Kid-friendly Jecheon Chinese restaurant dinner: Nangman Jjajang

I was trying to figure out what to eat for dinner after work and ended up at Nangman Jjajang in Jecheon again after a long while. I'd been once before, ages ago, and remembered the portions being smaller than expected haha. So this time I figured we'd order generously and eat properly.

It happened to be a Superchart experience visit, so we got a small cream tangsuyuk and cold jjamppong provided, plus fried rice which our kid wanted and jjamppong which my husband wanted — added on top! Long story short... the three of us ate almost all of it hahaha. Not sure if the portions got bigger or my stomach got smaller 🤣

Arriving at 6:40 PM on a weekday: still before last order

Naver listed Nangman Jjajang's hours as closing at 7:30 PM with last order at 7:00 PM, so I got there around 6:40 after work worried we might be too late to order. Luckily we could order right away.

There were three of us — two adults and our elementary schooler. Because of my memory from before, I kept thinking "what if the portions are small?" and added extra dishes. But once the food started coming out, it was actually a decent amount haha. Still, when food's in front of you, you eat it, right? In the end we finished almost everything except a bit of the cream tangsuyuk.

Four dishes for three: cream tangsuyuk plus cold jjamppong

What we ordered at Nangman Jjajang that day: a small cream tangsuyuk, cold jjamppong, jjamppong, and fried rice — four dishes. That's a lot for three people, but somehow it kept going in haha.

• Cream tangsuyuk (small)
• Cold jjamppong
• Jjamppong
• Fried rice

The cream tangsuyuk and cold jjamppong combo worked better than I expected. The cream tangsuyuk is rich and savory, so it can get a bit heavy after a while — but then a sip of cold jjamppong broth cleans your palate right back up. So the three of us kept alternating between them haha.

How is the cream tangsuyuk? Thick sauce with crunchy onion

Of everything we ate this time, the cream tangsuyuk at Nangman Jjajang stood out the most. The cream sauce was thicker and richer than I expected, with a really nice savory flavor. Taking a big bite with the onion on top added a nice crunch that made it even better.

Normally with cream sauce dishes like this, I get a few bites in and stop reaching for more if it's too heavy — but this time I kept going back for it. Of course, the richness did catch up with me at some point. That's when the cold jjamppong broth stepped in haha. Slurp~ and it was good to go again haha.

Cold jjamppong tastes more like mulhoe than naengmyeon broth

I was curious about the cold jjamppong, so I ordered it, and it was different from cold jjamppong I've had at other Chinese restaurants. You'd usually expect something cool and tangy like naengmyeon (cold noodle) broth, but this one tasted more like mulhoe (Korean cold raw fish soup). It had shrimp and wood ear mushrooms, topped with gim flakes. The broth alone was slightly sweet and refreshing, and eating it with the noodles left a faint spicy kick at the end.

Turns out it suited our kid's taste too. Our young elementary schooler drank the cold jjamppong broth better than I expected haha. It's not completely non-spicy, but it starts off slightly sweet rather than hitting you with heat right away, with just a touch of spice at the end when eaten with the noodles. So our kid went back and forth — a bite of fried rice, a slurp of cold jjamppong broth, more fried rice, more slurping — basically using the broth as a palate cleanser between bites of fried rice, just like we did haha.

Jjamppong with squid, mung bean sprouts and beef brisket

My husband wanted jjamppong, so we ordered one of those too. It had squid, mung bean sprouts, noodles, and thinly sliced beef brisket. The broth was on the richer side with good seasoning, so it didn't taste bland at all.

Going back and forth between the cream tangsuyuk, cold jjamppong, and jjamppong let us enjoy a bunch of different flavors at once, which was great. At first we thought, "did we order too much?"... but nope. We just kept eating haha.

Fried rice for the kid, and kids' gim at the self-serve bar

We ordered fried rice for our kid. It's rice stir-fried with jjajang sauce and egg, but no fried egg on top separately. Our kid was a little disappointed, insisting fried rice should come with a fried egg haha. Still ended up finishing the whole bowl saying it was delicious.

