Jin Joo (Pearl Meat Korean Restaurant)

Our #1 Samyupsal in Baguio. And for many reasons, it could be yours too. As meat-lovers, this place is haven for us! We have been patrons of this restaurant from years back during their meatshop days. They weren’t a Samgyupsal eat-all-you-can yet then. They just sold korean meats (fresh and freshly cut!) as well as korean side dishes. When they turned into an eat-all-you-can, we started frequenting it. We’ve been eating here for years now at least once a month except when we’re not in Baguio. I only got to review it now because I didn’t really take any photos before hahaha The owners are a Korean family and the place is a NO FRILLS Korean grilled meat stall. They got the basics covered and frankly THAT’S ALL YOU NEED in a samgyupsal restaurant. After all, it’s QUALITY OVER QUANTITY, right? It is the closest to a local Korean samyupsal restaurant you can find in South Korea The MEAT IS DELICIOUS, tender, juicy and most of all FRESH- they cut it fresh every hour to refill the freezer. The delectable side dishes are all in-house and cooked throughout the day. They have fresh PERILLA/SESAME LEAVES which cannot be seen in similar restaurants in town. They DON’T have unnecessary filler dishes that other places have for you to eat so that you won’t consume a lot of meat a typical tactic to make you full even before cooking the samgyupsal itself This resto is straightforward with their meat specialty so don’t expect “add ons” like cheese and the like. You come here for the samgyupsal meat, and their samgyupsal meat will be of the best and freshest quality. It is self-service but servers are around should you need anything. Ambience is your typical ahjumma ahjusshi restaurant in the corner of a market in Seoul. Very authentic experience.⭐

The store really looks like a meat shop but once you enter you can see the tables and grills. We liked that you will be the one to get all the food that you will consume, i.e., pork, beef, sides, and sauces. Of the 4 types of meat available, you can skip the pork bulgogi, it lacks in taste and feels rubbery when cooked. Too bad we got one order and had to consume it since they are very strict on their no leftover policy. You can really feel that it is “unlimited” since you don’t have to wait for the staff to give it to you. At the end, we were charged an additional 20 pesos because we had leftover ssamjang which I find outrageous since it’s only like a teaspoon left. Overall, we enjoyed the experience but just really have to be mindful of the leftovers up to the tiniest bit. It’s now 600 pesos for pork & beef unlimited.

Jinjoo provides the best samgyupsal in whole of Baguio City. Yes, their side dishes are lesser than what other restaurants serve, but Jinjoo’s meat quality is top notch. If you want to focus on eating just samgyupsal, then this is the go-to place. (Also, they’re the only restaurant I know of which serves perilla leaves)