Holiday couple's Korean BBQ in Gajeong-dong, Incheon: Heukdwaeji

Right at the start of this holiday! My husband and I went for a meat transfusion at Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul Gajeong Ruwon City Main Branch, a well-known restaurant in Gajeong-dong, Incheon. I'd heard it was a famous black pork spot even in Paju, so I went in with high expectations.

How to get there: Gajeong Station on foot, 3 hours free parking

This Ruwon City restaurant is walkable from Gajeong Station, and parking is easy in the building's basement lot! They generously give you up to 3 hours free.

Right at the entrance you can see the meat aging +_+

Inside Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul: dining room and self-serve bar

The inside felt clean and well organized. There are plenty of tables, and there's a room in the back too, so it'd be great for group gatherings or family events.

There's a self-serve bar in the center of the store where you can refill whatever side dishes you like!

Jirisan Berkshire K black pork: menu and banchan

This Gajeong-dong barbecue spot serves Jirisan black pork of the Berkshire K breed. The signature menu is black pork neck, and there's a variety beyond that too — pork belly, pork jowl, pork skin, and more. They also have side menu items like doenjang sulbap (soybean paste rice) and kimchi jjigae!

The basic side dishes are salad, mountain garlic leaves, kimchi, lettuce/cabbage wraps, shiitake wasabi, wasabi, ssamjang, garlic, salt, and chives. Personally I loved how many sauces there were.

They put mushrooms wrapped in foil on the grill. I didn't know why they grilled them wrapped in foil... but when I unwrapped them later, it was amazing?! I'll show you below haha.

Thick black pork neck grilled and cut by the staff

This is the neck meat we ordered! I ordered it because it's the signature menu, and it was really, really thick. I'm someone who loves thick meat, so I was super excited.

For reference, at this Gajeong-dong barbecue spot customers don't grill it themselves — the staff grill it on the grill pan shown in the photo below and bring it out to you. It's convenient that they grill it for you, but it was even better that it came out already cooked~

Free steamed egg soufflé and mukbap with every order

Another thing I loved was that the steamed egg and mukbap (acorn jelly soup) are free!!! This bomb steamed egg... was truly soft and fluffy and delicious...

The mukbap was also served on the house, and it was so refreshing and great for whetting your appetite.

Meljeot made in-house at Heukdwaeji Hyeongjedeul

While we were eating the steamed egg and mukbap, the freshly grilled meat came out! It was great that they cut it all up and grilled it for us!! And in the center they put their own homemade meljeot (fermented anchovy sauce).

The meat was really thick and large, so it had a satisfying chew and lots of juice. Dipped in salt, I could really taste the true flavor of Jirisan black pork.

The shiitake wasabi was seriously ㅠㅠㅠㅠ such a charming flavor. I wanted to make it at home too...

And now, the moment we'd been waiting for — the meljeot!!!! It wasn't too salty and tasted great, so I dipped it in generously.

It tasted amazing wrapped in a lettuce wrap too! It really felt like a proper meat transfusion after a while haha.

Personally this meljeot was the best... it had garlic and chili inside too, so I dipped the meat deep in and ate it together haha.

Mushrooms grilled in foil alongside the pork

The mushrooms that had been wrapped in foil were, before I knew it, cooked to a delicious-looking finish, full of vegetable juice!!! It was clearly different from just grilling them plain.

They were definitely chewier and springier, with vegetable juice bursting out — really delicious, and the combination with the meat was great too +_+

Two servings of pork neck, then ogyeopsal on top

After finishing two servings of neck meat, I thought we should enjoy more black pork, so we ordered pork belly on top.

We dunked the pork belly into the meljeot too, and it went so, so well together ㅠㅠ If you go for the Gajeong-dong / Ruwon City barbecue, definitely try this meljeot!