Pig Ssonday

my super korean parents with their picky taste for authentic korean food adore this place.
the thing with korean restaurants is that the best ones are those that specialize in something — the best soon dubu you’re going to find is the one that makes their living off of selling just that.
it’s the same story here — they’re biggest seller is the black pig pork and it’s easy to see why. the texture of the pork belly and pork neck is amazing — tastes extremely high quality and like it’s never been frozen.

This place always seem so crowded and busy. The first time I visited, I was told to wait an hour, skipped. The second time, I tried to make a reservation by phone but they said they can’t take reservations by phone. We arrived a bit early around 6:30pm, hoping it won’t be too crowded, and luckily there was one table available for my family.
One thing I noticed as we were seated was that the majority of the customers were groups of mid-​aged men in business attire. Though it was during a week day, it seemed most of them were there for staff party (hweshik). So if you have little kids or looking for family friendly restaurants, this place might not be for you as the noise level can get louder with lots of beer and alcohol.
Ordering process was kind of pain in the butt. My dad wanted saeng-​gal-​bi, which is non-​marinated beef short ribs, my mom wanted chadolbaegi, or shaved beef brisket, and I wanted the black pork buljip samgyupsal (beehive cut pork belly). The thing is, because galbi and samgyupsal are two different meat, they use different grilling: charcoal for galbi and gas for samgyupsal. We either had to order two servings of galbi and have samgyupsal after, or have both galbi and samgyupsal grilled in gas (which they did not recommend). Chadolbaegi could go in with both charcoal and gas. My dad reluctantly okay-​ed grilling his galbi in gas.
Galbi came in first. One thing I couldn’t understand was how our server put all the galbi meat on the grill, leaving no room for samgyupsal or chadolbaegi! What they told us– that at least two servings of meat must be ordered for charcoal– turned out to be BS, especially that chadolbaegi and galbi could totally be grilled together.
The meat quality was decent. Regardless of the grill situation, each of my family member was satisfied with what they wanted. But for the price we paid (around $ 100 for three people), I wouldn’t say the portion is big. I ended up going into H-​mart to get some fruits. At that point, I honestly admitted that I regret driving 30 minutes just for some mediocre samgyupsals. If you are around the area craving Korean BBQ, this place isn’t so bad, but if not, I suggest other places in Palisades Park or Fort Lee instead.

This is the only place we go for some good samgyupsal and while there are a few in the area this is the only place that seems to sell black pig. The quality is decent and the only place that sells buljip (cross hatched) black pig samgyupsal. The banchan quality is good and you get free dwenjang jjigae with your meat order.
The service is okay but not spectacular. They have kid friendly cups and are good about accommodating children so its not so bad. Overall not bad and just your typical samgyupsal place.

I think I’ve found my new go-​to Samgyupsal place (pork belly bbq joint).
Koreans like to eat samgyupsal and drink soju on rainy days. Not sure of the origins, but you’ll see it in k-​dramas and the sizzling pork scenes will have you drooling.
Checked out this place near the Ridgefield H-​Mart — it’s right next to it in the shopping center. So ample parking.
No frills décor — wooden chairs and tables with grills.
We (2 girls) ordered 1 serving of the regular samgyupsal and 1 serving of the BulJip Samgyupsal (black pig pork belly) — look at my photo — the portions are quite generous! Note: usually kBBQ places require a 2 serving minimum for tableside bbq.
Lots of side dishes plus the steamed egg custard a gratis.
The meat was great. Tasted like high quality cuts, nice and thick. The black pig was much fattier (in a good way) and chewy in texture. Tastewise I preferred the basic. I think it’s a good variety to order portions of both kinds. Keeps things interesting.
Loved that they grilled aged kimchi on the grill on the side, pairs SO well with the pork.
BYOB (HMart is conveniently next door)
Two thumbs up. The 2 serving portion would be perfect for 3 people. We actually finished it BUT i skipped out on the free banchan dishes to make room in my belly for meat and I felt a little queasy from overeating afterwards.
The one thing that turned me off was at the end — the waitress came over with the bill and then just stood there. Awkwardly we grabbed for our wallets immediately but it was just weird. Most places just drop it and come back for it a little later. I felt like they thought we were going to eat and run. But then again, I don’t feel like most Korean restaurants pride themselves on the service factor so whatever.

Nancy and I visited this wonderful Korean restaurant in the K-​Mart mall on Broad Ave. Luncheon specials cost from $ 8-​$ 12. First comes assorted Korean appetizers and a cup of soup. I had spicy pork. It was not too spicy, tasted great, and was very tender. There was plenty to eat and we took some home. Nancy had the beef and loved it. We had a great time. It was our second time there in the last month and we plan on making it a regular stop