Self service spot, I came here looking for a place to compare to Paik's for their Jajangmyeon. They have utensils and barely tea for free, and a return tray stack in the corner. I got the half half of jjamppong and Jajangmyeon and wow, the jamppong broth is great. Although I think the spice level is inconsistent since I got regular spice but it was very spicy. My boyfriend's broth seemed less red than mine even though we ordered the exact same thing. The noodles looked very fresh and bouncy than the ones I'm used to. Jjamppong was very flavorful with plenty of seafood in every bite, great presentation too. The Jajangmyeon had nice big chunks of meat (although not many), but the flavor profile of the sauce was on the sweeter side.
Maybe it was done intentionally to balance the saltiness of the jjamppong but I felt it would've been easier to eat if it was more savory. For that, I would 100% return for the jjamppong alone but maybe keep my business with Paik as my go-to Jajangmyeon spot. The flavor profile not being more my preference is not their fault and might be up somebody else's alley, so I'll still give them 5 stars for the quality, affordability, and taste. This easily filled me up for under $20. read more