Chinese set with free coffee near Bangi Station, Seoul: Jjambbongwan

Where to eat Chinese food near Bangi Station: Jjambbongwan Seoul Bangi Branch

On a day with a huge event on the schedule — a concert — I wanted to eat something hearty near Bangi Station a bit early, like a late lunch/early dinner, before heading in. My Chinese food craving apparently hadn't worn off, because even after eating a lot of it lately, I still wanted more. So J and I walked on over. Jjambbongwan, a good-value Chinese restaurant near Bangi Station.

At Jjambbongwan Seoul Bangi Branch, rice and drinks are apparently unlimited 🙊 What a bold decision, owner ❓ Anyway, let's go inside.

Inside Jjambbongwan Seoul Bangi Branch: dining room and free coffee corner

The <free coffee corner> was the first thing I saw walking in. It's a system where you can brew coffee after your meal and take it out with you. For people like me who can't function without coffee, this is basically a must-grab item 💯

It was a pretty awkward hour — 4pm — but there were lots of students, probably because there are many schools nearby. Some ate quietly alone, others came in groups chattering away happily, and kids kept coming in the whole time we were eating.

The self-serve corner had side dishes, rice, tongs, scissors, aprons and more. Seeing the sign that said <free hall dispenser drinks>, it looks like there were also soft drinks. We didn't drink any though.

Disposable aprons are a must, so I grabbed one.

What's on the menu at Jjambbongwan? Set combinations for two

The set menus showed up right on the tablet's home screen. There were sets in an incredibly wide range of combinations — the vibe was 'surely one of these matches your taste.' The prices looked really good too. Ordering everything separately would probably cost a lot more 🙊

Since I wanted tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), I had to order something that included it. Jjambbong + Fried Rice + Tangsuyuk SET — order complete.

Jjambbongwan really did have a huge menu.

You could choose your spice level, but since I'm a total spice wimp, I had no choice (?) but to go basic 🐒 Sorry J 🙇🏻‍♀️

We brought over white radish pickles and baek-kimchi (white kimchi). White things only around here 👀

How was the jjambbong, fried rice and tangsuyuk set?

The food we ordered came out faster than expected: jjambbong + fried rice + tangsuyuk.

Both the jjambbong and the fried rice looked pretty generous in portion, while the tangsuyuk was a bit smaller in comparison — but I'm grateful they gave us that much at this price.

This is the first time I've seen fried rice served with this much jjajang (black bean sauce) on it 🙊 Usually there's not enough sauce and you end up eating plain leftover rice toward the end.

Jjambbong at the basic spice level. Still a pretty red broth though. Well, color isn't everything anyway 🙈

Another tangsuyuk photo where the lighting went haywire. Thankfully they gave the sauce on the side for dipping. I've long belonged to the (?) dipping-sauce camp myself, but these days I'm fine eating it however it's served. As long as it tastes good. Though either way, if it doesn't taste good, that's unforgivable.

The noodle portion in the jjambbong looked quite generous too. Plenty of mussels and squid visible, along with pork, onion, carrot and other vegetables packed in generously.

The broth was pretty rich, and it was a bit spicy for me, but J said they couldn't taste any spiciness at all 🐒 Hahaha... when will I ever escape spice-wimp status ❓ Moving just the noodles into the jjambbong broth that came with the fried rice was easy and nice — kind of felt like eating a mini jjambbong.

The fried rice itself wasn't salty or greasy, and eating it with the savory jjajang made the seasoning feel just right. So glad the jjajang sauce was generous.

Above all, the tangsuyuk I'd been looking forward to was the real deal. Bite-sized pieces (though occasionally a big one) that were so good dipped into the sweet tangsuyuk sauce. No off smell at all, and the pork was tender — so delicious. It felt great to eat a clean, tasty tangsuyuk after a while.

Is Jjambbongwan Seoul Bangi Branch worth it before a concert?

While searching for good restaurants around Bangi Station, I ended up at Jjambbongwan and walked out feeling truly stuffed after the fried rice, jjambbong and tangsuyuk turned out more generous than expected. I think this was the first time I ate this much right before a concert. None of the dishes got tiring and nothing was too heavy on the palate, so I could finish almost everything without leaving leftovers. The tangsuyuk was seriously the best ❗️ I want it again. Thanks for the great meal 〰️