Hapjeong pork rib dinner with parents: galmaegisal at Champpoppo

I had a delicious dinner at Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch, a well-known pork rib restaurant near Hapjeong and Sangsu stations! This is a newly opened place, and the staff were super friendly and the pork ribs were absolutely delicious, so my parents and I had a really satisfying meal. It can also handle group gatherings, so if you're looking for a dinner spot in Hapjeong or Sangsu, take note! 😊

Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch ✔️ Address: 77 Yanghwa-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor ✔️ Hours: 17:00–24:00 (until 01:00 the next day on Fri, Sat, Sun)

Where Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch is and what the room feels like

Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch, a well-known pork rib restaurant near Sangsu Station, is 439m from Hapjeong Station Exit 6. It's on the first floor of the building, so it's easy to find.

The inside of Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch was clean and pleasant. The tables were round, and there was storage space inside the chairs, so we could comfortably stash our bags and sit down 😊 The friendly staff greeted us warmly.

Cute little phrases hanging on the wall lol. Even us grown-ups need protecting ❤️❤️🤭

The menu and what the three of us ordered

This is the menu at Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch. Soy pork ribs (ganjang jjokgalbi) and spicy pork ribs (yangnyeom jjokgalbi) are the signature dishes here. There are also good-value set menus like the pasta set, the tear gas set, and the assorted set, which seemed great for groups.

We ordered the Tear Gas Set, whole hanger steak, and yeolmu kimchi noodles! 😆

The free side dishes that arrive during the 15-minute pre-grill

This is a place that pre-grills the pork ribs as soon as you order. That pre-grilling takes about 15 minutes, so a generous spread of side dishes comes out during that time to keep your appetite in check.

First, the basic side dishes came out in a row — various sauces, salad, pickled onion, and so on. There were also cotton gloves and plastic gloves so we could hold the ribs while eating.

They brought over the charcoal!

The chicken porridge banchan arrived. A bubbling stone-pot chicken porridge as a side dish lol — that's amazing.

Corn cheese, grilled potatoes, and pork skin are also banchan.

The pork skin also comes pre-grilled, so you just need to grill it about one more minute on the charcoal. Dipping it in curry sauce brought out even more flavor and it was so delicious! I understood why everyone orders extra pork skin lol. Plump, chewy-crispy pork skin — so tasty.

The savory steamed egg with cheese on top came out. There was a lot of it and it was so good. This paired perfectly with the spicy pork ribs 👍

Making the tear gas rice balls yourself

The tear gas rice balls appear! They're rice balls with flying fish roe and seasoned cartilage inside, which you mix and shape yourself with plastic gloves.

A big rice ball, kneaded by hand lol. Thanks to the seasoned cartilage inside, it was well-seasoned and satisfying, and the flying fish roe gave it a nice texture too!

How we grilled the soy-marinated and spicy pork ribs

Today's star, the pork ribs, arrives!! 2 servings of soy pork ribs and 1 serving of spicy pork ribs.

Since they come pre-grilled, you just need to grill each side a little more, starting from the bone side facing the fire.

The meat was plump and generous on the bones — really satisfying! 😍

Look at this, such a big chunk of meat attached!! The soy pork ribs had a clean, savory flavor that was exactly my taste ❤️ Eating it together with the rice ball was really delicious.

The three of us finished off the soy pork ribs, and now the spicy pork ribs!! The spicy pork ribs had a nicely balanced sweet-and-spicy flavor that paired really well with the steamed egg! The seasoning was so good and the meat pieces were big, making it fun to pick at — spicy pork ribs ❤️

Finishing with whole galmaegisal and cold yeolmu kimchi noodles

The whole hanger steak (galmaegisal) came out too! They flipped the grill plate once and grilled it quickly. Charcoal-grilled hanger steak — need I say more? The chewy, savory meat flavor was outstanding ✨️

We finished with the refreshingly tangy yeolmu kimchi noodles!

The noodles were chewy and the yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi) was completely crisp and fresh, making it the perfect way to end the meal. The portion was generous too, so it was easy to share. Highly recommend this one.

Is Champpoppo a good group dinner spot near Hapjeong and Sangsu?

The three of us ate our fill and enjoyed the Tear Gas Set at Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch. True to its reputation as a well-known pork rib restaurant near Sangsu Station, the quality of both the pork ribs and the hanger steak was excellent, and the staff were so friendly that we had an enjoyable dinner. I'd fully recommend this as a group dinner spot for gatherings in Hapjeong and Sangsu 👍👍👍