Paju Chinese restaurant: unlimited rice & nurungji stone jjamppong set

Where is Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch, and is there parking?

Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch (돌판석짬뽕 파주심학산점) is a stone-pot jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) restaurant at 342-1 Seopae-dong, Paju, on the ground floor. It sits big and visible on the main road near Simhaksan, so it was easy to find, and there is plenty of parking, which made it really convenient to drive over for a weekday lunch.

Around weekday lunchtime my husband and I had come out toward Simhaksan in Paju for a bit of fresh air, and since the day before I'd been craving spicy, smoky-flavored Chinese food. I heard about an unusual place where the jjamppong isn't served in a normal bowl but bubbles away on a huge stone plate and stays hot to the end, so we hopped in the car and went.

You can pick the spice level for the stone jjajang (black bean noodles) and the stone jjamppong, and the menu also has things like handmade pork cutlet and chicken gangjeong. It's got a great reputation around Paju for family meals and lunch, so we went in with high hopes. This is where we had our weekday lunch: Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch.

Atmosphere and the free self-bar rice refills

The ground-floor hall at Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch is spacious, and you can refill rice for free at the self-bar. When we walked in, the hall was huge and the tables were nicely spaced out, so it felt really open!

It was a weekday lunch, so there were office workers, couples out for the day and families with kids, quite a lot of people eating, yet it never felt stuffy or chaotic. With chicken gangjeong on the menu, it would be perfect for a family meal with children too.

And one really solid plus: the rice at the self-bar is free to refill! Pickled radish, onion and chunjang (black bean paste) are there, and so is hot steamed rice, all yours to take as much as you want without feeling awkward. My husband loved it the second he saw the self-bar at the entrance.

How much is the discount on the nurungji stone jjamppong (for 2) + dontang & chitang set?

If you order the nurungji stone jjamppong (for 2) bundled with the dontang & chitang set, you get ₩2,000 off compared with ordering them separately. Sitting down and reading the menu closely, we chose this set for the value and the lineup in one go, and it turned out much more substantial. The spice level can be chosen to taste too, so we asked for what suited us.

For a refreshing drink to finish, I ordered a tangy plum ade and my husband got a fizzy cola.

Before long a huge stone plate was set on our table, and the moment we saw how it looked and how much there was, both our jaws dropped! The big stone plate was piled high like a mountain with seafood, vegetables and chewy noodles, an absolutely enormous amount. With the crispy fried dontang (pork) and chitang (chicken) plates set alongside, the table was practically groaning.

How the nurungji stone jjamppong tastes, and the dontang & chitang combo

The nurungji stone jjamppong (nurungji means scorched rice crust) at Dolpanseok is stir-fried on the stone plate, so the smoky wok flavor really comes through. From the sizzling hot stone plate, I first grabbed a big chopstick-full of the springy jjamppong noodles.

Wow… maybe because it's stir-fried on the stone, the smoky flavor is vivid, and the broth isn't muddy at all, it's deep, rich and clings to the noodles! The spice level was pleasantly fiery, so my chopsticks just wouldn't stop.

We had the dontang & chitang as the ₩2,000-off set, and the quality was fantastic. The dontang, in the style of a handmade pork cutlet, is crispy outside and juicy inside, and the chitang is coated in a sweet-salty sauce. Alternating them with the spicy jjamppong made a perfect sweet-and-salty combo. Taking a sip of the tangy plum ade in between totally refreshed my mouth.

Mixing the scorched bottom crust with free refill rice

And the real highlight of this dish comes after you've finished most of the noodles!

You scrape up the crispy, chewy nurungji stuck to the bottom of the stone plate, soaked in the rich jjamppong sauce, with a spoon! This is a true treat among treats. The nutty nurungji absorbs the spicy, deep jjamppong broth, and the more you chew, the more the savory flavor bursts out. On top of that, we fetched free refill rice from the self-bar and mixed it into the leftover broth, and both my husband and I cleaned out a bowl until we were stuffed.

Tips for visiting Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch

• Location: It's at 342-1 Seopae-dong, Paju, ground floor. The restaurant is spacious and parking is good, so it's easy if you come by car.
• Discount and refill tips: Order the nurungji stone jjamppong (for 2) with the dontang & chitang set to get ₩2,000 off, and rice refills are free at the self-bar.
• Recommended eating order: Eat the noodles and seafood first while the stone plate is still hot, then scrape up the golden nurungji stuck to the bottom, and finish with the free refill rice.
• Spice level: The stone jjamppong spice level can be chosen to your taste.

Overall verdict: a weekday lunch date for two

Our weekday lunch date at Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch with my husband was a 200 out of 100. From the spacious, comfortable ground-floor hall in Seopae-dong, to the overwhelming portions of the nurungji stone jjamppong (for 2) and dontang & chitang set with the ₩2,000 discount, the smoky broth, the savory treat of scraping nurungji off the stone plate, and the free self-bar rice refills with no awkwardness, there was nothing to complain about.

My husband usually eats quite a lot, but he said the portions here were truly generous and scraping the bottom nurungji was fun, so he left full and happy, and he said we should stop by again next time we come to Simhaksan.

If you're looking for a hearty, spicy Chinese meal near Simhaksan or Seopae-dong in Paju, at Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch, or a good place for a family meal or lunch, do go to the store at 342-1 Seopae-dong, ground floor! I recommend it with confidence.