16.062 Pork Bake

Cycle 16 – Item 62

8 (Sat) March 2025

Post 5,541

Pork Bake

1.5

at Costco

-Cheongna, Seo, Incheon, Republic of Korea-

solo

Spent the afternoon at Cheongna Dalton School, where the Middle School Battle of the Books was held.  Over the past couple years, the company has sponsored the elementary school events by providing gift certificates to the winning teams (see previously 15.113 Samgyeop Jjambbong; 14.086 Black Pepper Shrimp) – middle school for the first time this year.

International Christian School – Pyeongtaek (ICSP) was the winner.

On the way in, I had noticed a new Costco, less than a kilometer from the school.

Afterwards, I dropped by to check it out and grab a bite.

The biggest Costco that I’ve seen in recent memory (can’t remember how big they were in the States).

Despite the size, I didn’t find an expanded selection of merchandise, at least the food items.  In fact, they didn’t even carry the sourdough loaf that’s available at the Yangjae location.

Over 150 m from end to end – a long walk to get something on the other side of the store.

Pork Bake is a Costco item.  Sautéed pork and cheese wrapped in pizza dough, baked – essentially a long calzone.  Available in the food court.  A quick Google search suggests that it’s exclusive to the Korean market (though stores in other countries offer the Chicken Bake, which used to be sold in Korea but for some reason no longer is) (Costco Korea also used to sell the Bulgogi Bake, now discontinued).

Meh.  The crust was nicely crispy on the outside and chewy inside, like pizza crust.  But the meat was bland, with a hint of porkiness.  Way too much scallions in overly chunky pieces.  Not enough cheese.  Even if doused in Tabasco, I found it too heavy and couldn’t get past half.  Much preferred the copycat at E-Mart Traders (see for comparison 15.166 Chicken 3 Ways).

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