Gangnam Chinese restaurant with rice-noodle jjamppong: Jjamppong Jijon

I visited Jjamppong Jijon Yeoksam Branch (짬뽕지존 역삼점) because I was craving jjamppong with a spicy, deeply flavorful broth near Yeoksam Station.

Rather than having jjamppong alone, I wanted to try several things, so I ordered rice-noodle jjamppong with added soft tofu, eight fried dumplings, fried eggplant, and zero-calorie cider. You can choose the spice level, so I chose mild for the rice-noodle jjamppong and added soft tofu. The extra tofu comes separately.

Jjamppong Jijon Yeoksam Branch is conveniently located near Yeoksam Station, making it a good place for lunch or dinner. I ordered fried dumplings and fried eggplant alongside the jjamppong because I wanted to try a range of dishes, and I was happy to get different flavors and textures.

How was the mild rice-noodle jjamppong?

This is the rice-noodle jjamppong. Regular Chinese restaurant jjamppong often uses Chinese-style wheat noodles, but this one uses rice noodles, so it felt different. The noodles were fairly soft and absorbed the broth well, making a lovely match with the spicy jjamppong broth.

I ordered mild, but the broth was cleaner-tasting and spicier than I expected. It definitely had jjamppong’s signature peppery heat, but it was not a style where only the heat came through. From my first spoonful, I could taste both the spice and that distinctive savory jjamppong flavor, and it was the kind of broth that made me keep scooping more.

The broth was not too light; it had a certain weight to it. Vegetables and other ingredients came together to give it many layers of flavor, and the heat made the spiciness come through even more. With the noodles, the soft texture of rice noodles and the rich jjamppong broth made it feel quite different from regular jjamppong.

The rice noodles felt a little softer and smoother going down than regular jjamppong noodles. They went well with the broth, so it was delicious to lift them with chopsticks and coat them generously in it. Since the noodles themselves were not strongly flavored, I could really taste the jjamppong broth.

The added soft-tofu combination

I also added soft tofu this time, and this combination worked really well. The soft tofu made the spicy broth feel a little gentler. It was so soft that it was easy to scoop up with a spoon and eat with the broth, and having it between bites of spicy broth gave the meal a nice change of pace.

Soft tofu itself has very little assertive flavor, so with the jjamppong broth it gently softened the heat. Alternating between noodles and tofu kept the bowl from feeling texturally monotonous, since the noodles were chewy and soft while the tofu was tender.

Personally, I think adding soft tofu would be a good option for people who enjoy spicy jjamppong but find overly intense flavors burdensome. Even the mild version had a spicy kick, so eating it with tofu softened the heat a little and made it gentler to eat.

Crispy fried dumplings and fried eggplant

After eating some jjamppong, I tried the fried dumplings too. I ordered eight, and having fried food with a brothy dish like jjamppong was a great pairing. The dumplings had a crisp fried exterior, while the filling was moist and soft.

Eating them straight away while hot really brought out the crispness of the batter. Alternating the jjamppong broth with a fried dumpling gave me spicy broth and nutty fried flavors in turns, which I loved. They tasted even better alongside the jjamppong than on their own.

With one bite, the fried dumplings clearly had a crisp outside and soft interior. They had the dumplings’ mild, lightly salty flavor, so they were fine without any sauce; dipping them briefly in the jjamppong broth made them moist and gave them a different feel.

I also ordered fried eggplant. It is not something I often order at Chinese restaurants, but I was curious and tried it with the rest. The eggplant came coated in batter and fried crisp; the outside was crunchy, while the inside retained eggplant’s soft, moist texture.

The contrast in fried eggplant’s textures was especially fun. The batter crunched first, then the eggplant inside gave way softly. Its natural moisture kept the center juicy, and it went well with the savory fried coating.

Even if you do not usually like eggplant’s soft texture, you may find it different when fried. The crispy batter wraps the eggplant, so instead of its texture standing out on its own, you get tender eggplant along with the savory crunch of the fry.

I had pieces of fried eggplant between bites of jjamppong, and the spicy broth with crispy eggplant was quite a good combination. If you keep eating only jjamppong, the flavors can continue along the same broth-and-noodle line, but the fried dishes changed what I tasted in between.

The fried eggplant was especially different in texture from the fried dumplings: crisp outside but moist within. Although both were fried dishes, the dumplings had a full, mild filling, whereas the eggplant was soft and juicy inside, so ordering both did not feel repetitive.

Self-service drinks and even dessert

There were citron tea and blue lemon ade too, so I liked that I did not necessarily have to order a drink. When eating strongly flavored food such as jjamppong or fried dishes, though, drinks are nice for refreshing your palate between bites. A cool sip after hot, spicy broth felt especially refreshing.

I liked the variety in this meal. The rice-noodle jjamppong brought spicy, rich broth; the added soft tofu added tenderness; and the fried dumplings and eggplant gave me crispy dishes to enjoy too.

Most of all, the rice-noodle jjamppong broth stood out. I ordered mild, but it was spicy while still carrying jjamppong’s characteristic savory flavor, and the broth soaked well into the noodles, so every bite had plenty of flavor. The rice noodles had a different texture from regular jjamppong, but I actually liked how smoothly they went down.

Adding soft tofu was a good decision too. Since the broth was rich and spicy, eating tofu along the way made the flavor gentler. It did not feel separate from the broth at all; it blended in naturally.

The fried dumplings paired a crisp coating with moist filling, while the fried eggplant was crisp outside yet soft and juicy inside, so their textures were clearly different. Ordering sides rather than jjamppong alone let me enjoy several flavors at once, and it made for a pretty substantial meal. They will pack up leftovers too, so I recommend trying a variety of dishes.

I thought it was a good place to visit when I was craving spicy jjamppong near Yeoksam Station. If you want to try different noodles instead of standard jjamppong noodles, the rice-noodle jjamppong is worth ordering. Add soft tofu as well, and you can enjoy the spicy broth with tender tofu for something a little more distinctive.

If jjamppong alone feels a little lacking, I also recommend mixing in a free bowl of unlimited rice from the self-service bar. Spicy jjamppong goes well with warm rice, so it is great when noodles alone do not feel quite enough.

For dessert, they had café latte, Americano, job’s tears tea, hot chocolate, and macchiato all ready. I had originally planned to go to a café after eating, but I just took care of coffee right here instead, haha.

I drank job’s tears tea on the outdoor terrace, had one of the peppermint candies by the counter, and went home very full and happy.