Kid's jjajang rice at a Godeok, Pyeongtaek Chinese restaurant: Jangsu

I went out for a weekend meal with my wife and daughter, and I suddenly had a craving for Chinese food. I wanted jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) but also a spicy jjambbong (spicy seafood noodle soup), so I looked up jjambbong spots near Godeok and ended up at Jangsu Jjambbong Jeonmunjeom in Godeok, Pyeongtaek.

• Jangsu Jjambbong Jeonmunjeom / 81-12 Godeokbuk-ro, Godeok-myeon, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Mon–Fri 11:00–19:00, break time 15:00–17:00
• Saturday 11:00–15:00
• Parking available right outside / baby chair available

What makes Jangsu Jjambbong Jeonmunjeom easy to visit with a child?

Jangsu Jjambbong Jeonmunjeom sits right on the road with a big sign, so it wasn't hard to find. With 'jjambbong specialist' right there in the name, I was already curious what kind of jjambbong they'd serve.

Since I'm usually out with my kid, parking is the first thing I check these days. As you can see in the photo, the space right in front of the restaurant doubles as parking, so I could pull in and walk straight inside. That kind of thing matters more than you'd think when you're dining with a child.

Once inside, the space was bigger than I expected. It felt less like a fancy Chinese restaurant and more like a neighborhood spot where families come for a comfortable meal.

And off to one side, they had a baby chair and a bib ready to go. If you're looking for a jjambbong place near Godeok with a young child like we were, this is worth knowing.

The restroom is through the passage to the left of the baby chair.

What we ordered at Jangsu Jjambbong Jeonmunjeom and what it cost

The menu had a good range — jjajangmyeon, basic jjambbong, meat jjambbong, Gobul Jjambbong, baek-jjambbong, fried rice, and sweet and sour pork. True to the 'jjambbong specialist' name, there were more jjambbong varieties than I expected.

We ordered ganjjajang for ₩10,000, Gobul Jjambbong for ₩12,000, small tenderloin sweet and sour pork for ₩15,000, and a bowl of rice for ₩1,000. Total: ₩38,000. The rice wasn't originally for me — I ordered it for my daughter to eat with us.

Once everything arrived, we had a proper spread — jjajang, jjambbong, and sweet and sour pork. Rather than each of us sticking to one dish, my wife and I scooped small portions onto side plates and shared both the ganjjajang and the Gobul Jjambbong. Eating this way meant we got to taste both dishes back and forth, which actually worked out better.

Ganjjajang or Gobul Jjambbong: which one to order?

The moment the Gobul Jjambbong arrived, the meat and scallions piled on top caught my eye first — a bit different from your typical seafood jjambbong.

Picking up noodles and meat together, the spicy broth paired really well. The ganjjajang was good too, but if I had to pick one, Gobul Jjambbong was definitely more my style. I generally prefer jjambbong with meat over ones loaded with seafood, so this suited me better. Eating the meat with the noodles and sipping the broth in between was the most memorable part of the meal that day.

That's not to say the ganjjajang disappointed. Once mixed, the sauce coated the noodles thickly, with onions and other bits coming along for the ride, and it was delicious. We kept alternating — a bite of ganjjajang, then a sip of Gobul Jjambbong broth.

Jjajang rice for our daughter, jjambbong rice with the leftovers

The reason I ordered a separate bowl of rice for ₩1,000 was for my daughter. I scooped a little ganjjajang sauce over her rice and mixed it in. (The photo doesn't show much rice — I only remembered to take it after she'd already eaten some, haha.) With us sharing the noodles and her eating jjajang rice, it worked out well for all three of us to eat together at the table.

After she finished, a bit of rice was left over. I took that leftover rice and mixed it into the Gobul Jjambbong broth. So the rice that started out as my daughter's became my jjambbong rice by the end. Finishing the spicy leftover broth from the noodles with rice mixed in felt like the perfect ending for me.

Sesame-topped sweet and sour pork at Jangsu Jjambbong Jeonmunjeom

We ordered the small tenderloin sweet and sour pork for ₩15,000. What felt a bit different while eating was that the pork had sesame seeds mixed in — something I don't usually notice in sweet and sour pork, but it changed the look of the dish a bit.

The frying was also great. It didn't feel heavy or soggy with oil — it was fried cleanly, which made it taste even better. Picking up a piece here and there between bites of ganjjajang and Gobul Jjambbong, it disappeared faster than I expected.

At first I thought we might have ordered too much, but between my wife and me sharing bites and our daughter joining in, we ended up finishing almost everything. Guess I did the dishes for nothing, haha.

Is Jangsu Jjambbong Jeonmunjeom worth a family visit?

The ganjjajang was tasty, but if I had to pick a favorite, it's Gobul Jjambbong. The sweet and sour pork had a nice twist with the sesame seeds, and the clean frying made it a good call to order. And as someone visiting with a young child, having parking right outside and a baby chair ready made the whole trip a lot easier.

If you're looking for a jjambbong spot near Godeok, Pyeongtaek, or you like a spicy jjambbong loaded with meat like I do, Gobul Jjambbong at Jangsu Jjambbong Jeonmunjeom is worth trying. Next time I go back, I'll probably order Gobul Jjambbong again.