Dear readers, I have a food nemesis. His name is Chris, and I mentioned him briefly here. He and I have such opposing views on food, food prep, everything… well, almost everything… that it’s amusing to talk to him about food. We don’t argue (not quite) because it’s all personal opinion. But it makes taking his recommendations for food very, very interesting sometimes…
On that note, he’d strongly recommended Guh Song for jjajjungmyun a few times to me, but I’d kind of ignored him because it’s in Bayside. Then one day it dawned on me: I go to school in Bayside. A quick Google search showed me that I’m an idiot; Guh Song is literally a few blocks from the western part of my campus. Duh!!! So between classes one day, I took a quick stroll (ok, I drove) over… The above was placed in front of me after I sat down; kimchi, sweet sauce, pickled daikon and onion slices that turn magically sweet like candy if you drizzle white vinegar over them (and I do).
But here is the main event: jjajjungmyun! Black bean paste over noodles, there’s meat and onions in there… Whatever. The point here, for me, is the noodles. Honestly, when he said this place had good jjajjungmyun, I thought, well, it’s jjajjungmyun. I’ve had it a small number of places over the years, and of course have had Chapaghetti (the instant kind you make at home). But I never really thought one place was better than another… until I came here. The noodles were – excuse my use of this word – toothsome, with such a nice heft to the chew, making each bite just delightfully awesome, in such a… delicious way. The sauce was yummy too, with plenty of beef, not so much veggie matter as at Assi Plaza, and just right in terms of taste: savory, but not overly salty, hitting that just right note of umami…
So good I ate it all, leaving only the onions. I even ate the kimchi (this is for those of us who know how sensitive I can be to spicy foods… I forced myself to eat it all; it tasted good, though I was a bit uncomfortable for a bit while eating it… really good mixing bites of kimchi with bites of jjajjungmyun though!).
And a week later, so enthralled with the food, I dragged BlindBaker with me… the above, our munchies.
The kimchi which I forgot to eat this time 🙂
BlindBaker encourages my overeating.
She suggested getting mandoo, and I quickly agreed.
Unfortunately, these were not that good – too much vegetable matter, which normally I wouldn’t mind, but it was bland in taste; not enough salt. Dipping liberally in soy sauce mixed with white vinegar made it taste much better, but I would have liked if these were juicy and flavorful on their own. I’ll pass on these next time.
I decided to go with the lunch special, which came with soup – a strange, sort of Chinese-borscht-like-concoction (Chinese borscht has no beets; it’s more of a tomato-vegetable soup. This was fine, not particular interesting nor offensive.
The huge bowl of rice that came with my lunch special. Again, nothing amazing, but it’s meant as a vehicle for the main course, right?
In the meantime, BlindBaker ordered the jjajjungmyun, and marveled at how awesome it was. I was pretty jealous of her big bowl of awesome, actually, even as my main course arrived…
Sweet and sour pork! I’d looked for sweet and sour shrimp on the menu, but to no avail – after I’d eaten Korean sweet/sour/spicy at Hyo Dong Gak, I was curious to try it at other places… this one looked very different.
Crisply fried pieces of pork tossed with a sweetish glaze. The pork was good, and the sauce was alright, but I don’t think I’d order this again. Not really my style or taste… though for a lunch special, about $6, the overall cost is ridiculously cheap. Come on – soup, rice, main, plus the kimchi/pickled daikon/onions on the table? Not bad at all…
Yvo says: I will definitely be back for more jjajjungmyun, it was awesome – the best I’ve ever had in my life, easily – and will probably (hopefully) get around to trying other dishes and lunch specials there, it’s so cheap. You can’t really regret trying something new when it’s only $5-6 … Perfect for those of us on student budgets (yeah, both BlindBaker and I!). NOM.
recommended
BlindBakerNYC says
Oh my heavens, that jjajjungmyun was… I still sigh over the memory. I might not be able to order anything else on their menu because it’s so damned good! I <3 Chris for this recommendation! Between Guh Song, Press 195, and our study group lunches, we'll be eating well all semester long!
The mandoo was blech. I agree with you, I love veggies but these mandoo were way too full of chives and not enough flavor. It was not appealing. Did we even finish the plate?
Chris says
::fist pump::
Chris says
I normally don’t like jjampong, but Guh Song’s version is really good. Not too fishy or spicy – very pleasant. A bowl of jjampong and their fried rice is also an awesome combo.
I keep meaning to go back to try their buchu muchim (chives w/pork). Did they give you the glazed sweet potato at the end?
Feisty Foodie says
No, what glazed sweet potato?
Actually, I’m hoping Esther chimes in because she mentioned another dish I should get here – I think garlic chicken. And a few of my HS friends mentioned this place when I asked them for their recs for jjajjungmyun in Bayside as well. I’m hoping they ALL chime in 😉
Aimee says
That’s some weird looking bowl of black bean paste. lol but I’ll take your word it was good!
Feisty Foodie says
It’s definitely not for everyone, but think of really properly-made, properly-cooked pasta, topped with a thick gravy of sorts that just… tastes… good, haha
BlindBakerNYC says
I forgot to address the sweet and sour pork. I was really amazed by its lack of … goopiness. The sauce wasn’t at all overpowering, the pork was fried to a nice crisp, though it could have used more seasoning. It’s not a dish I’d order for myself, but as you said, for $6, you can’t beat the value!
esther says
I want to eat this now. Just went to Hyo Dong Gak the other day and thought of you guys! hehe.
The soup in your picture is from jjam ppong, a spicy seafood broth with noodles! It is Jja Jang Myun’s rival. =)
Have you ever been to Erawan on bell? 😀 Yummy thai place!
Feisty Foodie says
Funny you ask that – I went to Erawan on Bell Blvd. years and years ago and it was so awful, my friends and I were all really angry and disgusted with the food. I looked it up a few years ago and we were surprised it’s still open.
Nicholas says
He’s probably your nemesis because he Yelps 😉
T.C. says
Mandoo looks good (neatly wrapepd and crisp) but definitely sounds like it needs mo’ flava…yeah, fatty PORK!!!
Man, it’s been tooooo long since I had jjajjungmyun.