Jjajang, jjamppong, sweet and sour pork set (large) in Gaya-dong

I heard there were a lot of good restaurants near Dongui University in Gaya-dong, and that's how I found this Chinese restaurant hahaha. I'd heard the jjamppong and sweet and sour pork were famous, so I went in with high expectations — and it actually exceeded them. Let me introduce it😄

Location and parking at Surabanjeom Gaya Branch

• ⏰ Hours 11:00 - 21:00
• Closed every Monday
• 🅿️ Parking available
• 📍 143 Eomgwang-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea / 🅿️ Taeyang Parking Lot

Parking is at Taeyang Parking Lot next to the restaurant. One parking voucher per table with a ₩15,000 meal purchase.

What's the atmosphere like?

The interior felt clean and well-maintained. It's apparently ranked #1 for reorder rate among Gaya-dong restaurants on Baemin (a Korean delivery app), so while I waited, a lot of delivery riders kept coming in too haha.

Menu and prices

They serve everything from meal dishes like jjajangmyeon and jjamppong to a variety of Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork, yangjangpi, gochu japchae, yurinki, and cream shrimp. There are also 1- and 2-person set menus, great for a simple meal or for sharing several dishes together :)

Meals

• Jjajangmyeon ₩7,000
• Jjamppong ₩10,000
• Shrimp Ganjajang ₩10,000
• Seafood Jjamppong ₩10,000
• Chinese Bibimbap ₩10,000
• Japchae Rice ₩10,000

Dishes

• Sweet and sour pork Mini ₩14,000 / Small ₩19,000 / Medium ₩26,000 / Large ₩33,000
• Yangjangpi ₩33,000
• Gochu Japchae ₩33,000
• Yurinki ₩29,000
• Cream Shrimp ₩29,000
• Chili Shrimp ₩29,000
• Kkanpunggi ₩28,000
• Sichuan Sweet and Sour Pork ₩28,000
• Seafood Jjamppong-tang

Set menus

• 1-person set from ₩14,000
• 2-person set from ₩27,000

Review event: choice of fried dumplings or menbosha (Chinese-style shrimp toast)

What's at the self-serve bar?

The self-serve bar has pickled radish, onion, kimchi, and black bean sauce ready to go. There are also aprons, ladles, scissors, and small plates you can use freely as needed!! And the rice cooker with free rice was especially great for a filling meal haha.

There are also basic sauces prepared for making your own soy-based dipping sauce

Jjajang + jjamppong + sweet and sour pork set / jjajang and jjamppong upgrade to large +₩1,000 each

How was the jjamppong?

The jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) blew me away from the first look! 🔥 Piled high with well-stir-fried vegetables, and the broth looked so red and deep it made my mouth water just looking at it!! The broth had a faint smoky wok-hei aroma and wasn't too spicy, so it was easy to eat without feeling overwhelmed! It wasn't harsh, just perfectly spicy in a delicious way — a jjamppong that pretty much anyone would like haha.

It was loaded with seafood like shrimp and squid too, so it was fun to fish out the toppings🦐🦑 And apparently this place slow-ages a special sauce made from seafood and dried seafood at low temperature! Maybe that's why the broth tasted deeper and richer haha. I guess there's always a reason good food is good😆

Mixing in the free rice at the end is seriously amazing…🤤🔥 A good broth needs rice, of course! Mixing the rice into the rich, spicy jjamppong broth made it filling, and I ended up scraping the broth clean haha.

Is the jjajang large portion generous with sauce?

The jjajang was in no way inferior to the jjamppong haha. Especially with a large-size order, some places just give you more noodles while keeping the sauce the same. At those places, once you mix it, the sauce runs short and the noodles look pale white — but here, both the noodle portion and the jjajang sauce were generous, so I could enjoy that rich jjajang flavor all the way to the end😋

Mix with the left hand, mix with the right hand, mix it up well, and take a bite

They sprinkle on some chili flakes to cut the richness, and pickled radish in between bites works too haha.

What's the texture of the glutinous rice sweet and sour pork like?

Doesn't the white, fluffy-looking glutinous rice sweet and sour pork already look delicious? 🤍 The batter is fluffy like a cloud☁️ One bite gives you that fluffy yet chewy texture.

The cross-section is packed full of meat too!!

Personally I like eating sweet and sour pork dipped in salt and pepper, and I was happy it came included as standard! Dipped in it, it tastes clean and savory like fried chicken — quite the special treat😆 The sweet and sour sauce itself was an old-school ketchup-based sweet-and-sour flavor, the kind that brings back memories haha.

Cleared the plates completely~~ If you're looking for a hearty, delicious Chinese restaurant, give Surabanjeom Gaya Branch, a Chinese restaurant spot in Gaya-dong, a try! I'm planning to come back next time to try other menu items too :)