Hwaseong Korean BBQ with rice cake and bean powder: Jipbul Taebaek

Jipbul Taebaek Dongtan Flagship Branch is only about 10 minutes from my house by car, so I visit fairly often. It's usually busy — I've had to wait or squeeze into the last open table before — but this time I went around 4:50pm on a Sunday and got to eat pretty comfortably. I went for the marinated beef ribs, ended up adding pork belly too, and finished it off with kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew).

Where is it, and where do you park?

Jipbul Taebaek Dongtan Flagship Branch is near the 11-ja shopping strip in Yeongcheon-dong, Dongtan. Right in front of the restaurant there's free parking for about 3 cars. I arrived around 4:50pm on a Sunday and luckily one spot was still open, so I parked right in front. Lucky~

If there's no spot in front, there's a street public parking lot nearby, and the first 1.5 hours are free.

And if that's full too? There's also a paid parking tower called Deokhoe P Tower nearby (2 minutes on foot), where they give you one parking ticket per table for 2 hours of parking. Spots in front of the restaurant aren't super plentiful, so if you're visiting during evening peak hours, it's worth planning for the public lot or the parking tower just in case.

What the restaurant looks like inside

The restaurant isn't huge, but the tables are spaced out pretty well, so it feels more comfortable than expected. The layout isn't cramped against neighboring tables, so conversation wasn't disrupted much — it works fine for a date or a family meal.

We arrived not long after opening, so only two or three tables were filled at first, but by the time we finished eating, quite a lot of tables had filled up. The weather was nice that day so all the windows were left open, which made the inside feel really open and airy. Korean BBQ places can sometimes get smoky or stuffy, but with the windows wide open, it was quite pleasant to eat there.

Menu and prices

Jipbul Taebaek Dongtan Flagship Branch serves several types of meat, from marinated beef ribs to pork belly, pork neck, jowl, and skirt steak. The signature menu prices are roughly:

• Marinated beef ribs 300g ₩32,000
• Raw marinated beef ribs 300g ₩35,000
• Straw-fire pork belly 170g ₩17,000
• Straw-fire pork neck 170g ₩17,000
• Straw-fire whole jowl 150g ₩21,000
• Straw-fire skirt steak 150g ₩25,000

For rice dishes, there's kimchi jjigae, cheonggukjang jjigae (fermented soybean stew), cheese egg steamed dish, and more.

There's also a wine menu at reasonable prices, good if you want to set a nicer mood. It ranges from ₩35,000 up to ₩180,000. I was driving so I passed~ ㅠㅠ

That day we started with two servings of marinated beef ribs, then added one serving of pork belly. At the end we finished with kimchi jjigae for ₩7,000.

Banchan and the six dipping sauces

Maybe because we'd made a reservation, the table was set up really fast as soon as we sat down.

The banchan (side dishes) selection is pretty varied. There's even a full plate of japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) for each person (so no one has to fight over it, haha),

plus lettuce and perilla leaf salad, potato salad, green onion kimchi, spicy radish salad, pickled radish and celery, and even bracken fern and kimchi you grill yourself.

There were also six different sauces — black sesame salt, soy sauce, ssamjang (soybean paste), mushroom sauce, wasabi, and chwinamul (aster scaber) pesto.

My husband especially loved the black sesame salt — not too salty and nutty, great for dipping a generous amount of meat into. As for me, the classic combo won again ㅎ_ㅎ soy sauce with wasabi on top! The soy sauce's subtle sweetness plus wasabi cutting the richness paired really well with the meat. The chwinamul pesto had a fragrant herbal aroma that felt different from the usual meat sauces. Surprisingly, I kept reaching for the green onion kimchi and spicy radish salad too — perfectly fermented, crunchy, and really refreshing, they cut through the richness after several bites of meat so well that I kept eating them together. I wanted to pack some to take home...

Two servings of marinated beef ribs, from straw-fire sear to the last bite off the bone

The first thing we ordered was two servings of marinated beef ribs. They came already seared over straw fire, and we got to watch the searing happen in person. The moment the straw goes in, the flames shoot right up — really fun to watch.

After the initial sear, a staff member grills the meat for you and cuts it into bite-sized pieces.

They told us to try the first piece plain, without any dip.

Eating it plain, I could taste a subtle sweetness, smoky fire flavor, and a soft texture all at once. Even without a strong marinade, it wasn't bland at all — the flavor of the meat itself really came through. Next I tried it dipped generously in black sesame salt, which added a nice nuttiness.

Topping it with green onion kimchi also worked really well.

With so many sauces and side dishes to choose from, it was fun to keep switching up combinations even while eating the same meat.

After we finished the beef ribs, when we told the staff, they picked all the meat off the bones still left on the grill. They really went at it corner to corner, and there ended up being more meat than expected.

This part has a slightly chewier texture. My husband, who loves that kind of texture, ate it happily, crunching away. I'm not great with chewy textures, so I picked out the softer bits, haha. Still, eating even the bits stuck to the bone like this feels like part of the fun of marinated beef ribs.

Adding straw-fire pork belly: grilled rice cake dipped in bean powder

Stopping at just the beef ribs felt a little unsatisfying, so we added a serving of straw-fire pork belly. The pork belly also comes pre-seared over straw fire, and staff cut and grill it for you directly. Having someone else grill it meant we didn't have to worry about timing at all, which was convenient.

The pork belly was soft and chewy with a subtle smoky flavor — delicious. But personally, the most memorable part of the day was..!! While grilling the pork belly, they also grill two slices of rice cake, and you wrap the grilled rice cake with pork belly and grilled kimchi, then dip it in roasted bean powder.

The chewy texture of the rice cake plus the soft, bouncy texture of the pork belly, plus the nutty flavor of the bean powder...!!!! And on top of that, the grilled kimchi cuts through what could otherwise feel a bit rich — the combination was really great.

I used to love wrapping pork belly in rice cake and ate it often back in the day, so eating it again after a while brought back some nostalgic memories. It made me think I should come back next time just for the pork belly plus grilled rice cake combo!

Finishing with kimchi jjigae, plus iced coffee on the way out

After the meat, of course it has to end with rice. We added kimchi jjigae for ₩7,000. It was appropriately spicy and hot, perfect for finishing off after eating meat.

At the end we thoroughly mixed in rice too — the spicy broth felt like it cleared out the heaviness left from eating meat, which I liked.

And the staff were really kind~ Throughout the meal they kept checking whether any side dishes were running low and refilled them. Even while busy, they seemed to keep an eye on the guests, which made for a satisfying experience overall! When we got up to pay and head out, I noticed two coffee machines by the entrance.

And next to them, cups of ice were already prepared (seriously, this level of thoughtfulness is exactly my thing)

so we made ourselves a proper iced coffee and carried it out.

It was an evening where we properly finished off everything — meat, rice, and coffee.

How to book, and opening hours

Jipbul Taebaek Dongtan Flagship Branch tends to be busy, so I'd recommend making a reservation if you're visiting on weekends or during evening peak hours. It's open daily from 12:30 to 22:30, with last order at 21:50. If you leave a receipt review, they'll give you guacamole tortillas too, so if you're satisfied, leave a review and try that as well — apparently it's quite the delicacy!

Final thoughts

If you're in Yeongcheon-dong, Dongtan and looking for a Korean BBQ restaurant where staff grill the meat for you, or you're after that smoky fire flavor, this is worth a visit. The marinated beef ribs let you enjoy the meat's own soft flavor along with the smoky fire taste, but what stuck with me most from this visit was, surprisingly, the pork belly plus grilled rice cake plus grilled kimchi combination. Next time I think I'll order pork belly as the main event. >__<