Seopae-dong, Paju Chinese restaurant: squid stone jjajang for two

I visited Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch (돌판석짬뽕 파주심학산점), a Paju spot with a waiting line near Paju Lotte Premium Outlets. Jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) and jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) sizzle on a hot stone plate, loaded with fresh seafood, and the chewy noodles are springy. Jjajang and jjamppong are loved by everyone from kids to grandparents, and they come out generously portioned on that eye-catching hot plate, so it's a great restaurant for a family get-together.

Where is Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch, and what are the hours and parking?

Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch is at 8-38 Dolgoji-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do (Seopae-dong). It's open 11:00–21:00 and closed every Tuesday. You can use the private parking lot in front of the restaurant, and it's fairly spacious.

Inside Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch: dining room and seating

The interior was spacious and kept clean. There are open, airy seats in the middle, and along the edges the seating is divided by table so you can eat comfortably.

Dolpanseok Jjamppong menu, kiosk ordering and spice levels

You order and pay at the kiosk at each seat. The big text and photos made ordering easy.

The stone plate menu has stone jjajang, stone jjamppong and mapo tofu, with dishes varying by main ingredient such as seafood, chicken or chili. There are also side dishes like fried rice, tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), dakgangjeong (sweet crispy chicken) and tungbosha.

When you order stone jjajang or stone jjamppong, you can pick one of 3 spice levels. You can also choose a whole squid or whole octopus topping.

• Level 1 mild (for eating with kids)
• Level 2 mildly spicy
• Level 3 spicy (Buldak extreme)

Side dishes, self-serve bar and unlimited rice refills

The basic side dishes are pickled radish, onion, chunjang (black bean paste) and scallion kimchi. You can take as many extra sides as you like from the self-service corner.

The self-bar has pickled radish, onion, chunjang and scallion kimchi, plus rice, and the rice is unlimited refills too.

How does level 2 stone jjajang with whole squid taste?

This day I ordered doljjajang for 2 (level 2 mildly spicy, whole squid topping) and tungbosha.

• Doljjajang for 2 (level 2 mildly spicy, whole squid topping)
• Tungbosha

Jjajangmyeon sizzling on a hot stone plate! Jjajangmyeon tastes better the hotter it is, and I got to eat it at its best moment. The whole squid seemed to be chilled rather than frozen. It wasn't tough, it was tender and chewy, and really delicious.

The doljjajang for 2 here was a big portion too. The noodles were so chewy that they were delicious on their own, and with level 2 mildly spicy, the end of the tasty jjajang sauce had a nice spicy kick, so I really enjoyed it. The jjajang sauce comes with fresh seafood like squid and shrimp by default.

Nurungji (scorched rice) under the stone jjajang noodles

Under the stone plate jjajang noodles there's a layer of nurungji (scorched rice), and the crunchy nurungji mixed with the jjajang sauce had great texture and flavor.

Rice mixed into leftover jjajang sauce with scallion kimchi

While eating the nurungji in the doljjajang, I suddenly wanted rice, you know? The rice here is unlimited refills, so I went to the self-bar, got some rice and mixed it into the jjajang sauce, and it went really well with the refreshing scallion kimchi. Noodles, nurungji and rice: it was a truly filling meal.

Dolpanseok tungbosha (shrimp toast): how many pieces and how does it taste?

I ordered tungbosha too, and each plate comes with 4 pieces. It's not menbosha (shrimp toast), it's tungbosha ("chubby" shrimp toast), and the name is perfect!!! The menbosha is so packed with shrimp that it turned into tungbosha!!!

The tungbosha was so moist that the shrimp juices burst out, and it was really delicious: crispy bread and juicy, chewy shrimp. Chili sauce comes with it, which is great for dipping. If you have tungbosha left over, they'll pack it to go.

Is there free dessert at Dolpanseok Jjamppong?

For dessert, Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch also has sweet, warm vending machine coffee, a cool yogurt drink and sweet, crunchy barley gangjeong (puffed grain snack)! Tasty food plus dessert made it a delicious, filling meal.