Gangnam Chinese restaurant with crab fried rice: Jjamppong Jijon

A great spot near Yeoksam Station for incredible jjamppong: Jjamppong Jijon.

A Saturday afternoon trip to Yeoksam-dong for spicy jjamppong

On a Saturday afternoon after work, I headed to Yeoksam-dong craving a warming, spicy broth. Today’s food stop was Jjamppong Jijon Yeoksam Branch (짬뽕지존 역삼점), an instant-made jjamppong spot near Yeoksam Station.

• Address: 21 Teheran-ro 10-gil, Building B, 2F, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울 강남구 테헤란로10길 21 B동 2층)
• Hours: Mon–Fri 10:00–22:00 / Sat–Sun 10:00–21:00
• Parking: Paid parking available in front of the building (₩3,000)

A rare, spacious parking lot in Gangnam

Since I commute to Gangnam by car, whether parking is available is one of the most important things I consider when visiting a restaurant. But Jjamppong Jijon Yeoksam Branch has this wonderfully rare, spacious parking lot right in this ridiculously expensive prime stretch of Gangnam.

There is a parking attendant out front, and customers visiting restaurants in the building can use paid parking for ₩3,000. A place where you can eat in Gangnam while paying just ₩3,000 for parking—very precious indeed.

Jjamppong Jijon is on the second floor of the building. This is the entrance you see as soon as you come upstairs. Unlike the usual Chinese restaurant, the exterior felt very clean and tidy. There were tables and chairs in front of the restaurant too, making it look like a lovely place to have a coffee after your meal.

A roomy interior and self-service corner for easy solo meals

Into the restaurant! The interior was more spacious than expected, with plenty of tables. There were also lots of tables for one or two guests, so people coming to eat alone should be able to dine without any pressure. With so many offices nearby, I can’t imagine a better spot for a solo meal.

The self-service corner has danmuji (yellow pickled radish), zhacai (pickled mustard stem), and rice for refills.

I settled into a table.

You order and pay through the kiosk installed at each table. Since it is a jjamppong specialty restaurant, I first ordered a bowl of the signature jjamppong, then added crab fried rice and tangsuyuk.

The individually packaged danmuji and bottled water were served so neatly that it felt very hygienic.

Jjamppong, glutinous-rice tangsuyuk, and crab fried rice

Finally, the food we ordered arrived! Jjamppong (₩13,000), glutinous-rice tangsuyuk (₩20,000), and crab fried rice (₩11,000), for a total of ₩44,000. They looked so beautiful that they already seemed delicious before I had even taken a bite.

Sweet-and-tangy, tender glutinous-rice tangsuyuk

The glutinous-rice tangsuyuk came with shredded onion and cabbage. The sauce was wonderfully sweet and tangy, and all the ingredients worked together beautifully.

The glutinous-rice batter was not hard at all, but very tender, and the pieces of meat inside were more substantial and thick than I expected. There was absolutely no unwanted meat smell, and the chew was excellent—definitely approved!

Crab fried rice that went beautifully with jjajang sauce

The crab fried rice came with glossy, glistening jjajang sauce. This place... I thought it was only a jjamppong specialty restaurant... but it does jjajang incredibly well too!

True to Chinese-style fried rice, it was fried into a lovely dry, separate-grain texture. Exactly the texture of fried rice I love. There was quite a bit of crab meat tucked in too!

The fried rice came with a complimentary bowl of jjamppong broth. Usually, the complimentary broth at Chinese restaurants is mostly just broth, isn’t it? This place had generously piled it with ingredients. It was packed with vegetables, clams, and more, so the quality was far too good to call it merely complimentary broth!

Warming jjamppong at the standard spice level

And then, the long-awaited jjamppong! I ordered the most basic spice level because I worried an overly spicy one might be difficult, and it suited my palate perfectly—an excellent choice. It was not bland at all, just pleasantly and appropriately spicy, so I scraped the bowl completely clean. Jjamppong Jijon really deserves to be called a jjamppong specialty restaurant. A very, very strong pass!

The noodles had not gone soft at all; they were chewy and wonderfully springy. Even the chives and quail-egg garnish were so cute and thoughtful at this excellent jjamppong spot near Yeoksam Station, Jjamppong Jijon.

My husband took this photo of the men’s restroom after going there following our meal. He said it was nice that refreshing mouthwash was provided too.

After finishing the meal, we sat down in the table area that had caught my eye when we first entered. A refreshing drink from the self-service bar to cleanse the palate, and today’s perfect meal came to an end.

Recommended for

• Office workers who are serious solo diners looking for a lunch spot near Yeoksam Station
• Nearby Yeoksam-dong companies and groups looking for a place for team dinners