Danyang chicken restaurant for double black garlic flavor

When you go to Danyang, what is the one place you absolutely have to visit?! I toured the sights diligently on my Danyang trip, but I could never give up the fun of hunting down good food either, haha. So the place I went was~~

Black Garlic Dakgangjeong Found at Danyang Gugyeong Market

Danyang Gugyeong Market!!

Danyang Gugyeong Market has so many delicious things to browse, from garlic-based foods to dakgangjeong (sweet-and-savory Korean fried chicken), dumplings, and bread. It was such a fun place to wander around, haha. But one spot in particular caught my eye!!

It was Danyang Heukmaneul Nurungji Dakgangjeong (단양흑마늘누룽지닭강정), selling the not-so-common black garlic dakgangjeong!! I had come all the way to Danyang, and here was chicken using garlic, a local specialty.... How could I possibly resist that?!

I looked for it while wandering around the market, and, as expected of a spot famous for its Danyang Gugyeong Market dakgangjeong, there were already crowds gathered in front of the shop!!

Apparently, it has also been featured on TV several times, which made me even more curious?!

Right in front of the shop, I could even watch them making nurungji (crispy scorched rice) by hand! Round little pieces kept coming out, and it was surprisingly fun to watch, haha.

Choosing Double Black Garlic Flavor and a Friday Afternoon Wait

Just seeing the pile of crunchy-looking nurungji was enough to make my mouth water.... Once I thought about it going into the dakgangjeong, I knew I had to try it, haha.

Looking over the menu, there was the original black garlic nurungji dakgangjeong and a double black garlic flavor for an even richer black garlic taste! Since we had come all this way, we thought, let's try it properly!! So we chose the double black garlic flavor without hesitation, haha. But... I guess a popular restaurant really is popular.... We visited on a Friday afternoon and had to wait 20 minutes after ordering...

Anyway! While waiting and looking around, I spotted black garlic makgeolli (Korean rice wine)!! Black garlic dakgangjeong with black garlic makgeolli—doesn't that combo feel so perfectly Danyang?! Haha. Since we were heading back to the pension for dinner anyway, we neatly packed up both the chicken and the makgeolli.

Off to the pension~~!!

Black Garlic Nurungji Dakgangjeong at the Pension

The moment we got to the pension, we opened the dakgangjeong right away~

Wow.... The second I lifted the lid, the glossy dakgangjeong looked so mouthwatering that it was honestly driving me crazy, haha.

The sauce coated every single piece of chicken beautifully, with crunchy nurungji tucked throughout, so even visually it felt distinctly different from the usual dakgangjeong I knew!

When I took a bite, the sweet-and-salty dakgangjeong sauce hit first, then the distinctive aroma and savory depth of black garlic came through gently afterward. I chose the double flavor with more black garlic, but rather than the garlic being overpowering, it blended naturally into the chicken sauce!!

Eating the sweetly sauced dakgangjeong and then picking up a piece of crisp nurungji now and then completely changed the texture, so I just kept reaching for more, haha.

Black Garlic Makgeolli with Grilled Meat

I also tried the black garlic makgeolli we bought alongside some grilled meat at dinner, haha. Even the color looked a little deeper than regular makgeolli!

When I poured a glass, it was nuttier and smoother than I expected, and really tasty?! At first I wondered, “Wouldn't black garlic makgeolli taste intensely garlicky?” But it was much less overwhelming than expected, and it paired perfectly with the meat!! It was even nicer to enjoy a drink with such local character while traveling in Danyang, haha.

Anyway!! If you are planning a Danyang trip, I would recommend stopping by Gugyeong Market at least once because there is so much food and so much to see, haha. And if you want something more unusual than ordinary dakgangjeong—something that feels uniquely Danyang—give Danyang Heukmaneul Nurungji Dakgangjeong a try!! I personally enjoyed the sweet chicken, black garlic flavor, crunchy nurungji, and garlic chips so much, haha.