Weekend date over spicy cheese nurungji chicken in Mullae: Jangjakgun

Last weekend evening I went on a date with my boyfriend to Mullae-dong. The neighborhood is so hot right now that I couldn't decide where to go, and in the end we picked Jangjakgun Mullae (장작꾼 문래점) from a list of recommended Mullae restaurants with a faint oak aroma. I've always liked the grease-free, electric-roasted style of chicken, so I headed over all excited (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

Where is Jangjakgun Mullae, and what are its opening hours?

Jangjakgun Mullae is about a 7-minute walk from Mullae Station Exit 3. It's open daily from 4:30 PM to midnight, and last order is at 11 PM.

It's right in front of the GS Home Shopping headquarters, so it was super easy to find. Last order is at 11, so do check the time before you go ( •͈ᴗ•͈)

Inside Jangjakgun Mullae: an oak-smoke atmosphere

At the entrance, whole chickens were turning round and round inside a huge fire chamber, roasting to a golden brown.

They say the chicken is roasted with great care for 2 hours over a 400-degree wood fire. Maybe because of that, the whole area around the restaurant smelled wonderfully of toasty firewood.

Inside, a clean interior welcomed us, and the staff were really friendly in showing us to our seats.

The kiosk ordering system works well, so picking a menu with my boyfriend was easy ( ᐛ )و

Jangjakgun Mullae menu and the price of the half-spicy, half-cheese nurungji chicken

The menu has a really wide range of choices, starting from herbal nurungji whole chicken (한방누룽지통닭) and going on to corn cheese and scallion chicken (pa-dak).

After some deliberation, we ordered the half-spicy, half-cheese nurungji chicken, so we could enjoy spicy sauce and rich cheese at the same time.

It cost ₩26,000, and the portion was quite generous for two, so it felt like decent value too.

Not long after we ordered, the main dish arrived sizzling on an iron plate (≧∇≦)

How does it taste? Mozzarella cheese and spicy sauce

One side of the chicken is piled high with cheese like a bomb, and the other side is covered in red sauce. We gasped the moment it came out.

They say they use 99% mozzarella cheese, and sure enough, every time I lifted a piece with my fork the cheese stretched on and on.

The spicy sauce has a heat level that really wakes up your appetite, and wrapping it up together with the cheese was a fantastic combination.

The chicken is free of grease, the meat tears apart softly, and it carries a faint smoky aroma, so it gets more charming the more you eat (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

Crispy nurungji with Korean-grown young radish kimchi

I think the real heart of Jangjakgun Mullae is the thin layer of crispy nurungji spread under the chicken. Thanks to the heat of the iron plate it stays warm until the very end, and the crunchy texture felt so good.

Put the Korean-grown young radish kimchi (yeolmu-kimchi) that comes as a side dish on top, and all the greasiness disappears. The pickled chicken radish was crunchy and nice too, but this kimchi went so well with the nurungji that I kept reaching for more (๑>◡<๑)

Is one half-spicy, half-cheese nurungji chicken enough for two?

There were two of us, and even one half-spicy, half-cheese nurungji chicken left us really full. The soupy tteokbokki (rice cakes) and golbaengi-somyeon (sea snail with thin wheat noodles) at the next table looked so good that my eyes kept drifting over. Next time I'd like to come with a group of friends and enjoy a variety of side dishes too. If you're looking for a place near Mullae Station with a good atmosphere and great food for a get-together, I think Jangjakgun Mullae is the answer.

Thanks to this special oak-scented chicken, our weekend date ended happily (˘︶˘).｡*♡ If you want to try proper nurungji chicken near Yeongdeungpo, I hope you'll stop by once. With the rich flavors and friendly service, you'll have a lovely evening!