Korean restaurant, Yongin, for chadol minari ssam: Jangwongap Kalguksu

Where did I eat after shopping at Lotte Outlet?

After shopping at Lotte Outlet in Yongin over the weekend, I stopped by Jangwongap Kalguksu Yongin Giheung Branch (장원갑칼국수 용인기흥점). It is at 90 Gomae-ro, Giheung-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. I enjoyed a meal that began with chadol and minari wraps, then continued with kalguksu and fried rice.

What did I order, and how much was it?

Each table had a tablet menu, which made ordering easy. We chose two servings of chadol minari ssam shabu kalguksu and whole shrimp seafood pajeon. These are the menu prices recorded in the original post.

• Chadol minari ssam shabu kalguksu: ₩15,500
• King abalone chadol shabu kalguksu: ₩22,000
• Shabu kalguksu: ₩12,000
• Basic kalguksu: ₩10,000
• Whole shrimp seafood pajeon: ₩13,500
• Jochiwon peach bibim mandu: ₩9,900
• King shrimp mandu: ₩7,000

How was the space for families or groups?

The interior was spacious and clean, with plenty of room between tables. I thought it would work well for a family meal or a gathering after shopping. It was busy during my visit, though.

What was the Uiseong garlic kimchi like?

Uiseong garlic kimchi arrived first after we ordered. They say it is made in-house three times a day with domestic Uiseong garlic.

The kimchi was crisp, with the sharp flavor and savory depth of garlic. It was a side dish that whetted my appetite before the kalguksu.

How did I eat the chadol minari ssam?

This restaurant says it aims to serve kalguksu as a course-style meal. Its house-made noodles were introduced as noodles kneaded for a long time to create springiness.

The first course was chadol minari ssam shabu kalguksu. The combination of lightly blanching chadol (thinly sliced beef brisket) in the broth, wrapping it around fresh minari, and dipping it in sesame oil sauce is called chami ssam.

The meaty flavor of the blanched chadol went well with the crunch of fresh minari and the nuttiness of the sesame oil sauce. They say the sesame oil is pressed in-house at a mill.

You can add the minari to the broth, but we preferred placing fresh minari on the chadol and dipping it in sesame oil sauce. We enjoyed this combination to the very last bite.

How was the whole shrimp seafood pajeon?

The whole shrimp seafood pajeon arrived while we were eating the chami ssam. It was crisp outside and moist inside.

It included not only whole shrimp but also squid and octopus. There was a generous amount of shrimp, so every bite had the springy texture of seafood along with the crispness of the pajeon.

How many minutes should the kalguksu noodles cook?

After finishing the meat, we added the house-made noodles to the broth. The restaurant explained that you can enjoy five textures depending on the cooking time.

• 6 minutes: chewy texture
• 7 minutes: pleasantly chewy texture
• 8 minutes: bouncy texture
• 9 minutes: soft, fluffy texture that absorbs the broth
• 10 minutes: tender texture

We took out noodles along the way to compare how cooked they were.

For my taste, the noodles were best after six minutes. Their springiness and chewiness came through clearly. I found it disappointing that the broth became thick when the noodles cooked for too long, so I preferred them cooked for about six minutes. The cooked noodles were also nutty when lightly dipped in sesame oil.

How did I finish with fried rice and dessert?

After the kalguksu, we had perilla-oil kkakdugi fried rice.

They stir-fried it with finely chopped kkakdugi, seaweed flakes, and perilla oil. The tanginess of the kkakdugi and nutty perilla oil went well together, and we scraped the pot clean.

After the meal, we had old-fashioned snacks and misutgaru with ice at the dessert corner on one side of the restaurant.

The cool, nutty misutgaru made for a clean finish to the meal.

What stayed with me most from the meal?

The progression from chami ssam to kalguksu, fried rice, and misutgaru stayed with me. In particular, I liked the chadol wrapped around fresh minari and dipped in sesame oil sauce, as well as the noodles cooked until chewy.