Calling all pork lovers! Here’s a restaurant that’s serving a pork dish that will make you wish you hadn’t tried it because you won’t stop craving it afterward. Mr. Bossam is a popular chain restaurant in South Korea that specializes in serving a popular Korean dish, bossam, which is thinly sliced pork belly that has been boiled in spices and served with side dishes. The way of eating this dish is usually to have the pork and side dishes wrapped in some sort of vegetable leaves which is where the dish’s name comes from, as “ssam” in Korean literally means wrapped.

Rachel Lee / Daily Nexus

I’ve seen pictures of dishes from this restaurant for years on my social media and have been dying to try it! I was finally able to check out both the Los Angeles Koreatown location and the Rowland Heights location because it was just so good the first time that I had to have it again the very next week. 

Their menu has a broad selection of foods; however, most people come here for their choices of bossam dishes as well as the popular grilled cheese pork ribs. The pork ribs are so popular that the dish has been covered by Insider as well as the Los Angeles Times. This dish consists of grilled pork ribs covered in their sweet gochujang sauce on top of a bed of mozzarella cheese. It’s served in a cast iron skillet, so by the time your order comes all the cheese has melted all over the pork ribs. The skillet also comes with sausages, a spicy rice cake and a steamed egg. Their servers help cut the ribs up and show you how to wrap the cheese around to eat it. The meal doesn’t end there because the chefs will turn any of your leftovers into fried rice by adding complimentary rice, seaweed and an egg!

Rachel Lee / Daily Nexus

However, my favorite dish by far was the bossam. I was able to try three kinds: green onion and gochujang, original and garlic. If I had to pick a favorite I would definitely choose the garlic one, but I think the other two flavors were quite good as well. The garlic one stood out to me the most because it was on the sweeter end, which I enjoyed. The green onion and gochuchang has a kick from the gochujang so I would go with that if you like a little heat. If you can’t decide on a dish to order, I would recommend that you go with their All Star Bossam Combo which offers all three flavors! All these dishes come with a wide variety of side dishes that are also refillable. Make sure to make a wrap that has all their side dishes because it really enhances the flavor. I really enjoyed their fish cakes and radish paper with the pork. Their bossams can easily feed two to three (and maybe even four) people so make sure you go with a group. For those of you who are over 21, bossam is a common meal to eat with a drink, so if you’re up for it, share a bottle of soju or Korean rice wine with your table.  

The first time I went I was also able to try their seafood and green onion pancakes appetizer which I would definitely recommend if you think you have the appetite for it. I always love Korean pancakes so I knew this would be a good choice.

Overall, I had a wonderful time during both visits to this restaurant. The servers are very accommodating but are always running around so don’t be afraid to use the buzzer at your table to get their attention. The food is excellent so if you ever find yourself making a visit to LA (or maybe even Korea) check this place out!