Gapyeong butcher shop for pension barbecue groceries: Ari Chuksan

In August, I stopped by Ari Chuksan (아리축산) in Cheongpyeong on the way to a Gapyeong pension with friends and children. It was about 15 minutes before arriving at the pension where I was staying, and I chose pork collar and thin-sliced pork belly to grill together for dinner.

Where is Ari Chuksan, and can you stop briefly?

The address is 1F, 23 Gangbyeon-ro, Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It is about a 1-minute walk from Hanaro Mart Cheongpyeong, on the road toward Jogjongcheon from the mart's rear entrance. During my visit, I was able to stop briefly directly in front of the store.

The hours listed in the original post are daily from 9:00 AM to 8:50 PM. There was also a banner outside the store describing its visit history.

What were the meat selection and store atmosphere like?

I arrived around lunchtime on a weekday, and there were quite a few customers in the store. The owner and staff were continuously at work as well.

There was a wide selection of beef and pork cuts. The meat generally looked neatly kept, and the varieties were organized in refrigerated display cases, making it easy to compare cuts and choose what I wanted.

What meat did I choose to grill at the pension?

I chose two packs of Korean pork collar, a specialty pork cut known as kkodeul moksal.

Prepared meat was on display, and the imported-meat labels were large, so it was easy to choose. I also noticed that they sold myeonginamul, pickled wild garlic leaves, to serve with the meat.

They sold both domestic and imported thin-sliced pork belly. We chose two packs of the imported option.

Can you buy barbecue vegetables and sauces too?

They sold lettuce, perilla leaves, shredded scallions, and garlic, as well as carrots, zucchini, peppers, and several kinds of mushrooms. There were also tofu and eggs, so I could choose ingredients to serve with the meat at the same time.

I was told that when purchasing yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), one 300 g yukhoe sauce is provided, with a choice of soy sauce-based or gochujang-based sauce. One sauce is also provided with a sashimi purchase, and additional sauces cost ₩1,000 each.

We bought four packs of meat along with two bags of shredded scallions that included sauce. The shredded scallions cost ₩500 including sauce, and I felt the portion was quite large for the price. I forgot to take a photo of them.

How was the meat grilled at the pension?

After arriving at the pension, we went swimming with friends and children, then grilled the meat. We served it with side dishes and grilled king oyster and enoki mushrooms as well. Perhaps because we ate after swimming, it tasted even better.

What stood out most while shopping was that there were more kinds of meat than I expected, and it was easy to compare them by cut. On the way to a Gapyeong pension, I could prepare both meat and ingredients to serve alongside it.