Jecheon Chinese restaurant near Uirimji, no wait at 3pm: Nangman

Today I went back to Nangman Jjajang, a local favorite in Jecheon. This is a Chinese restaurant I've had genuinely delicious food at before, so this time I brought some of my dear coursemates along. We'd all barely slept and were kind of out of it, but the thought of good food had us excited to go.

Nangman Jjajang's location and the vibe of the place

It's set a little back off the main road, but the elevation is high enough that the view of the fields below is really nice. Even the building itself smells like a good restaurant.

What time can you avoid the wait?

Right at the entrance, true to its reputation, there's signage about waiting — average wait times and detailed queue info. Being one of Jecheon's top restaurants, it seems like there's always a wait around lunchtime. We came around 3pm, which is an awkward in-between hour, so we walked straight in with no wait. Sounds like if you visit on a weekday evening or avoid lunch hours, you can dodge the wait.

The place was clean and spacious. The seats were comfortable and well-spaced too, so we could eat at ease.

What three of us ordered: tray jjajang + cream tangsuyuk

You order by tablet at every table, which was really convenient. Nangman Jjajang's signature dishes are tray jjajang, Jecheon tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), cold jjamppong, and cream tangsuyuk, plus a solid lineup of standard dishes too. Last time I came, I loved the tray jjajang and cream tangsuyuk so much that I ordered the same two dishes again for three people today. So today's order was:

• Tray jjajang
• Cream tangsuyuk

Those two dishes, right there.

Nangman Jjajang apparently uses 100% domestic fresh pork tenderloin — female pig, I think? — with no pork smell at all, and the meat texture is soft and tender. The noodles are also made in-house, boiled fresh only after you order. And best of all, the chili powder is domestic, mainly from Jecheon and Yeongwol, not Chinese chili powder. Maybe that's why, like last time, it tasted clean and spicy without that heavy, dusty texture you get from Chinese chili powder.

Self-serve side dishes

They bring out the basic side dishes first, and you help yourself to as much as you need from the self-serve bar.

The kimchi is all domestic, and the homemade cabbage pickles were really good. You just scoop out as much of the side dishes as pairs well with the food as you want.

Tray jjajang, spicy with a hint of perilla leaf

And here's the star, the tray jjajang. It was unusual to see perilla leaf on top, but the perilla scent really comes through and pairs so well with jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles). It's not too harsh or greasy — the seasoning is just right, and it's genuinely delicious with a spicy kick. The smoky wok flavor comes through nicely too, and there's plenty of seafood, which made it even better. There's so much sauce and so many toppings that you can add the free rice and eat it like jjajang-bap (rice with black bean sauce) partway through. We had plenty of noodles, though, so we didn't need the rice.

Cream tangsuyuk, sauce-drenched but crispy to the end

Next came the cream tangsuyuk, and eating it fresh out of the kitchen, the creamy sauce is soft while the tangsuyuk stays crispy and moist — they go together perfectly.

They give you plenty of onion and sauce, and it's delicious. I'm normally a dip-the-sauce-on-the-side type, but here even with the sauce poured all over, it's so crispy that eating it fully sauced isn't uncomfortable at all. Maybe because it's a cream sauce, the tangsuyuk is fried really well and stays crispy all the way through. The occasional bite of corn mixed in added to the fun too.

This is genuinely a must-try. Last time we couldn't finish it all and took it home, and it was still crispy and delicious even reheated at home. I want to eat it again!! Nangman Jjajang's cream tangsuyuk is seriously amazing. The sauce is creamy, a little sweet, with a touch of tang — it all pairs perfectly.

Parking and a stroll around Uirimji

The parking area is huge too, so there's zero worry there. 15 free spots right in front of the restaurant, plus another 10 free spots on the street a minute away... and over 100 free spots at the Uirimji parking lot just 3 minutes away — parking is never an issue, seriously. And with Uirimji Lake right nearby, eating your fill and then going for a stroll afterward is genuinely great.

A truly delicious Jecheon restaurant near Uirimji

Nangman Jjajang

— that's what it was! Gotta come back again, hehe. That's the end of today's Jecheon food adventure!