Thick-noodle jjajangmyeon at Omokgyo Chinese restaurant Yugwanjang

I have a condition.

The condition of needing to conquer every single good restaurant in Omokgyo.

hahahahaha

I spotted a Chinese restaurant near Omokgyo Station I'd never seen before, so I got curious and went to check it out!

Where is Yugwanjang Banjeom Omokgyo Station Branch, and is there parking?

Yugwanjang Banjeom Omokgyo Station Branch is at 256 Mokdongdong-ro, 2F, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, and it's so close to Exit 2 of Omokgyo Station you could basically fall out of it and land on the doorstep! It's open 24 hours, so you can go whenever, regardless of time.

I pass by this area all the time and always wondered how I'd never noticed it — I guess I just walked past because it's on the 2nd floor.

Oh, and I found out you can park here! There aren't many Omokgyo Chinese restaurants with parking, so I felt like I'd found a rare gem today haha

On top of that, it's equipped with group seating, takeout, delivery, Wi-Fi, separate men's/women's restrooms, high chairs, and a waiting area.

Inside Yugwanjang Banjeom: window seats and a private room

I was surprised at how spacious the inside of Yugwanjang Banjeom Omokgyo Station Branch was. It's a wide-open space with plenty of seating set up.

I expected an old-school neighborhood Chinese joint, but instead it has a calm interior with warm lighting — a tidy, put-together vibe that would also work well as a family dinner spot in Omokgyo.

The chairs have tall backrests, so each seat feels like its own little section — an open hall layout that still manages to feel private!

The window seat we sat at especially had a nice green view outside, so it felt like being at a fancy restaurant haha

There was also a room-style space further in, with blinds you can draw for privacy — great for Omokgyo group gatherings or a quiet meal.

Once you sit down, you're first served the essentials for any Omokgyo Chinese restaurant — danmuji (pickled radish) and jjajangchae (black bean-marinated onion).

If you want more side dishes, you can grab them from the self-serve bar, and extra dishware like plates and scissors is also ready.

What's on the menu at Yugwanjang Banjeom?

You can enjoy a wide range of authentic Chinese dishes here, from classics like jjajangmyeon and jjampong to rice dishes and stir-fried mains. There's also cold seasonal items like kongguksu (chilled soy milk noodles) and Chinese-style cold noodles, plus traditional Chinese liquors like Yantai Guniang and Kongfujiajiu that pair perfectly with the food ><

• Jjajangmyeon (₩8,000) + gopbaegi/double portion (+₩1,500)
• Jjinsagol seafood jjampong (₩11,000)
• Mini tangsuyuk (₩13,000)

True to the 'quick quick' spirit, our order came out at lightning speed and all at once, so we could enjoy everything without the flow being broken haha

Jjajangmyeon gopbaegi, 8,000 won plus 1,500 won: noodles as thick as udon

Yugwanjang's jjajangmyeon is ₩8,000 for a single portion, and gopbaegi is just ₩1,500 more. The savory scent of chunjang (black bean paste) hit right away, and it had a classic style.

They say a truly good restaurant has to nail the basics, and Yugwanjang's jjajangmyeon has both the glossy, silky sauce visuals and the taste to match.

At just ₩8,000 for a single portion, the price is so kind. I switched to gopbaegi so I could steal a few extra bites, and even with the ₩1,500 upgrade it stays under 10,000 won — great value!

The jjajang sauce is on the thick, dense side, and with the gopbaegi there were so many noodles it was hard to mix everything through haha. I stirred hard to make sure the seasoning coated evenly.

Yugwanjang's jjajangmyeon noodles seemed a bit thicker than other Omokgyo Chinese restaurants — like eating udon noodles tossed in jjajang sauce!

I usually prefer jjajangmyeon where the sauce soaks moistly into the noodles, so I worried thicker noodles might leave the seasoning just sitting on the surface — but not at all! The thick sauce clung densely to the noodles with real body. That old-school savory jjajang flavor came with a deep, rich taste on top, and it wasn't greasy at all — so good.

There's also chili powder on the table, so you can sprinkle it on your jjajangmyeon to taste for even more flavor!

Jjinsagol seafood jjampong, 11,000 won: a hangover cure

Yugwanjang's jjampong lineup was especially varied, with cuttlefish, beef, and soft tofu versions.

Among them, the jjinsagol seafood jjampong and Yongdae-ri hwangtae (dried pollack) jjampong are special menu items you can only get at Yugwanjang. I picked the jjinsagol seafood jjampong!

Made with a deeply simmered sagol (beef bone) broth base, the soup was really clean with no heaviness at all. As I ate, I could almost picture the milky white bone broth being made haha

It's definitely not spicy, but there's a subtle kick that still feels clean and light — in a word, the perfect hangover-cure flavor! haha

Stirring through the soup revealed noodles and a generous amount of hidden ingredients — onion, bok choy, and other vegetables that added depth to the broth.

The spicy broth blended well with the noodles, and even after time passed, the noodles stayed chewy without getting soggy! They slid down almost before I had time to chew.

Shrimp, baby octopus, and octopus all in one bowl — does that make me look kind of powerful? haha. True to the 'seafood jjampong' name, I got to enjoy a variety of fresh seafood.

Mini tangsuyuk, 13,000 won: just right for two

The mini tangsuyuk is ₩13,000 and comes with the sauce served separately. Some places just pour the sauce over the meat, but the owner here clearly knows what's up haha (I'm firmly team dip-not-pour).

It's a mini size, but the portion was more generous than I expected. We wanted tangsuyuk but thought a regular size would be too much for two — the mini turned out to be the perfect side!

Just from the light, pale color of the fried coating, you could tell they use clean oil — zero oily smell, and it's served over shredded cabbage underneath, which made it feel a bit healthier to eat together.

The outer coating is thin and crispy while the meat inside is thick and generous, with a tender, juicy texture that's pure bliss — my companion called it the best tangsuyuk of their life haha. Crispy outside, tender inside, seriously delicious!

The sauce had pineapple in it, which gave it a sweet-leaning-but-tangy balance! Not overly sweet, so it stayed refreshing to dip into all the way to the end.

Is Yugwanjang Banjeom near Omokgyo Station worth it?

With its spacious, clean, and tidy interior, Yugwanjang Banjeom Omokgyo Station Branch seems like a great fit for an Omokgyo family meal or group gathering — if you're looking for an Omokgyo Chinese restaurant, give it a visit!