Paju family meal with a child: mild stone jajang set at Dolpanseok

A recommended family meal spot for anyone searching Paju Simhaksan restaurants — Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch. There are lots of good restaurants around Simhaksan in Paju, and this time we went for a family meal at Dolpanseok Jjamppong. Just as the name says, they serve jjamppong and jjajang on a stone plate, and a dish name like that can't possibly taste bad, so I went in with high expectations~

Where Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch is, and where to park

We arrived at Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch. The area around the store is so spacious that parking is never an issue. It's located near Simhaksan and Paju Book City, so it was convenient when we were looking for somewhere to eat nearby. A great spot to stop for lunch or dinner if you're out for a drive or outing near Simhaksan! So if you're looking for a good restaurant near Simhaksan in Paju, this place is worth a visit.

The menu: stone jajang, stone jjamppong and samgye seafood nurungji soup

Beyond just jjajang and jjamppong, there's gochujang pesto stone jjajang, whole-squid stone jjamppong, and even samgye (chicken) seafood nurungji (scorched rice) soup, haha — this place really seems serious about menu development. Since the jjajang and jjamppong also come on a stone plate, it feels like a fancy special dish. These days a lot of people come for outings near Simhaksan, so there are tons of restaurants in the area, but this one caught my eye especially for the visual of food served on a stone plate.

Inside Dolpanseok Jjamppong: partitioned booths for families

A friendly staff member showed us to a 4-person table. Every staff member was so kind... The store was also spacious and very clean, which I liked. There were a lot of partitioned seats along the walls, giving a semi-private room-like feel — great for sitting comfortably and cozily as a family.

The stone jajang (medium) + donchitang set, with a spice level you choose

We ordered the stone jjajang (medium) + donchitang SET, and you could choose the spice level when ordering. I really liked that. It's one of the reasons this is a good spot for a family meal in Paju — you can adjust the spice even with kids along. The spice levels went from 1 (mild) to 3 (fire-noodle spicy). We went with level 1, mild (since we had kids with us)!

Order Stone jjajang (medium) + Donchitang SET - mild Handmade gyoza dumplings (6pcs)

That's what we ordered. There were quite a lot of set menus, so it was fun having a variety of options to choose from. Ordering as a set gets you a ₩2,000 discount.

Self-serve corner with pa-kimchi and unlimited rice refills

After ordering, I checked out the self-serve corner. There was onion, green onion kimchi, and pickled radish. Onion and pickled radish are standard at most Chinese restaurants, but Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch also has green onion kimchi... Jjajangmyeon really does need green onion kimchi. The owner clearly knows their stuff.

And unlimited rice refills too~~ Whenever we go to a Chinese restaurant, I always order rice for the kid, so having free rice available at the self-serve corner was such a relief... You could even enjoy it as jjamppong rice or jjajang rice while eating the noodles.

What I scooped up from the self-serve corner~~ The green onion kimchi went so well with the stone jjajang!

How does the medium stone jajang taste at spice level 1?

The stone jjajang (medium) finally arrived. It comes out sizzling on the stone plate, and just looking at it was appetizing. The stone plate is extremely hot, so if you're bringing a kid, be very careful!

Unlike jjajangmyeon from delivery, there's a special appeal to eating it fresh in the restaurant~~ The noodles were bouncy and not soggy at all. On top of that, the noodles at Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan were so slurpable~ The texture didn't feel too starchy — instead of a thick, gluey sauce, it had less viscosity so it didn't feel sticky, which I liked. It also had plenty of seafood inside like squid and shrimp, plus generously sized chunks of onion and vegetables!

Donchitang: pork cutlet and chicken cutlet on one plate

Donchitang. A dish where you can enjoy pork cutlet and chicken cutlet at once. I think it's called donchitang because you dip them in sweet-and-sour pork sauce. The mini pork cutlet had crispy, savory breading, and the chicken cutlet was similar to sweet fried chicken, but tasted great since it was made from soft chicken thigh meat. Being able to try pork cutlet and chicken cutlet together, both sweet-salty and savory, meant I couldn't stop eating~!

Handmade gyoza dumplings (6 pcs)

Handmade gyoza dumplings (6pcs). My kid's favorite — fried dumplings. We already had the donchitang so we didn't really need fried dumplings too, but my kid loves them so much we ordered anyway. Turned out to be a good call. My kid ate so well haha, and the filling inside was plump enough that even with the crispy fried wrapper, it wasn't greasy.

Nurungji scraped from the stone plate at the end

The stone jjajang comes with a generous amount of noodles, and once you finish the jjajangmyeon, there's nurungji (scorched rice) layered on the bottom.... The nurungji was seriously delicious. And eating it with the green onion kimchi kept it from feeling too heavy, so we scraped up every last bit of nurungji.

Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch, recommended as a family meal spot in Paju! The jjajang was packed with seafood and even came with nurungji to enjoy, making the meal very filling, and the donchitang and handmade gyoza dumplings were the perfect sides to go with it.

On the way out, they even gave us rice snacks and yogurt for dessert haha. And there's even a microwave set up for babies eating baby food. I recommend it as a family meal spot in Paju to visit with kids.

Verdict: is Dolpanseok Jjamppong worth it with a child?

If you're looking for a Paju Simhaksan restaurant where you can eat comfortably with kids, I recommend Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch! The store is spacious and clean, parking is easy, and the little touches for family dining — from spice-level options to a baby-food microwave — were all thoughtful. You can eat generously from the sizzling stone-plate jjajang to the donchitang and gyoza dumplings, making it a perfect spot for a family meal. The nurungji you get to enjoy at the end after finishing the jjajang was a special treat that kept us full to the last bite! If you're looking for a good restaurant near Simhaksan in Paju, I recommend stopping by with your family :)