Seoul’s Hottest BBQ Spot: Thinly Sliced Pork Belly and Fresh Veggie-Wrapped Dipping Delights

Text & Photos /Little Dot Paine

One evening at my Seoul Airbnb, I was watching a food show about Korean BBQ (Wednesday Food Talk, a pretty interesting culinary talk show that doesn’t just interview restaurants but invites guests to deeply explore them). The theme that day was “pork belly” in Korean BBQ, and the guests introduced three different BBQ restaurants. Since I couldn’t catch the names of the places, I only remembered one mentioned something like “thin-sliced pork belly,” so I searched online for tasty options and stumbled upon this place — the Original Vegetable Rice Wrap House. It was totally by accident. Turns out, this place is also quite famous as the Original Vegetable Rice Wrap House under Baekjongwon, and what’s special is that it’s exclusively known for thin-sliced pork belly.

So one day at noon, I made plans with May to try it out. This place only offers set meals (regardless of the day), with a single serving priced at 9,000 KRW (you must order at least two servings; solo diners are allowed but still need to order a minimum of two servings, totaling at least 18,000 KRW).

I came twice. The first time was on a weekday noon, and the place was packed. The aunties were super busy and couldn’t even attend to me. I confirmed that you had to order at least two servings (no singles allowed), so I came back the next day with May.

Remember to take off your shoes and lock them inside, or someone might end up wearing yours by mistake.

The menu is super simple: a single serving of vegetable rice wrap (with thinly sliced pork belly) for 9,000 KRW. You can add extra thin-sliced pork belly or regular pork belly for 7,000 KRW each. The most unique item is the 3,000 KRW steamed seafood dipping sauce — apparently everyone online adds it. May and I went all out and ordered everything on the menu. We got the two-person set, added an extra portion of pork belly, and one seafood dipping sauce — totaling 28,000 KRW for the two of us.

They first serve a dipping sauce, which I didn’t pay much attention to because I ended up not using it. The real star here is the seafood dipping sauce.

They also bring out two servings of thin-sliced pork belly (included in the set), along with a pot of soy sauce, which the aunty immediately starts preparing before I could even ask for a photo.

She jumps right in and gets cooking.

Here's the full spread — this is the complete two-person vegetable rice wrap (set meal). All the veggies and side dishes can be ordered as add-ons. I think even the rice can be refilled.

The side dishes are pretty thoughtful — including acorn jelly, bellflower root, and more.

This boiled fish dish is super delicious. Sweet and salty, with a slight Japanese flavor. The radish is even better — super flavorful and sweet. You can get refills, which is awesome.

There's a doenjang (fermented soybean paste) soup with mushrooms and cucumber — it’s pretty good too.

That big plate of lettuce earlier? Huge and super long — maybe that’s why many Koreans love it?

The boiled napa cabbage isn’t bad either. It’s plain when boiled, but wrap it with meat and dip it in the soy sauce — absolutely delicious.

Some veggie I don’t recognize — red sliced, looks like beetroot (I only know it’s used to dye lots of foods, never seen it whole before).

And more unrecognizable greens — so many varieties.

I guess these veggies aren’t common in Taiwan. All of them can be refilled. I noticed that Koreans usually stack at least two different types of veggies together (like wrapping betel nuts?), then wrap the meat and soy sauce. But I’m not used to that, so I just use one type of veggie at a time.

This is the doenjang (soybean paste), provided by the restaurant and refillable.

But this one is different — it’s the seafood doenjang, which costs an extra 3,000 KRW to order.

It has chopped squid pieces, no wonder it’s pricier. The doenjang they initially give you and the seafood doenjang we ordered actually taste similar yet different. The regular doenjang comes cold, but the seafood one arrives piping hot. Both are very bold in flavor (super salty!!), with deep, rich tastes. It feels like the sauces have been aging in earthenware pots and developed soul — that’s the true essence of doenjang.

First, they grill the meat slices. The soy sauce flavor isn’t very prominent.

At first, I tried a simpler way to eat it.

The thinly sliced pork belly felt more like the veggies were the stars, with the pork playing a supporting role — kind of underwhelming.

Then I added the seafood doenjang and rice — I love this way of eating!! The doenjang really needs rice to shine — so flavorful and delicious.

Later, we added a regular portion of pork belly (not thinly sliced), which cost 7,000 KRW.

It was still pretty thin, haha.

Tip: This place isn’t primarily about grilled meat — the highlight is actually the large platter of assorted vegetables. It’s a spot to enjoy healthy food, and the price is very reasonable too. For just 9,000 KRW, you can eat unlimited vegetables. Of course, if you’re a meat lover, adding more meat is no problem, and I personally highly recommend the seafood doenjang (fermented soybean paste). It really is the perfect companion for ssam (vegetable wraps) — super tasty when wrapped together. Highly recommended!

Baek Jong-won’s Original Ssam House - Pureun Ssam
Korea Travel Map
Address: 9-4, Dapsimni-ro 1-gil, Dongdaemun-gu (Exit 1 of Dongdaemun Station)
Phone: 02-764-7971
Business Hours: 10:00–22:00
Coordinates: 37.572206, 127.010338

Paine’s Little World ★ Exploring Korea
Bloghttp://www.paine0602.com/blog
Facebook Fan Pagehttps://www.facebook.com/paine0602