Milyang Chinese restaurant for stone-plate jajangmyeon: Milyang Dol Jjamppong

Milyang Dol Jjamppong after visiting Yeongnamnu Pavilion

Milyang Dol Jjamppong was a truly memorable Milyang restaurant we found on a weekend drive with my husband! Milyang has plenty of sights worth seeing, including Yeongnamnu Pavilion, Geumsidang House, and the Milyang Arirang Trail, making it perfect for an autumn walk. After happily sightseeing all day, we discovered it while looking for something distinctive for dinner. It is also well known as a restaurant near Milyang City Hall, with excellent access to the major attractions, so it fits perfectly into a travel itinerary.

Milyang Dol Jjamppong information

• Address: 82-1 Baengmin-ro, Milyang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea (경남 밀양시 백민로 82-1 1층)
• Hours: 10:30–20:00
• Break time: 15:30–17:00 / weekends 16:00–17:00
• Parking available; groups welcome; high chairs and a microwave for baby food available

The parking at this popular restaurant near Milyang City Hall was amazing. There are spaces for around four cars in front of the restaurant, plus a large shared open parking lot right beside it, so we could visit comfortably without worrying about parking.

We arrived around 5:30, just after the weekend break time ended, having finished looking around Yeongnamnu Pavilion and the Starlight Garden. There were already quite a few guests inside. I had heard the wait gets long at peak time, and I could feel that popularity as soon as we walked in.

The restaurant was more spacious, brighter, and cleaner than I expected. The young staff welcomed us energetically and kindly, which put me in a good mood before the meal even began. Four-person tables are the standard, and tables can be joined according to party size, so it works well for family meals or group gatherings. It was also very well equipped for children, and there were lots of families dining with kids. There were high chairs, of course, as well as a dedicated microwave for baby food.

Ordering the stone-plate jajangmyeon, dontang, and chitang set

Since we were having stone-plate jajangmyeon, we put on aprons first! A large menu board was displayed clearly at the entrance, and the tablet menu had quite a variety, which made choosing fun too. You can order stone-plate jjamppong or stone-plate jajangmyeon on its own, but most people seemed to go for a set, so we ordered the stone-plate jajangmyeon + dontang & chitang set (₩37,000).

The funny messages on the wall made me chuckle. They basically say to order as much as you want without feeling self-conscious. Those of us who eat lightly sometimes feel a little awkward ordering less, but not here! Still, we planned to eat a lot today, so we ordered generously.

While waiting for our food, we looked around the restaurant. We picked up extra side dishes at the self-service bar too. It looks like rice is unlimited! Mixing a bowl of rice right into the concentrated sauce left after stone-plate jajangmyeon or jjamppong sounds so delicious. Big eaters can absolutely leave here stuffed.

The country-of-origin notice on the wall was amusing too, so I took a photo. Most ingredients are domestic, while only the unavoidable ones are from distant waters, Vietnam, or China.~~

They say this stone-plate jajangmyeon is the only jajangmyeon in Korea made without starch! Their tangsuyuk-style fried dishes are divided into dontang, made with pork, and chitang, made with chicken; there is a half-and-half set that lets you try both, so choosing was easy. For chicken lovers like us, the chitang—with its crisp outside and tender inside—was especially up our alley, while dipping the thick dontang into pork-cutlet sauce was a special treat too.

Topping sizzling stone-plate jajangmyeon with green-onion kimchi

The sizzling stone-plate jajangmyeon with nurungji (scorched rice) arrived audibly bubbling on its hot stone plate, and the noodles, fresh seafood, and quail eggs made for an overwhelming visual from the start. At first I wondered why it seemed so runny, but apparently you need to keep stirring it for about a minute. As I stirred, it reduced right on the stone plate, bringing out a salty, savory depth and toasty wok aroma. The noodles were springy too, with an excellent texture.

A popular restaurant near Milyang City Hall after visiting Yeongnamnu Pavilion! Add green-onion kimchi to sizzling stone-plate jajangmyeon and it is game over...

Their green-onion kimchi was made incredibly well too. It was not freshly made, but slightly aged, and the flavor was no joke. It tasted like the warm, skillful green-onion kimchi someone really good at making it would serve. You know that flavor that makes you want to put hot rice on top of green-onion kimchi, right? Its distinctive pungent, refreshing taste went so well with the sweet and salty black-bean sauce.~~

The black-bean sauce was a little richer than regular jajangmyeon, with a smoky wok aroma and a savory, toasty feel. The reduced noodles were somewhere between the familiar thickness of regular jajangmyeon and Chapagetti, and I loved their satisfyingly chewy texture. The savory, salty sauce, bouncy shrimp and squid, and crisp onion were so delicious together. A light sprinkle of chili flakes adds a spicy note, so you can keep eating without it ever feeling heavy.

Oh, and the stone-plate jajangmyeon came in regular and mild versions. The mild version seems to contain no chili flakes at all, so children can eat it. We ordered regular, but it did not feel spicy whatsoever—just clean-tasting. If you love heat, I recommend adding extra chili flakes.

And the nurungji stuck to the bottom of the stone plate was a real delicacy. Gently scraping it off and tasting it was incredible. It had absorbed the black-bean sauce, so the savoriness just exploded. For reference, bowls of rice are free at the self-service bar, so big eaters can have a filling meal too. I also loved that the hot stone plate kept the food warm throughout the meal. With a dish like this, I immediately understood why Milyang Dol Jjamppong has so many customers.

Finishing with dontang and chitang with different sauces

Crisp-outside, tender-inside chitang and dontang with savory stone-plate jajangmyeon! If you are taking a Milyang drive, save this place right now.

After a short wait, the dontang and chitang from our set arrived too. They are tangsuyuk-style fried pork and chicken, topped generously with sweet-and-sour sauce and onions, and they looked wonderfully abundant.

The meat was quite thick and crisp on the outside, with a lovely bite. Dipping it separately into the pork-cutlet sauce and chili sauce that came with it made the same fried dish taste completely different. In particular, dipping dontang in the pork-cutlet sauce made it feel just like eating a pork cutlet, so I think children would love it. When stone-plate jajangmyeon alone feels a little incomplete, ordering the set is a great way to enjoy several flavors.

After the meal, we cooled off with the yogurt and coffee prepared in the restaurant. From the jajangmyeon that stayed hot on the stone plate and the crisp dontang and chitang to the green-onion kimchi, not one part of this meal was lacking. If you are looking for a good restaurant near Milyang's Geumsidang House or Yeongnamnu Pavilion, I confidently recommend Milyang Dol Jjamppong as a great stop on your trip!