Munrae-dong chicken restaurant: half-and-half nurungji, Jangjakgun

A review of Jangjakgun, a great restaurant near Munrae Station!

No exaggeration — this was the best chicken we've had in Yeongdeungpo-gu so far, haha. It has a bit of a hidden-gem, only-locals-know-about-it vibe, and it's now officially our favorite chicken spot as a couple, so we'll definitely be back often! Here's the review!!

Where is Jangjakgun Munrae, and the best time to go?

Jangjakgun, this great chicken spot in Munrae, is located near GS Gangseo Tower in Munrae-dong. It's close to both Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station and Munrae, so it's a great chicken restaurant near Munrae Station for a date or a work dinner in the area.

We've been drinking every Friday lately to wrap up the week, so we came here for some good chicken and a shot of soju after work on a Friday night.

Out front, chicken is being grilled non-stop, endlessly and deliciously. True to the name Jangjakgun (which means "firewood person"), there's a big pile of firewood stacked up front — this is what gives the chicken its light, savory flavor, haha.

Inside Jangjakgun Munrae: seating and do you need a reservation?

The interior of Jangjakgun Munrae feels clean, and the staff — all young — were super quick and friendly, so we could relax and enjoy our time there! There's also a TV in one corner of the restaurant, so on days with soccer or baseball games, it would be a great atmosphere for a work dinner or a date while watching the game, haha.

It seems like it's already a well-known spot among locals, because by the time we got there after work, only one or two seats were left, and it was completely full right after that!! Reserving ahead seems like a good idea.

The Jangjakgun menu and our half corn-cheese, half seasoned order

The menu features the signature hanbang nurungji chicken along with various nurungji chicken (crispy rice-crust chicken) options finished with seasoning, cheese, corn cheese, and various sauces. We ordered a half-and-half chicken with corn cheese on one side and seasoning on the other! The set menus and side dishes are also well put together, so it seems like a great place to go with a group.

Side dishes at Jangjakgun, including refillable yeolmu kimchi

First, they brought out the basic banchan (side dishes) — salad, yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), pickled radish, and various sauces. Once you finish the basic banchan, you can go grab more from the back yourself, so we could eat as much as we wanted without feeling self-conscious. Personally, I found the yeolmu kimchi so delicious and such a great match with the chicken that I went back for more again and again!

Nurungji chicken on a hot stone plate: cheese that stretches to the last bite

And then our chicken, this great find near Munrae Station, arrived, and the visuals were... whoa, wow, so good, right?

The perfectly grilled hanbang nurungji chicken came piled high with seasoning and cheese, so much that it made my mouth water the moment I saw it.

Because it's served on a hot stone plate, the chicken and cheese don't cool down quickly, so they don't get hard — you can keep eating it soft the whole way through, which was really nice. The sizzling seasoning also seeped right into the chicken, and it was so delicious.

As you can see, the cheese stretches and stretches, and it stayed like that pretty much until we finished the whole thing. Personally, whenever I eat nurungji chicken I always add extra cheese, but it's always disappointing when it hardens. This time, being able to keep eating it soft the whole way through felt like a real game-changer.

Wood-fired whole chicken with breast meat that isn't dry

And I have no idea how they cook the chicken, but normally with nurungji chicken, the fat renders out and it can get a bit dry, right? But the chicken at Jangjakgun Munrae, no exaggeration, was as tender as baeksuk (whole boiled chicken), and the meat basically separated the moment you touched it with tongs — it was so surprising, and genuinely soft and delicious.

My husband only likes really tender meat, so he usually sticks to the legs or wings — but because Jangjakgun's nurungji chicken isn't dry at all, he happily ate even the breast meat! And the nurungji (crispy rice crust) packed inside had this one-directional grain and a nutty flavor that was so good — completely my type.

Friday night soju at Jangjakgun Munrae, down to the last of the nurungji

We're the kind of drinking couple who can't hold back on soju when the food is good, so we drank a lot that night too, haha. Thanks to that, we had a truly fun Friday night.

You can see we scraped up every last bit of the nurungji, right? That's how good it was! I'm not just saying that — it genuinely might be the best chicken we've had recently, so if you love nurungji chicken, I really hope you check this place out.

It was so, so delicious that we've already decided we're becoming regulars — that was our review of Jangjakgun Munrae, this great chicken spot near Munrae Station~~~!!! Highly, highly recommend this soft, delicious chicken restaurant!