Cycle 12 – Item 352

23 (Thu) December 2021

Deep-Fried King Prawns, Crispy Garlic, Chili

2.0

at Je Je

-Seongsu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with Mom + Dad

Je Je is a Chinese restaurant – an actual Chinese restaurant (i.e., not Korean-Chinese), or at least trying to be.  Offering a range of dishes from various traditions, such as Cantonese, Szechuan.  The latest in the ever-expanding pool of hipster joints in Seongsu.

We arrived early, to avoid the reputed crowds – indeed, the place was packed by noon.

The menu looked very promising, nary a jjajang myeon (well, kinda) or jjambbong in sight.  Fairly pricy, certainly more than neighborhood delivery joints.

A subtle yet significant sign of the restaurant’s attempt to rise above the crowd was the lack of the standard side dishes: pickled radish, chopped onions, or seasoned zhacai.

Alas, the food was rather blah.  Each dish was either salty or bland.  The Deep-Fried King Prawns, Crispy Garlic, Chili – topped with shredded, deep-fried seaweed, which was the dominant flavor and texture – was okayish, but the huge prawn made it somewhat clunky.   Nevertheless, we enjoyed the meal, if only for novelty.

I will definitely return to explore the menu further.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)