Then I noticed the self-serve bar had kid-friendly gim available. I missed it at first, but our kid spotted it right away haha. Wrapping the fried rice in gim seemed to make it even more enjoyable, and our kid ate even better because of it. We often order fried rice for our kid at Chinese restaurants, so a small touch like this was a nice plus.

Four bowls for three people: portions at Nangman Jjajang

Eating the cream tangsuyuk, when it got a bit rich, a slurp of cold jjamppong broth. Eating fried rice, another slurp of cold jjamppong broth. Then back to tangsuyuk, then jjamppong... eating this way, the pile of food that looked like a lot at first kept shrinking down.

I remembered the portions being smaller than expected from before, but this time it was actually plenty for three people. More than plenty, really, since we still had some cream tangsuyuk left over. I don't know if the portions genuinely changed or my stomach just got smaller haha.

A location you can pair with a trip to Uirimji Lake

Nangman Jjajang in Jecheon is a spot that comes up when people search for restaurants near Uirimji Lake, and I think it really does pair well with a visit there. Walk a loop or two around Uirimji with the kids on the weekend, grab a meal at Nangman Jjajang, then head over to somewhere like the Uirimji History and Culture Museum to look around — the day would fly by haha. If you're planning a family trip to Jecheon, this could easily be part of the itinerary.

Getting to Nangman Jjajang: the Uirimji parking lot route is blocked

For first-time visitors, the route there is worth knowing. I remember the road up to Nangman Jjajang from the Uirimji parking lot used to be open, but now it's blocked with a bollard. So if you try to head straight up from the parking lot, you might think, "wait, why is the road blocked?" haha.

These days you need to turn right at the roundabout and follow the road up from there. I went by my old memory and had to back out of the parking lot and loop back to the roundabout.

Weekend waiting at Nangman Jjajang, with little space to wait

On our weekday evening visit we could order right away, but the entrance had a spot to write down your name for the wait, suggesting it gets busy on weekends. That said, there wasn't really a comfortable indoor space to wait.

So during busy times, you'd probably need to wait in your car or outside until your turn comes up. If you're visiting after a trip to Uirimji on the weekend, it might be worth building in some extra time rather than timing your meal too tightly.

Jjajang sauce and jjamppong broth sold separately to take home

One more thing that caught my eye while looking around the self-serve bar — they sell jjajang sauce and jjamppong broth separately. On days when cooking side dishes feels like too much work, or you're craving Chinese food but don't feel like making anything, picking some of this up to take home would be pretty convenient. Jjajang sauce especially, since all you need is rice to have a full meal, so this kind of thing seemed like a nice option.

Would we go back to Nangman Jjajang? No worries about portions

Our return visit to Nangman Jjajang in Jecheon after a long while. Worried the portions would be small based on my old memory, I added on extra dishes — but as it turned out, the three of us ate quite full. Of everything we had, the thick, savory cream tangsuyuk was the most memorable.

The combo of slurping cold jjamppong broth whenever the cream tangsuyuk got a bit rich worked better than expected, and it was satisfying to see our kid finish a whole bowl of fried rice. Most of all, watching our kid enjoy even the cold jjamppong broth made me think this place works well for a family meal out.

If you're looking for somewhere to eat after a walk and playtime with your kid at Uirimji, this restaurant near Uirimji Lake is worth considering. I'd be happy to stop by again next time I'm out that way. And next time, I probably won't worry about ordering too little haha.

• Party: 2 adults + 1 young elementary schooler
• Visit time: weekday around 6:40 PM
• Ordered: cream tangsuyuk (small), cold jjamppong, jjamppong, fried rice
• Last order: 7:00 PM per Naver
• Weekend visits: waiting possible
• Visiting with kids: fried rice + kid-friendly gim worth knowing
• Good to pair with: Uirimji Lake, Jecheon

If you want to take a walk, let the kids play, and grab something good to eat at Uirimji Lake in Jecheon, adding Nangman Jjajang to your weekend outing could be a good move 😊