Cheonan Korean BBQ restaurant with soy sauce egg rice: Cham Dwaejitgan

Why is pork belly so delicious no matter when you eat it? On a drizzly rainy day, I was craving it, so I visited Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch (참돼짓간).

I had to read up on what makes Cham Dwaejitgan special, too. Rice-husk smoking, domestic Jirisan black pork, top-grade Boseong green-tea-fed pork, clean hygiene, and honest ingredients all caught my eye. Nod nod, understood—now shall we enjoy some pork belly? 👏

Pork is the main event, and they have a proper lineup of delicious sides too.

Pork belly smoked with rice husks and grilled over charcoal

We ordered two servings of Jirisan black pork five-layer belly and one serving of pork belly, and what was set in front of us was rice husks. Rice husks are the coarse outer layer removed first from rice. They say the pork belly grills up even more deliciously with rice husks and real charcoal. I think this was my first time seeing a place cook it this way—it felt like their trademark (?)

The essential spread served with pork belly

The grill was set with minari (water dropwort), bean sprouts, and kimchi, while scallion salad, wraps, cabbage salad, shishito peppers, spicy sauce, mushroom wasabi, garlic scapes, salt, ssamjang (savory soybean dipping paste), and more were laid out. The classic pork-belly combination. Honestly, the kimchi alone could not possibly be bad, and the sauces felt seriously thought-out haha. (How could it not be delicious?)

The meat came out in whole cuts, wonderfully fresh and thick, with mushrooms and sliced potatoes alongside it.

There is a self-service bar where you can refill all those classic side dishes anytime (except the minari). Usually self-service bars have pre-cut kimchi, but here it was in whole heads. It felt like a detail that showed how much they wanted you to enjoy the food properly 👍

Thick-cut pork belly grilled by the staff

A staff member cut up and carefully grilled the thick-cut pork belly for us. I remember constantly admiring how deliciously they cooked it through the whole cutting and grilling process ❤️ It did not make it into the photos, but it was truly beautifully golden-brown...

My photo skills are terrible, but the visuals were top-notch. Of course it had to be delicious, right... and once I tried it, it was even better!!! ❤️ The pork belly had everything: juicy meat and that satisfying chew. Later, they pulled the mushrooms apart in long strips too—such an amazing skill. (Applause.. 👏👏)

The visuals in the video are insane... (I want to eat it again.) No exaggeration at all: this was the pork belly that made me say, “I am definitely coming back here!” It was delicious. The best ❤️

Soy sauce egg rice and stew with the meat

It would be a shame to eat only meat, so I looked over the menu and—soy sauce egg rice? Ordered immediately. Plain rice and fried rice are common, but I hardly ever see soy sauce egg rice, so seeing it right there on the menu made me want it even more... (You got me.) As expected, delicious soy sauce egg rice ⬇️

The egg was thoughtfully served soft-set too 🍳 Mix mix mix~~~~

The next side was stew! I debated doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) or kimchi-jjigae (kimchi stew), then chose kimchi stew 🌶 Bubbling away, the kind of visual that looks delicious on its own. It was pleasantly spicy and tasty, and the tofu pieces were nice and big too. 👍

Was my appetite extra wide open that day? For a palate cleanser, we had mul chik naengmyeon—chilled arrowroot noodles in broth. It was cool and delicious, and a generous drizzle of vinegar made it even better.. 👍👍

Every side dish we ordered was a success 🧡 Everything was seasoned just right. Two people ate three servings of black pork and three servings of green-tea pork, six servings total (until we were bursting) 🐽 Delicious! And that wraps up Cham Dwaejitgan.

When you eat the meat, you can immediately tell that it is fresh. Maybe it was even more delicious because, as they say, food tastes better when someone cooks it for you—the staff carefully grilled the pork to just the right doneness. With kimchi, minari, bean sprouts, garlic scapes, and sauces all included, it could not help but be delicious! Cham Dwaejitgan was genuinely delicious and an absolute must-return spot. Totally recommended ❤️👍