only need to grill it briefly before eating — really convenient.

It's also trimmed for easy eating, so instead of struggling to tear the meat off the bone, you can just pick it up with tongs and it comes right off, which was even better.

The spicy jjokgalbi was also easy to eat and, rather than being harshly spicy, had a genuinely delicious kind of heat, which made it really enjoyable — great pick at Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, an Ansan favorite.

Personally, dipping this salt jjokgalbi in raw garlic scapes plus ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) was a combination I'd never tried before, and it was a perfect match. It was so good I think I ate almost all the salt jjokgalbi myself haha.

The pork skin was also nice and thick, and since it comes pre-cooked as mentioned, you don't have to grill it for long before eating — a big plus.

The basic pork skin seasoning was already sweet and delicious, but of course the soybean powder is essential too! My partner, who ate it without dipping in the soybean powder, raved that it was still delicious even plain.

Finishing with icy kimchi-mari noodles (kimchi cold noodles)

I ordered kimchi-mari noodles (kimchi noodle soup) as a palate cleanser, and the broth came with a layer of slushy ice, so gulping down the broth was so satisfying.

Honestly, with the powerful AC already making the place so cold, I debated skipping it, but eating cold noodles like this after all that meat really rounded off the meal nicely. I think I'll order kimchi-mari noodles again next time!

Free ice cream at checkout and beach items to borrow

When we finished eating and went to pay, oh my gosh... free ice cream. I used to stop by somewhere for ice cream after group dinners, but at Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul in Ansan, you can just grab ice cream right there.

I was also surprised by how many flavors there were!

On top of that, there were hair ties, phone chargers, cotton swabs, dental floss, toothpicks — and though it's not in the photo, even stain remover and fabric deodorizer. It really made me feel like this is a meat restaurant with genuine attention to detail.

Is Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul in Ansan worth a visit?

Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, well known as one of Ansan's best jjokgalbi spots, is the kind of place that'll satisfy anyone looking for a group dinner venue near Hanyang University Station or just a proper jjokgalbi restaurant.

Personally, every single staff member inside was so kind and thoughtful that I got to eat my meal in a great mood. Next time I'm craving jjokgalbi, I think I'll go back to Suamgol Jjokgalbi Maeul, the meat restaurant with the powerful AC!