Dongtan date pub after coin karaoke: fried chicken skin, Jusangnakwon

A day-long date ending at Jusangnakwon, Dongtan North Plaza

This date started at a big café in the Yongin area, moved on to a coin karaoke room, and ended at Jusangnakwon (주상낙원), a Korean pub at Dongtan North Plaza. We met fairly early in the morning and had cake and coffee at the big café in Yongin.

I think it was a lemon Earl Grey cake... anyway, I wanted something refreshing and it was so not my style T_T The cream? was greasy, so I only finished the blue lemonade, sob. Next time I'll just stick to a safe chocolate or strawberry cake T_T

We even walked around a nearby park after eating and still had lots of time, so we wondered where to go, and since it's close to Dongtan, we ended up in Dongtan again, haha. It had been a while, and I'd never been to the North Plaza side, so I kept looking around in wonder, lol.

Lunch hadn't digested, so we went to a coin karaoke room (noraebang), and I got first place, haha. After belting it all out I got a bit hungry, so I went looking for one of my favorite kinds of place, a Korean pub. Out of the many around, Jusangnakwon looked calm and quiet, so we went in.

Jusangnakwon hours and free starter snack

Jusangnakwon's Dongtan North Plaza branch is open Monday to Sunday from 17:00 to 3:00 a.m. Since you can drink until 3 a.m., anyone living near Dongtan can take their time. Unfortunately I'm a Suwon person, so we left early T_T T_T T_T

When you sit down, they set out the starter snack and water, and Jusangnakwon's starter snack is, no joke, shrimp chips T_T T_T T_T Crazy. The owner must be a person of great education. The photo below is what was left after we'd been eating for a while,,, haha. I grabbed handfuls the second I saw them, so it looks pretty empty, oops T_T

What's on the Jusangnakwon menu?

As a proper Korean pub, Jusangnakwon's menu is huge! There are soups, meat dishes like suyuk (boiled sliced pork) and yukhoe (seasoned raw beef), and sides like fried dishes and jeon (pan-fried batter), all in good variety.

Best of all, there are even desserts and sherbet, so if you've eaten something greasy, finishing with sherbet sounds great.

How were the beef jjamppong soup and crispy shrimp minari jeon?

Our first order at Jusangnakwon was the beef jjamppong soup (spicy seafood-style noodle soup base, without noodles) and the crispy shrimp minari jeon (water dropwort pancake). Having demolished cake at the café that morning, we felt greasy and picked soup and jeon. I got a beer, and cola for my date because of driving, haha. I'm sorry it's always just me drinking beer, but how can you resist beer with these dishes T_T T_T T_T Sorry!

As you can see in the photo, the beef jjamppong soup was a huge portion. The broth wasn't too salty, just perfectly seasoned, so the spoon never stopped. The cake grease vanished in an instant, amazing, the best bb.

We ordered the crispy shrimp minari jeon because we're both shrimp lovers, though we were worried since we don't love minari that much. But what's this? It was insanely good T_T T_T T_T The shrimp were big and plump, the jeon came out fresh and crispy, just perfect, and the zingy bite of minari here and there went with it beautifully. Even while writing this review my mouth waters T_T We'll have to go again soon.

The jjamppong soup is a huge portion, wow, and the vegetables and everything are really generous. If you're craving soup, I'd definitely recommend this!

Jusangnakwon atmosphere: good for a date or blind date?

Jusangnakwon has an open kitchen, which gave me total peace of mind, since I've been caring more about restaurant hygiene as I get older, haha. The place isn't huge, but the mood lights on the ceiling and the calm, quiet atmosphere are quietly nice, so I think it'd work for a blind date too.

How was the extra fried chicken skin?

We cleared both dishes at Jusangnakwon in the blink of an eye, and since it wasn't enough, we ordered one more: fried chicken skin! Personally I prefer karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken) or chicken wings over fried chicken skin, but my date really wanted it, so I ordered it, and what do you know, it was good too, lol T_T Boss, why are you so good at cooking?

There was even a decent amount of meat? inside the batter, which probably made it better. It's good dipped in the sauce and good plain too!!

There's currently an opening-celebration goguma ppasu (fried sweet potato) coupon on Naver, so be sure to check and use it. We were too full to order it, but sweet potato lovers should definitely try next time.

Going back from Dongtan to Suwon by public transport

I had the next day off, so after eating I begged to try getting from Dongtan to Suwon by public transport, lol. With time to spare we strolled around, heard childhood stories, and then hurried onto the bus when it was time.

The bus came quickly, so we reached the station surprisingly fast. The ride is only 15 minutes, but the intervals are crazy T_T A bus comes only every 20 minutes, and we missed one by a hair and waited 35 minutes T_T T_T Next time we need to get the timing right.

Anyway, from the café to Jusangnakwon, it was a full, satisfying date, haha.