Jjajangmyeon + pork ($18+)!
Monday Korean-Chinese — jjajangmyeon + pork $18+. Black bean noodles with extra pork at the Korean-Chinese restaurant.
Monday Korean-Chinese dinner with BB — jjajangmyeon + pork at $18+. The black bean noodles upgraded with extra pork at the Korean-Chinese restaurant.
We ordered:
- Jjajangmyeon with extra pork — $18+
Jjajangmyeon (자장면) is the Korean adaptation of the Chinese zhajiangmian noodle dish. The Korean version uses thick wheat noodles in a sweet-savoury black bean sauce (chunjang, fermented black bean paste), with diced pork, onion, zucchini, and a few vegetables mixed through. Topped with shredded cucumber for fresh contrast.
The black bean sauce was the headline. Deep mahogany-black colour, thick consistency, sweet-savoury-umami profile with the slight smoky-fermented depth that chunjang brings. The sauce coats each noodle strand thoroughly, with the diced ingredients distributed evenly through the noodles.
The extra pork upgrade added more diced pork pieces to the sauce. Standard jjajangmyeon has a modest pork portion; the +pork upgrade typically doubles the meat content, making the dish more substantial.
The noodles were the thick wheat-noodle variety that Korean jjajangmyeon uses. Thicker than Italian pasta, slightly chewier than ramen noodles, with the right starch content to absorb the sauce.
Onion and zucchini diced into the sauce provided the secondary textures and the vegetable component. Some restaurants add diced potato or carrot; the basics are onion + zucchini + pork as the standard mix.
Shredded cucumber on top is the proper Korean garnish. The fresh raw cucumber bite cuts through the rich heavy sauce, providing the small crunch-and-fresh contrast that the dish needs.
The eating ritual is the mix-and-eat. Use the chopsticks to thoroughly mix the noodles with the sauce before starting, then eat by the chopstick. The mixing makes sure each forkful gets sauce-coated noodles.
A side of pickled daikon (the bright-yellow pickled radish that Korean-Chinese restaurants always serve) came on the side. The pickled radish provides the acid-and-crunch counterpoint to the heavy noodle dish.
At $18+ for the upgraded jjajangmyeon this is fair Korean-Chinese restaurant pricing. The standard bowl runs $12-14; the +pork upgrade adds $4-6.
Korean-Chinese restaurants have been steady through phase 2. The format is the kind of casual sit-down dining that fits the mid-week dinner slot — not too elaborate, not too cheap, properly executed.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid jjajangmyeon with pork — would re-order.
