The sizzle of red meat and oil was fully crackling as the smokey aroma of charred fat filled the room, despite the latest in Korean restaurant ventilation at this fancy BBQ joint. We're having the designated Korean natural monument of Jeju heuk dwaeji, the offshore province's precious breed of native black pigs widely considered the 1++ hanwoo of pork -- the rarest and best of Korea.
Not that this absolutely can't be found on the Korean mainland, but there have been too many reports of fake Jeju Black Pork at Seoul's samgyeopsal outlets. So we took advantage of our four days in Jeju to savour this rare gastronomic treat, sampling it twice at two recommendable black pork restaurants.
Restaurant Review: KEUNDONGA (큰돈가) (Jeju) (see map)
The anticipation was so high that we made it our first proper meal upon arrival, a ravenous late lunch on a rare snow day on the subtropical island when we desperately needed some extra blubber. Tucked away on a remote stretch of Jeju-do's southern shore is the upscale BBQ restaurant of Keundonga, applauded by numerous Korean bloggers and featuring a photo wall of visiting K-pop celebrities to substantiate its reputation.
Ordering was a mere formality as the specialty restaurant featured one and only one menu item, a 600g mix of choice cuts from Jeju's native breed of small, slow-growing pigs once considered economically disadvantageous for commercial production. Even today the island barely produces enough for internal consumption, let alone exporting to the Korean mainland.
Genuinely flame-broiled on a charcoal fire and enhanced by a plethora of traditional and novel flavourings -- matcha salt from Jeju's tea plantations, Himalayan rock salt, grilled daepa scallion, old school ssamjang and raw garlic for the orthodox -- our pork was respectfully raised to a level of sophistication worthy of its lineage ... and price tag.
Note the inconspicuous tub of brown liquid being boiled on the grille -- this would be the defining condiment for an authentic Jeju barbecue. While the rest of Korea uses the pungent myeolchi-jeot, or fermented anchovies, for kimchi production, the natives of Jeju-do has long appreciated this complex, briny extract as the perfect dipping sauce for barbecued black pork.
Here comes the moment of truth: was this Jeju black pork better than good old Korean moksal?
To be honest the difference wasn't dramatic, but the meat was noticeably chewier with more intense meaty flavours, somewhere between regular pork and beef. The proprietor came by and we had a good chat comparing Jeju black pork with Spanish iberico, both purported to have inherited more wild boar genes than typical domesticated pigs and thus containing a higher percentage of red muscle fibres.
Then there's a less palatable explanation connoted by the Jeju pig's nickname: ddong dwaeji, or literally shit pigs. In the olden days when most islanders lived in farmhouses, pigpens were typically built beneath the toilets as a gutsy ... ahem ... waste recycling measure. While those old enough to remember the 1960's may swear that pork used to taste better, we are fully satisfied with today's Jeju pork, its clean, uncomplicated flavours deriving from the island's mineral-rich underground waters. Or at least that's the theory.
No matter which theory you subscribe to, Jeju's black pig makes seriously great barbecues on par in my mind with a perfectly grilled secreto ibérico. If you're one of those who normally turn away from samgyeopsal for its oiliness, try wrapping a crispy morsel of Jeju black pork in vinegared radish or marinated rapeseed leaf.
If you ask me, the best companion to Jeju black pork is still the regional favourite of myeolchi-jeot, available here as souvenirs in sealed jars. We barely had room to finish the complimentary doenjang-jjigae -- 600g of barbecued pork was really more than what we're used to.
Meal for Two Persons
| Jeju Black Pork 600g | 54000 Won |
| TOTAL | 54000 Won (CAD$62) |
If 54000 Won sounds expensive for black pork samgyeopsal, just remember that it's a reasonable 9000 Won per 100g -- not much more than the going rate of 8000 Won at the time of writing in Seoul ... and that's for regular pork. For those on a tighter budget there are more options at Jeju City, as we can also attest.
Restaurant Review: TABBUPYEONG SIKDANG (탑부평식당) (Jeju) (see map)
The tourism hub of Jeju City is well-known for its various food streets: Guksu-geori for noodles or Hoetjib-geori for raw fish. And for the island's signature black pork, it has an entire block of a dozen restaurants known collectively as Heukdwaeji-geori, all serving essentially the same menus and competing for the same clientele. It's an old school strategy that worked back in Jeju's heyday as the Hawaii of Korea, but these days it's a battlefield of cutthroat competition -- and good news for adventurous foodies.
