Cycle 14 – Item 235
28 (Mon) August 2023
Samseon Jjambbong
3.5
-Seongsu, Seongdong, Republic of Korea-
solo
Jjambbong Pumgyeok is a Korean-Chinese restaurant. As suggested by the name of the place – “pumgyeok (품격) = dignity” – the restaurant would seem to specialize in jjambbong, and does offer a seafood (samseon) variation that does stand out above the other dishes on the menu, but otherwise it’s just a neighborhood joint with all the standard items.
Over the past couple decades, my favorite dish has consistently consisted of noodles: starting with roast duck noodle soup , then jjajang myeon, and most recently mul naeng myeon. But I’m beginning to suspect that jjambbong is now in serious contention to assume the mantle. Interestingly, filtering posts for Korean-Chinese + noodles shows a sudden shift in the latter half of Cycle 9 (2018) when I began predominantly to order jjambbong in restaurants in contrast to jjajang myeon, which was overwhelmingly more common prior to the shift .
In recognition of the new dawn, I will now begin rating seafood jjambbong, based on GMTD’s 4-point scale, applied to the dish’s 3 primary components. The final score is the average of the 3 subscores.
BROTH. Deep and satisfying. Strong wok hei. Dried chilies provide a hint of nice chili flavor, though (unfortunately) also extra heat. Score: 3.75
NOODLES. Standard. Cooked to al dente. Score: 3.25
TOPPINGS. Seafoods include shrimp, squid, and mini octopus – all very fresh. Score: 3.5
CONCLUSION. Hands down, my favorite jjambbong in the vicinity of the office, perhaps my favorite anywhere at the moment. Final: 3.5
(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)
(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)