Entrusted by my crossfitters with the task of settling the food for our Korea trip, I was really excited when I got to know about 석양겨울이야기. The restaurant is located in Changwon, which meant we could drop by for dinner after our day trip to Tongyeong. Changwon is located between Busan and Tongyeong, you see. And it’s from the Korean food show ‘Baek Jong Won’s Top 3 Chef King’ that I got to learn about the restaurant as episode 18’s feature was on grilled pork belly (samgyeopsal).

  

And since we knew through the show that the restaurant only had kimchi and meat, my crossfitters and I did some grocery shopping at Tongyeong before heading over. We bought additional ingredients like mushrooms, cherry tomato, sausagess, onion and garlic.

Our last stop in Tongyeong was Tongyeong Jungang Market, and it was a 3-hours drive for us to get to 석양겨울이야기. Unless one has private transport, it’s really difficult to get to the restaurant because of its inaccessibility.

It’s only after exploring the restaurant that I realised they do have a corner selling other ingredients for customers who came unprepared. And for customers to prepare their ingredients, there’s a washing section.

But what really excited me about the restaurant was how they treated the pork. Wrapped together with pinewood in aluminium foil, the pork was steamed by being placed in a kiln. Apparently, this was done to infuse the aroma of pinewood.

And from the menu, my crossfitters and I ordered:-

1) Kimchi, Complimentary (above)

  

2) Pork belly (500g), ‎₩30,000 (above) – Upon ordering, the staff unwrapped the pork (and pinewood) in front of us. After putting the pinewood aside, the staff went on to slice the pork belly strips before cooking them on the grill. And if one brought additional ingredients and have them ready by this stage, the staff would assist to grill everything together. And yes, I meant the ‘fire show’! We were told to stand away before the staff drizzled lots of oil and torched it to create a big fire. And apparently a strong fire is the best to bring out the pork flavour. So much love for this.

  

3) Shrimp, ‎₩30,000 (above) – Our Busan guide (who joined us for the meal) shared that the staff normally leaves the customer to continue with their grilling after the ‘fire show’. But the staff must have figured we were tourists because he returned and helped us with our prawns and non-pork ingredients. He even showed us how to peel the prawn neatly. Super cool.

  

4) Sweet potato, Complimentary (above) – And at the end of our meal, we were presented with a pot of sweet potatoes. And because we were too full to finish them on the spot, the restaurant allowed us to pack the sweet potatoes back.

My crossfitters and I had an enjoyable time at 석양겨울이야기. Great company aside, food was really good. It’s a pity I didn’t successfully convince the rest to order the black rice (흑미찰밥). I imagine it would go well with kimchi and a hot piece of grilled pork belly. Sob. And besides its inaccessible location, do note the restaurant is non air-conditioned too.