A reasonable 38000 Won (CAD$44) bought this entire table of food and then some: 200g of samgyeopsal (three-layered pork belly), 200g of moksal (pork shoulder), a variety of banchan sizzling on the hotplate, ssam for wrapping, steamed egg served in its customary ttukbaegi, a piping hot soup of doenjang-jjigae to follow, and finishing with a fried rice of whatever remains on the hotplate.
Look at the beautiful caramelization on the samgyeopsal -- technically this isn't barbecue per se, but searing at very high temperatures on a convex iron plate designed for keeping the meat dry. Also note the brownish pork skin in the foreground, a freebie which surprisingly became the best part of the meal.
Moksal or samgyeopsal? That's an endless debate for many Korean pork lovers. While I normally prefer moksal as a leaner cut, in the case of Jeju black pork I really love the samgyeopsal with its firmer meat between layers of chewy skin and connective tissues. It's less heavy than you think.
I love pork skin in its multitude of forms, whether on a Spanish cochinillo or atop a cube of Shanghainese red-braised pork. But never in my travels have I come across a slice of pork skin in this heavenly chewy texture, marinated in soy sauce and delightfully non-oily. In fact it's almost perfectly bubble-gum-chewy, with just the right amount of elasticity to bounce the teeth back. This was borderline magical.
Technically the pork here wasn't any cheaper than our lunch spot above -- the benchmark pricing of 9000 Won per 100g seemed to apply everywhere on Jeju-do. But the choice of cut was leaner here, the pork skin phenomenal, and the freebies of gyeran-jjim (steamed egg, pictured above) and doenjang-jjigae (below) were more filling at a cheaper overall price for the meal.
For even cheaper prices the restaurant also offers regular pork at a 20% discount, but that's more for locals who could get their own regional delicacy anytime. For us visitors though, 18000 Won (CAD$21) per person was an excellent price for a full feast of Jeju black pork.
Don't forget to pay the nominal 2000 Won (CAD$2) for this bokkeumbab, stir-fried in front of your eyes with the leftover cabbage and sprouts kimchi and fresh scallions and seaweed -- a perfect finish to a satisfying feast.
Did I mention that the owner gifted us a souvenir box of Jeju blackberry chocolate at the end? Great food, generous portions and friendly service for merely 19000 Won per person -- it's a near impossible combination to beat.
Meal for Two Persons
| Black Pork Moksal 200g | 18000 Won |
| Black Pork Samgyeopsal 200g | 18000 Won |
| Bokkeumbab | 2000 Won |
| TOTAL | 38000 Won (CAD$44) |
For those who prefer seafood to pork, I already wrote another review on Jeju's famous abalones and raw fish. And if you prefer your fish well done, here's one more authentic eatery for another local delicacy.
Restaurant Review: SOKCHO SIKDANG (속초식당) (Jeju) (see map)
This specialty restaurant is all about one dish. Forget everything else on its Korean language menu and watch how every table orders the same giant claypot of sizzling red concoction. In fact you may well offend your serving ajumma if you fail to order at least one of their famous fish jorim. Welcome to Jeju's own Soup Nazi.
And winter happened to be peak season for fresh beltfish, central ingredient to one of Korea's favourite fish stews, the homey galchi jorim with its thick, saucy pungency. Seoulites may argue that Namdaemun Market is the national epicentre for galchi jorim with an entire block specializing on this one dish, but most of Seoul's beltfish actually come from Jeju's warm waters. If you crave absolute freshness, this is where it's at.
That said, freshness has its price as a large pot of galchi jorim -- enough for two or three to share -- set us back a cool 50000 Won compared with the going price of 8000 Won per person at Namdaemun. Just like at Namdaemun, the spicy stew does come with grilled beltfish tail as banchan.
At this price we're expecting one of the best dishes of our trip, and it was.
Where freshness is absolute key to a challenging fish known to spoil almost as quickly as mackerel, this seaside hangout -- half a block inland from Jeju's fishing fleet -- delivered the perfectly rich-tasting galchi without any unpleasant fishiness, all brought together by the addictive, syrupy spiciness of the thick red gravy. Yet my favourite part of the dish wasn't even the beltfish itself, but the tender joseonmu radish that had absorbed the umami essences of the fish and the fermented anchovy broth. While the price could have been less steep, this was honestly the most saliva-inducing dish of our 16 day trip.
Meal for Two Persons
| Galchi Jorim | 50000 Won |
| Rice x 2 | 2000 Won |
| TOTAL | 52000 Won (CAD$60) |
Barely a month after returning from Korea, my wife was already asking me about revisiting Jeju in the warm season. And considering Jeju's unbeatable one-two punch of the best pork barbecue in Korea as well as the freshest seafood, I'm certainly open to the idea.
