[Jeju] Boiled Pork Dinner at CheonJitGol 천짓골식당 @ Seogwipo

One of the must try traditional dishes in Jeju will be the dombe meat which means steamed and sliced pork served on chopping board. Tracy found one near our accommodation, so we dropped by for Day 3 dinner. It was a Saturday evening on our day of visit and we should've realised that restaurants in town areas should be busier than normal days. Hahaa, so we went and placed our name on their waitlist (there isn't any list per se but the staff did see us and knew we would like to dine there) and will call when there's a freed up table. So, we waited outside along with a few other chaps.

shop front

We were called in after waiting for 20 minutes. We noticed that the guests there usually comes in larger groups of 4 or more. Age range, I'd guess it's thirties and above.

interior

The menu was rather simple. Choose whether you'd like Jeju black pork or the normal one and the starting weight is 600gms. Add-on meat would be at 300gm each. So of course we got ourselves the black pork set to start and additional normal pork. 900gm to feed 4 pax, hence that's about 225gm for one pax.

The shop looked like it was run by a family. The young staff seemed to be the son, while the dad was busy delivering side-dishes to the tables and finally, the lady who performed the table-side service seemed to be the lady boss.

side dishes and lettuce

main course - Jeju Black Pork

lady boss slicing up the meat and teaching us how to eat it properly

The lady boss will enquire if we are first timers and if yes, she'll teach the table on how to create flavours using the sides given and which sequence works best. She'll slice up some pieces (one each per pax for the group), then shares which item goes with the meat (for example, a slice of marinated onion) and eat it. And she'll ask that you eat combi to ensure that you are enjoying the meat as it was meant to be. Hahaa, it was slightly stressful as her pace was pretty fast but glad she spent time to share with diners on how to enjoy the boiled pork.

sauce

The boiled meat itself was tender and tasted good even if it was just with a touch of salt. Our second round of meat came after the first was completed. Normal pork tasted good too although there was a slight difference in texture with a less premium feel. The fats in the normal pork felt a tad chunkier. But I enjoyed it all the same. Can't say no to meat!

normal pork (300gm)

The atmosphere in the restaurant is not unlike an izakaya, where guests enjoys small bites with their drinks, shares anecdotes with their friends and also shares some friendly banters with the staff. You'll see most tables enjoying their beer/soju/makgeolli. We had makgeolli because the carbonated rice wine with its slight sweetness, is the perfect foil for the boiled pork.

Overall, we spent ₩92,000 for the meal, which was roughly around SGD24 per pax (inclusive of makgeolli and some soda).

CheonJitGol 천짓골식당

Address: 294-10 Cheonji-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

Contact: +82647630399

Business Hour: 

Closed Sunday

Sat - Fri: 5pm to 10pm