Jeonju pork belly restaurant for family dinners with kids: Mongyudo

What kind of pork belly restaurant is Mongyudo Sinsigaji Branch?

Mongyudo Sinsigaji Branch is a restaurant known for low-temperature aged pork belly in Jeonju's Sinsigaji and Hyoja-dong area. Today we went to one of the restaurants we visit often in Hyoja-dong. It's one of the well-known pork belly spots in Jeonju Sinsigaji for its delicious aged meat!

The atmosphere is especially good, so it's a popular dinner spot for a lot of people. It's a restaurant popular enough that there's a wait even on weekdays — let me introduce Mongyudo Sinsigaji Branch!!

Where Mongyudo is and where to park in Jeonju's Sinsigaji district

Mongyudo Sinsigaji Branch sits directly across from the provincial office, so it's easy to spot with its striking exterior as you enter the Sinsigaji downtown area. Parking is also no worry if you drive, since they support 1 hour of parking at the building's basement lot and the lot beside the restaurant, and the street allows odd/even day parking.

How the wait works and what the dining room is like

There's a tablet at the entrance for waiting — you enter your phone number there and the restaurant calls you. The meat is clearly good, because there's definitely a wait.

Walking inside, the seats were packed with barely a gap. It's a restaurant enjoyed by all kinds of groups, from couples to families to company dinners.

What we ordered at Mongyudo and what it cost

They have something called the Mongyudo Set, which is their signature menu, popular for its great composition and value for money. You can order extra meat on top, and there are various sides to enjoy too. The sides here are all famously delicious as well.

• Mongyudo Set for Two ₩43,000
• Pot-fried rice (for 2) ₩6,000

So we enjoyed the meat and ordered the fried rice too!

Side dishes on the table and the kids' tableware

First the basic table setting comes out, and the set menu items follow one by one — think of the doenjang sul-bap as arriving while the meat is grilling.

Whenever we visit with our child, they always set up kids' tableware like this. And I think it's because all the staff are kind that we always end up having an enjoyable meal.

The basic side dishes are ones that go well with meat — kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, and cool dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) came as the basic sides.

Pickled onion and myeong-i namul (wild garlic leaves) come seasoned rather than as raw wrap greens. All of these go well alongside the meat — the sauces are delicious and pair really well with the pork.

They always bring out dried radish greens doenjang soup, and this soup is genuinely delicious! It's also perfect for mixing with rice for kids. The tangy, refreshing mukbap (acorn jelly) comes alongside too, and it really resets your palate while eating meat. All of this is refillable, which makes the value amazing.

There are also so many sauces to pair with the meat — everything from myeongran (salted pollack roe) to ssamjang, wasabi, whole grain mustard, salt, and seasoned salted seafood was set out in a huge variety.

Set choice: kimchi jjigae or doenjang sul-bap?

When you order the Mongyudo Set, you can choose between kimchi jjigae and doenjang sul-bap. The doenjang sul-bap here is always so delicious that I end up ordering it every time. It comes out bubbling hot with plenty of ingredients, which is really satisfying.

Does the staff grill the pork for you?

The meat comes pre-seared, and since they provide grilling service, all you have to do is sit back and eat comfortably. That's probably why couples and parents with kids come here a lot.

They grill the quite thick cuts of meat into bite-sized pieces really well. Once a piece is fully cooked, they move it aside on the grill to keep it warm, and lay out the first bite for you.

With the meat sizzling away, we couldn't skip a cold beer. Meat really does need a drink alongside it.

We tried a piece dipped only in salt, and you could really taste the aging — great flavor and packed with juice. Since the meat itself tastes so good, I think you really have to enjoy the first bite with just salt. The wasabi and pollack roe combo is amazing too, so make sure to try the seasoned side dishes like the myeong-i namul.

They also grill rice cake and green onion, which turned out to be a real treat. The chewy rice cake is crispy outside and gooey inside, great as a dessert, and the green onion grills up sweet and pairs well with the meat.

Finishing with pot-lid fried rice

Finally, fried rice on the pot-lid grill is a must. It's stir-fried in the kitchen beforehand with Mongyudo's own seasoning, and the flavor isn't overpowering — subtle and delicious. Another proper family dinner out today.

Is Mongyudo worth it for a family dinner in Jeonju?

This is a Jeonju Sinsigaji pork belly spot that locals visit often, a place in Hyoja-dong that really knows how to do meat well. If you're looking for a family dinner spot in Hyoja-dong, this is a must-visit.