Korean BBQ near Beomeo court, Daegu: garlic sauce at Matdongsam

There's a new pork belly restaurant that opened up near the Beomeo-dong court, so I went and checked it out. This is Matdongsam, meaning 'tasty neighborhood pork belly.' Matdongsam Beomeo Main Branch.

• Hours: 17:00 – 23:00 (closures announced on Naver and Instagram)

A renovated house with an annex: inside Matdongsam Beomeo

Matdongsam Beomeo Main Branch is a pork belly restaurant made from a renovated house. It's right near the Beomeo-dong court, so it wasn't hard to find.

It really is a place made by renovating a house.

The original layout is still there. It felt so much cozier and nicer that way. The front entrance is just left as it was, haha.

There was another door besides the main entrance, and I wondered what it was for.

Turns out it was a door connecting to the annex. The annex was spacious too, great for a meal.

Since it's newly opened, it has a clean feel. And the location, right near the Beomeo-dong court, makes it easy to find. A good spot if you have plans in Beomeo-dong or are looking for a place to grab dinner nearby!

Lately I've been having fun hunting down newly opened pork BBQ places in Daegu, and this one won me over from the atmosphere alone.

How did the special ogyeopsal and jjondeuksal taste?

At Matdongsam Beomeo Main Branch we ordered two things: special ogyeopsal (extra pork belly) and jjondeuksal (chewy cut). The basic side dishes came out first, along with a guide on how to eat it best, which I followed.

Here are the basic side dishes.

There's a guide for how to eat it best, so check it out!

We ordered the special ogyeopsal and jjondeuksal.

First off, both cuts of meat were seriously delicious.

The special ogyeopsal had just the right amount of fat with a chewy texture, and once grilled, both the nutty flavor and the juiciness came through nicely. The jjondeuksal lived up to its name with an appealingly chewy texture — not tough at all, and the more you chewed, the more the nutty flavor came out!

Barley doenjang, herring roe and the garlic sauce on the grill

Matdongsam's accompaniments are barley doenjang, herring roe, and garlic sauce. Adding a little barley doenjang to the meat brought out a savory flavor, and eating it together with the herring roe added a popping texture on top of that — so even though it was the same meat, I could enjoy it a few different ways.

But honestly, the real kicker was the garlic sauce.

When you start grilling the meat, they put the garlic sauce right on the grill with it, kind of like fermented anchovy sauce. Since the garlic sauce can burn if left on the grill too long, you just take it off partway through. It has this sharp, tangy kick that, eaten with the meat, brings the richness down to zero.

Finishing with a tofu-packed doenjang jjigae

And the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) here is delicious too. It's packed with tofu, and the broth wasn't overly strong or salty. It wasn't bland either — savory and clean at the same time, perfect for a spoonful between bites of meat. Finishing off the meal with rice and doenjang jjigae after the meat made for a proper ending.

Looking for pork belly in Beomeo-dong, Daegu?

Overall this was a satisfying Beomeo-dong pork BBQ spot, clean inside and out with meat that delivered. Truly living up to its name as a tasty neighborhood pork belly place.

Being set in a renovated house gave it a bit of a different atmosphere, and beyond the special ogyeopsal and jjondeuksal, it was fun mixing in the barley doenjang, herring roe, and garlic sauce in different combinations. If you're near the Beomeo-dong court looking for a clean pork belly restaurant, I'd recommend this one.

• A newly opened pork BBQ spot — clean, renovated-house atmosphere
• The barley doenjang and garlic sauce are the real kicker
• The meat itself is delicious too

You can do it if you try.

You can do it if you try.