So rather than shutting down completely, they up and relocated across the way. So instead of sharing the same plaza parking lot with Fung Mei because... law suit... Hong Ban Jang moved down to the former Japanese corner joint that shares Kang Seo.
So this look is much different than the original floor plan. It's smaller, cozier, and definitely more fitting than the industrial ambiance of their former location. And it's more bustling on a Saturday lunch time as there is less room and more functional in terms of filling the dining room.
Got to say that with the jjamppong which is what I had this go around, it's not as rich as I would like it to have. The depth of that umami flavor of the sweetness of the seafood, the savoriness of the broth, and the texture of the noodles should be a marriage of Korean Chinese comfort, and it really wasn't. The saving grace of this $15 entree was the amount of seafood they crammed into this bowl. 2 jumbo sized shrimps, 5 mussels, have a blue crab, large chunks of octopi, and a smattering of veggies. It's not bad, but it's not great either.
The kimchi dumplings you can skip. There's a huge ginger presence that just simply overpowers the dumplings and that ruins the experience.
All in all, this new iteration isn't bad as now they can be more customer focused with the smaller setup, but improve the flavors and work on ensuring the wok hei is present in the dishes. You'll keep more customers because that wok hei was missing from my jjamppong and that's disappointing, even if you are in some new digs. read more