Vietnamese restaurant by Jeongja Station: chewy-crisp chả giò, Kkamon

Spicy pho and chả giò near Jeongja Station: Kkamon Bundang Jeongja Direct Store

Kkamon Bundang Jeongja Direct Store (까몬 분당정자직영점) is a Vietnamese restaurant near Jeongja Station where you can get pho, but also fried rice, chả giò (fried spring rolls) and stir-fried water spinach. This lunch I ordered chả giò, spicy brisket pho, a small water spinach stir-fry and Kkamon fried rice. The portions were decent and there was quite a lot of meat, so I was happy.

I went looking for a good Vietnamese place near Jeongja Station. There are plenty of pho shops these days, but I liked how wide the menu was here. Parking is a pain around Jeongja Station, yet you get 2 hours here, so coming by car was easy. It felt like a casual place I could recommend to anyone looking for a Jeongja Station lunch.

How does parking work at Kkamon Bundang Jeongja Direct Store?

You get 2 hours of parking. After you enter the lot, head for the lot on the left-hand entrance side. The layout is a bit U-shaped, so it can be slightly confusing on your first visit.

Opening hours and tips for finding the restaurant

Kkamon is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., so it works for dinner as well as lunch. A tip, if you want one: if you've parked, don't try to find the restaurant from inside the building. Go outside and look for it from there, because it's hard to find from the inside.

Self-bar with refillable pickled radish and onions

There's a self-bar where you can refill pickled radish, onions and more. They also have hair ties and dental floss! Lots of people like to eat onions with their pho, right?

I kept adding onions as I ate, and they went well with the spicy broth. The pickled radish was there too, nice with the fried rice or the chả giò.

A self-bar like this means you can grab side dishes whenever you need them during the meal. It looked easy to eat quickly without any pressure at lunchtime, so I thought it's a fine candidate for a Jeongja Station lunch.

How spicy is the spicy brisket pho?

The spicy brisket pho at Kkamon felt a little spicier than Shin Ramyun, and the broth was richer than I expected. The description said it has a rich broth with a special seasoning paste, and when I tried it, the spicy flavor really came through.

It wasn't the kind of heat that stings your lips or hurts; the broth was just pleasantly spicy and kept me coming back for more. I even thought it would be perfect as a hangover cure the morning after drinking. There was plenty of brisket, so the pho alone didn't feel lacking, and the broth was rich enough that one bowl made a full meal.

Why the chả giò stood out

The most memorable dish this time was the chả giò. Maybe they use glutinous rice, because the outside was crispy but also a little chewy.

I've been to plenty of local places on trips to Vietnam, but the fried wrapper here was uniquely tasty. The texture differs a bit from ordinary chả giò, which is why it stuck with me, and personally I think Kkamon could call itself a chả giò specialist.

It's even better dipped in the sauce that comes with it, and it goes well with pho too. Adding one order of chả giò as a side really boosts how satisfying a Vietnamese meal is, doesn't it? If you like chả giò, I'd definitely order it alongside.

Kkamon fried rice and the small water spinach stir-fry were generous too

The Kkamon fried rice was better than I expected, and it had quite a lot of meat in it too. Both the pho and the fried rice were generous with meat overall, which I liked. I also ordered the small water spinach stir-fry, which filled in what might feel a bit lacking if you only had pho or fried rice.

The fried rice came with pho broth on the side.

Overall verdict on Kkamon Bundang Jeongja Direct Store

Kkamon Bundang Jeongja Direct Store is a Vietnamese restaurant near Jeongja Station where you can have pho, fried rice and chả giò all in one go. The spicy brisket pho was rich and spicy enough to work as a hangover meal, and I especially liked the chả giò for its unusual fried texture.

Both the fried rice and the pho had plenty of meat, so the meal was filling, and being able to refill pickled radish and onions at the self-bar was handy. You get 2 hours of parking, so it's good if you drive, and the long opening hours make it fine for lunch or dinner.

If you're craving spicy pho or Vietnamese food near Jeongja Station, Kkamon Bundang Jeongja Direct Store is worth a stop for lunch.

This is the view from the bar table. Pretty, right?