Some people will tell you dombe-gogi is the one dish you absolutely have to try when you come to Jeju Island. Dombe-gogi is, put simply, suyuk (boiled pork), and if suyuk is good even on the mainland, it has to be even better on Jeju Island. This place is in downtown Seogwipo, so it was the one time I had trouble parking. You can leave the car in one of the nearby alleys, but in the evening they were packed.
Banchan
They weren’t bad, but meat like this doesn’t really call for a lot of side dishes.
Momguk
I ordered a single portion just in case. It’s a Jeju local speciality. It has seaweed and pork in it, and the aftertaste was slightly spicy. It tasted a lot like Okinawan food.
Banchan
They explained how to use all of it later on.
The dombe-gogi finally arrives
The most expensive one, black pork dombe-gogi, apparently has to be reserved the day before. Even the plain Jeju pork dombe-gogi has to be ordered about an hour ahead if you want it ready when you arrive. It takes time to cook through.
Sliced up thin
They teach you all sorts of ways to eat it. The owner’s pride in his dombe-gogi is something else.
First, in a ssam wrap..
I ate it in wraps until that got to be a hassle, then just ate it plain. As with the grilled cuts, what stands out in dombe-gogi is the fat, which melts away especially softly. I saw suyuk taken to a whole new level. But this is Jeju Island, where even the noodle shops serve good suyuk, so I’m not sure I’d make a special trip back.