Unseo Station Chinese restaurant for fried mandu: Bongga Gyodong

Where is Bongga Gyodong Banjeom? Hours and parking

Bongga Gyodong Banjeom is a Chinese restaurant on the 1st floor of 50-8 Hwarang-mokro, Yeongjong-gu, Incheon. Hours are Mon–Thu 11:00–19:00, Fri and Sun 11:00–15:00, and parking is available.

I was out on Yeongjong-do for a shoot recently, and since I was already there, I went looking for jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) — I'd been craving it lately — and headed to the café street... to Bongga Gyodong Banjeom, a well-known Chinese restaurant on Yeongjong-do. There are a few parking spots right in front of the door! I rushed over worried the spots would all be taken by doing an opening run, but turns out there was plenty of room.

Inside Bongga Gyodong Banjeom at opening: baby chair and self-serve bar

The interior of Bongga Gyodong Banjeom is big and clean, with generous space between tables. There are plenty of baby chairs on one side, plus a self-serve bar.

Thanks to going on the opening run, I got to photograph the interior comfortably too. It's really big and clean inside!

The atmosphere inside is super clean and comfortable, and the tables are spaced generously apart. It seemed like the place fills up with nearby office workers around lunchtime.

On one side there are plenty of baby chairs too, so it looked great for bringing little ones along. Kids love jjajangmyeon after all!

House-made noodles, mixed and aged on site

Turns out Bongga Gyodong Banjeom actually mixes and ages its own dough to make the noodles in-house. The size of that big banner shows the owner's conviction and pride! After reading that line and then taking a bite of the noodles, I could definitely taste the difference from the mass-produced noodles you get at your average Chinese restaurant.

There's a self-serve bar on one side, so you can freely grab small plates, various utensils, extra water, chili flakes, onion, pickled radish, and more without any hesitation.

Shall we take a look at the menu? I got the whole menu on video, so pay attention from here!

What we ordered at Bongga Gyodong Banjeom

After some deliberation, we ordered Bongga Gyodong Banjeom's signature sundubu jjamppong rice! And we also got jjajangmyeon and fried mandu.

The spoons and chopsticks came in individual sleeves, one by one? You usually only see that at hanjeongsik (Korean set-course) restaurants these days, so I really appreciated the hygiene.

Our order came out all together, filling the table. Doesn't it look so appetizing? My mouth is watering again just looking at it...

Fried mandu sold four at a time, packed with filling

Bongga Gyodong Banjeom's fried mandu (dumplings) are also sold in small orders of 4, which made them perfect as a side while eating. The filling is packed full of meat, chives, and glass noodles.

Let me introduce the fried mandu we ordered as a side first. They sell them in small orders of 4 too, which made them perfect as a side dish while eating.

Right off the bat, you can see the shape is different from the hollow, complimentary fried mandu you get at other Chinese restaurants, right? You could tell at a glance that each one was hand-filled and fried, packed full — it looked so appetizing.

When I split one in half, the juicy filling inside was absolutely packed with meat, chives, and glass noodles. It really tasted like a flavor-packed Chinese-style dumpling.

If you mix soy sauce, vinegar, and chili flakes in the little soy sauce dish to your preferred ratio and dip a mandu in it, the flavor gets even better.

The signature sundubu jjamppong rice

Today's main dish, the sundubu (soft tofu) jjamppong rice! True to its name, it comes out in an earthenware pot piled high with sundubu.

The spicy sundubu is an absolute gem — sundubu that rivals Gangneung's Chodang sundubu, incredibly delicious.

The sundubu is so soft and fluffy, and the spicy broth pairs really well with the jjajangmyeon too — so tasty..!

If you come here, I recommend definitely ordering the sundubu!!

They'll bring you more rice if you run out — we had plenty so we didn't get seconds. With the tofu in there, you get plenty full anyway~!

Jjajangmyeon topped with a fried egg

The moment we'd been waiting for, the jjajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodles). I especially love jjajangmyeon places that top it with a fried egg — it feels so homey somehow... and it goes really well with jjajangmyeon too.

A slightly soft-boiled fried egg, just how I like it — this jjajangmyeon is exactly the classic jjajang flavor!

Glossy, shiny jjajangmyeon... it was great being able to enjoy both the sundubu jjamppong rice and the jjajangmyeon together — such a good combo.

Must be the house-made noodles, but the noodles were so springy and chewy — really excellent. A Chinese restaurant worth the trip in Sky City, Bongga Gyodong Banjeom!

Lastly, one shot of all of us together. The closer it got to lunchtime, the more crowded it got~ If I lived nearby I think I'd come often — great value and great taste, Bongga Gyodong Banjeom, a Chinese restaurant worth visiting on Yeongjong-do. Thanks for the meal!