Paju Chinese restaurant birthday date: whole squid nurungji jjamppong

Why we picked Dolpanseok Jjamppong near Simhaksan in Paju

For my husband's birthday, we wanted a date night just the two of us, so we went looking for a good spot near Simhaksan in Paju — and landed on Dolpanseok Jjamppong!

I already love jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) in general, but this place serves it on a hot stone plate with nurungji (crispy scorched rice) underneath, which I was really curious about. Since it was his birthday, we figured — let's eat something good and enjoy the day. The menu turned out more varied than I expected too, so I could see this being a great spot for a family meal with kids as well.

Parking, opening hours and the room at Dolpanseok Jjamppong

There's a dedicated parking space just in front of the restaurant for Dolpanseok Jjamppong customers.

They're open weekdays 11:00–21:00 and weekends 11:00–21:00, with a break time of 16:00–17:00 on weekends. Closed every Tuesday.

The interior was clean and spacious, and there were partitioned seating areas, which was nice for eating more privately.

This is the Dolpanseok Jjamppong that's actually been featured on info and food programs.

I really liked that they have a nice variety of set menus too.

Is Dolpanseok Jjamppong good with kids?

They have a highchair and a microwave for warming up baby food, so it's actually a good place to visit with a little one.

Unlimited rice and the green onion kimchi self-bar

The self-bar was set up neatly too, and here's the best part — rice is unlimited at Dolpanseok Jjamppong!

I love mixing rice into jjamppong broth, and it also goes really well once the broth reduces down, so this is great news if you're a rice person. There's green onion kimchi ready too, which paired nicely with both the jjamppong and the rice.

Nurungji stone-plate jjamppong with whole squid: how the taste changes

The dish my husband was most excited about: nurungji stone-plate jjamppong!

It arrives on a hot stone plate piled with seafood — just looking at it was mouthwatering. We added whole squid on top.

At first it feels like a jjamppong with a decent amount of broth, but as it sits on the hot stone, the broth keeps reducing and the flavor and texture change along with it.

As the broth reduces down, the seasoning clings more to the noodles and seafood, and it starts feeling almost like a stir-fried jjamppong.

The combo with the green onion kimchi was excellent too.

And at the very end, you get to eat the toasty nurungji stuck to the stone plate — it felt like enjoying several different flavors in one dish! It's loaded with seafood too, so jjamppong lovers should walk away satisfied.

Thanks to the hot stone, it also stayed warm all the way to the last bite, which I appreciated.

The set chitang, and the donchitang option

The chitang (fried chicken dish) that came with our set!

Tasting it, chitang felt like sweet-seasoned fried chicken (dakgangjeong), which paired well alongside the jjamppong.

It's sweet with a nice sauce, so I think kids would like this one too. They also have a donchitang menu here — a combo of pork cutlet and fried chicken — which seems like a great order if you're visiting with kids.

Even if a kid isn't great with jjamppong, you can just order the pork cutlet or fried chicken dish alongside, so it works well as a family meal option.

Dessert corner: yogurt and gangjeong

After we finished eating, there was yogurt and gangjeong (sweet rice snacks) waiting as dessert.

After the spicy jjamppong, the yogurt cleansed the palate, and finishing with the sweet gangjeong made the whole meal feel really complete.

We came here to celebrate my husband's birthday, eat something good, and have a date night for once — and thanks to this special stone-plate jjamppong, it felt different from the jjamppong we usually eat.

The seafood-packed jjamppong, the toasty nurungji, and the way the broth reduces into something almost stir-fried were all memorable. With options like chitang and donchitang, this works well for a couple's night out or as a family dining spot with kids.

If you bring your receipt from Dolpanseok Jjamppong on the same day to Deomilpoong Bakery Cafe, you get 10% off drinks — worth stopping by as a follow-up stop after your meal.