Fire-noodle spice level jjamppong with pork-chicken set in Paju

Tomorrow's the start of summer vacation, haha! Before heading off, I wanted to fill up on something spicy, so I went back to Dolpanseok Jjamppong, a favorite spot in Paju.

I came here with my kids last time, but this time I was craving the spicy stone-plate jjamppong, so I came back. There's a nice wide parking lot right in front, so parking was easy too.

The vibe and seating

The restaurant is spacious all the way to the back. Some seats have partitions, so it felt almost like eating in a private room — really comfortable.

Why you don't have to order by headcount

We sat toward the back and ordered easily using the table order pad. You don't have to stick to a set menu based on how many people are eating — four people can order a medium, two people can order a large, totally fine! You can order as much as you actually want without worrying what others think, which is one thing I really like about Dolpanseok Jjamppong Paju Simhaksan Branch.

They sell everything from single dishes to set menus, solo-portion meals, and fried items. Since it was three adults, we went with the large stone-plate jjamppong plus the donchitang set. You can also pick the spice level for the jjamppong — we went with fire-noodle level.

If you write a Naver receipt review, they give you a free handmade fruit ade worth ₩5,000 — worth doing!

Green onion kimchi and free rice at the self-serve bar

Danmuji, onion, and chunjang come out as basics, and if you need more, you can just help yourself at the self-serve bar.

Besides onion and danmuji, the self-serve bar also has green onion kimchi ready, so grab some if you'd like.

Rice is also free, so if you want to mix it into the sauce, just help yourself at the self-serve bar, haha.

The stone-plate jjamppong (large)

The stone-plate jjamppong, piled high on the sizzling plate, came out first — loaded with crisp fresh bean sprouts, plump shrimp, squid, and plenty of other seafood and vegetables.

Warning: the stone plate itself is scorching hot, so never touch it with your hands! The heat radiating off the plate naturally cooks the bean sprouts, and it was seriously delicious.

How to eat it the best way

There's a detailed guide on the table for how to eat it the tastiest way.

First, mix the bean sprouts and noodles together well, and once the broth soaks fully into the noodles, dig in — eaten this way, it tastes rich and deep, just like stir-fried jjamppong.

And at the end, use the spatula to gently scrape up the nurungji (scorched rice) sitting at the bottom of the stone plate, haha.

The spicy seasoning soaks right into the nurungji and it's seriously so good, haha. It tastes like eating spicy scorched rice! Even full, I kept reaching for more!!

There were plenty of plump shrimp too, so the three of us adults ate until we were really full.

How's the donchitang set?

Donchitang consists of fried pork and fried chicken. I loved it so much last time that I ordered it again this time, haha.

The pork half had zero funky smell, crispy outside and moist inside — delicious — and the chicken half used soft chicken thigh meat with a sweet glaze that was really tasty, haha.

Since the jjamppong comes bubbling on the stone plate, it stayed warm until the very last bite. Ordered spicy, and as someone who loves spicy food, I loved every bit of it, haha. My friend who came along said it was seriously delicious too and gave it a thumbs up, saying she'd want to come back again. The portions are generous too, making Dolpanseok Jjamppong a great Paju restaurant for family meals.

Dessert to grab on your way out

Near the entrance, there are simple desserts like yakult and old-style crackers waiting — grab a cool yakult and a nutty old-style cracker on your way out after your meal.

If you're near Simhaksan in Paju and craving good Chinese food, give Dolpanseok Jjamppong a try — jjamppong bubbling on a stone plate and a hearty donchitang set, all in one visit.