Sadang Chinese restaurant lunch course 2 with palbochae: Baoro China

Whenever a coworker suggested "let's go to a Chinese restaurant" for lunch, I'll be honest, I was never that excited.

It always felt like it would just end up being the same old jjajangmyeon, jjamppong, sweet and sour pork combo, so why bother even reserving a table? But after trying lunch course 2 with my coworkers at Baoro China, a Chinese restaurant known as a Sadang Station favorite, my mind completely changed.

The hall was packed with teams there for group dinners, so we had to wait a bit — but the food made the wait worth it.

Three minutes from Sadang Station: why work teams book Baoro China

Baoro China is a Chinese restaurant in Bangbae-dong, a 3-minute walk from Sadang Station. It comes up often when you search for good Chinese restaurants near Sadang Station, and while the location itself doesn't seem special, once we arrived, nearly every table was already taken by reservation groups — even on a weekday lunch.

Even though we'd already decided on lunch course 2 ahead of time, we still had to wait a few minutes for the group dinner tables to finish being set up. At first I thought "all Chinese restaurants are basically the same," but that assumption started breaking down the moment we sat down.

Palbochae: the plate our table emptied first

The most impressive dish in Baoro China's lunch course 2 was the palbochae (mixed seafood and vegetables in sauce). Usually palbochae in a course meal is the "it's there so you eat it" dish. But here, every piece of seafood and vegetable was cooked to a different, precise degree — the squid was chewy in its own way, the shrimp chewy in its own way, each texture alive.

The broth base wasn't salty either, letting the natural umami of the ingredients come through, so everyone ended up wiping their rice bowls clean with the sauce. One plate of palbochae was enough to convince me why this place keeps showing up on lists of good Chinese restaurants near Sadang Station. 😋

Of course the cream shrimp was also excellent — crispy batter with a sweet glaze that wasn't overdone at all.

Jjamppong vs jjajangmyeon at Baoro China: which bowl won?

This is what I really wanted to talk about. The eternal Chinese-restaurant dilemma: jjajang or jjamppong!

So we ordered both — one jjamppong and one jjajangmyeon.

The jjamppong's broth was spicy and had a subtle smoky wok-fired flavor — definitely delicious.

But the real twist was the jjajangmyeon. The noodles were glossy and smooth with none of that common heaviness, and the sauce had none of the burnt smell that black bean paste sometimes gets — just pure savory flavor, so good I kept eating it without getting tired of it.

I thought this Sadang Station Chinese restaurant was known only for its jjamppong, but I never expected the jjajangmyeon to be this good. If I'd only remembered it as a jjamppong place, I would have almost missed out on the jjajangmyeon — what a shame that would have been.

Who Baoro China suits best

It's great for a casual lunch course with coworkers, and judging by all the group dinner reservations, it also seems to be a popular spot for larger gatherings. If you're looking for a good Chinese restaurant near Sadang Station, I can confidently recommend it — whether you're a jjamppong person or a jjajangmyeon person, you'll be satisfied. Just note that, like us, if you go during lunch without a reservation, there may be a wait, so I'd recommend booking ahead if you're planning a visit. 🍜

The first lunch course option — sweet and sour pork and yusanseul — is also delicious. Here are some photos from a previous visit.

📌 Baoro China Sadang Branch: visit information

• Name: Baoro China (a favorite Chinese restaurant near Sadang Station)
• Location: Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul — 3-minute walk from Sadang Station
• Signature dishes: course set, palbochae, jjajangmyeon, jjamppong, aged sirloin sweet and sour pork (₩28,000), brisket jjamppong (₩15,000), yangjangpi (₩48,000), and more
• Note: Popular for group/company dinner reservations — booking ahead is recommended