Busan jjamppong restaurant, Tuesday 11am open-run: Songjeong Dol

Today I went to a Haeundae Chinese restaurant that's also a Busan jjamppong hotspot and a Busan Songjeong favorite — Songjeong Dol Jjamppong.

Open-run time and parking at Songjeong Dol Jjamppong: when should you go?

Songjeong Dol Jjamppong sits right by Songjeong Beach and opens at 11am on weekdays, so I did an open-run to get in. There's a parking lot to the right of the restaurant and out front too, but I really do recommend the open-run — we came on a Tuesday morning and the hall was full by 11:38am, and the parking lot got crowded fast too.

But it was the kind of place that deserves to fill up. I genuinely don't like jjamppong that much usually, and I still came away calling this the jjamppong of my life... (This was a sponsored visit, but afterward I want to go back and pay with my own money. Honestly I'm curious why they even need sponsorships — they already had so many customers and a crazy wait.)

There was a banner showing it had appeared on MBC's Bravo Law (부라보라), and they've added new menu items too — mapa tofu and white stone-plate jjamppong.

The whole squid stone-plate jjamppong looked delicious, and so did the chili pesto stone-plate jajangmyeon.

They open pretty much right at 11am, and by then four or five other open-run teams besides us were already waiting for the door to open.

As I mentioned, the parking lot isn't small, but look — it's already almost full.

Inside Songjeong Dol Jjamppong: kiosk ordering and green onion kimchi at the self-bar

Waiting at the very front meant I got to photograph the wide hall completely empty of other customers — besides the tables in the photo, there were also four-person window tables.

You order through a kiosk.

This Busan Songjeong favorite even has friendly instructions posted on how to enjoy the food. There's a lot on the menu, so I filmed it. We ordered the whole squid jjamppong (medium), mapa tofu rice, and macaron mangboosha. The owner warned us the portions would be big, and while we did have a little left over, I truly have no regrets. Everything was delicious.

Self-bar: they don't bring you the green onion kimchi — you have to get it yourself, so if you love it, make sure to hit the self-bar.

There's also a review event running, and the homemade syrup ade is a nice touch.

They apparently cook one dish per order, so it can take a bit — but since we were pretty much first in line, ours came out super fast.

And here come the dishes at this Busan Songjeong favorite — the smell alone makes it impossible for this to taste bad.

Whole squid stone-plate jjamppong (medium): how are the broth and noodles?

First up, Songjeong Dol Jjamppong's signature whole squid stone-plate jjamppong. So much steam kept rising off it — the stone plate was genuinely piping hot and never cooled down until we finished. There's a huge pile of bean sprouts on top, and underneath, look at all the ingredients.

You can add extra squid to the set menu too, so if you love squid, I strongly recommend adding more. It's not chewy at all — just the right amount of springy, soft, and delicious.

And the noodles really soak up the broth — it's clearly a soup-based jjamppong, but the noodles end up feeling almost like a bibim (mixed, sauce-coated) jjamppong. Chewy noodles packed with broth — honestly the only words that came out of me were 'this is so good.'

And the broth is genuinely insane. There's a strong smoky wok-hei flavor, but not the kind that just makes your throat burn from spice — it's the kind of smoky flavor that clings pleasantly to your throat. On top of that it's got a spicy-tangy kick with a little sweetness, rich and deep. I'm famously the biggest wimp about spicy food and got the mildest basic level, but it was so good I feel like I could handle it a little spicier too (so good).

There's also wood ear mushroom, scallops, carrots, onions, pine nuts, squid, shrimp, and all kinds of other ingredients packed in.

Can you tell from the photos alone how plump the seafood is and how chewy-thick the noodles are? Honestly this was the number one thing from this entire trip — Songjeong Dol Jjamppong, a true Busan Songjeong favorite...

Scraping the scorched rice from under the stone plate

Once you've eaten a good amount, you have to scrape up the scorched rice (nurungji) at the bottom — using the spatula they give you, I found a whole layer of it underneath.

Scorched rice fully soaked in that rich, delicious broth — there's no way it could be bad. Oh, and while I was dipping the scorched rice, I noticed a squid piece on top — not sure if it was one of the base squid pieces or a leg from the whole squid, but either way, it had a different, extra-chewy bite from the body squid, and it was delicious too.

Mapa tofu rice: order it ready to be very full

Next up, mapa tofu rice.

Irregularly cut chunks of tofu piled with ground meat, garlic, onion, mushroom, and garlic scapes — genuinely delicious.

It's not just the jjamppong that's good — the mapa tofu is seriously delicious too.

We mixed it all up with the rice, and the portion was so big my stomach kept filling up in the most frustrating way. We actually had a friend visiting Songjeong for the first time with us, and had planned to go grab toast for dessert afterward — but she scraped this bowl completely clean and felt like her stomach would burst, so we never made it to the toast place. But honestly, you don't need the toast — spend that money and stomach space on another mapa tofu rice here instead. It's insanely good.

Macaron mangboosha, the best dish of the meal

And then — the dish that genuinely beat both the jjamppong and the mapa tofu as my number one ,,,,,, macaron mangboosha (a crispy shrimp-stuffed toast)!!!!!!!!!!

It really does look like a macaron — a plump, thick one, almost like a 'ttungcaron.' Look at the filling in the middle. It's basically a huge amount of finely chopped shrimp sandwiched between bread and deep-fried — it would be strange if it weren't good, but this was almost excessively delicious.

When I tried to pick it up with chopsticks, it was so plump that even my chopstick skills (trained in Cheonghakdong, no less) couldn't handle it, so I just grabbed it with my hands and tore right in........haha The sweet chili sauce served alongside tasted like it might be homemade — really good.

Usually when you go somewhere to eat good food, even though everyone's tastes differ a bit, there's usually one dish that ends up being the clear favorite. But at this place, everything was so good that my friends and I all had different first and second favorites........ That's how good everything is.

Is Songjeong Dol Jjamppong worth the wait?

On our way out after finishing, there were people already waiting in line.............. Is it really worth waiting for? Yes. I've been to the jjamppong street in Gunsan, Incheon Chinatown, and Busan Chinatown, and I've never once been genuinely moved by a bowl of jjamppong before. This place goes beyond 'moving' — honestly, this is the kind of life-changing jjamppong I want to bring my parents and my boyfriend to eat. Songjeong Dol Jjamppong, a true Busan Songjeong favorite.

This is a place my friends who came with me agree on too (blurred out the rude parts), so everyone should definitely go,,,,,,