14.247 Teuk Samseon Jjambbong

Cycle 14 – Item 247

9 (Sat) August 2023

Teuk Samseon Jjambbong

2.17

at Wirye DIG (Dalingak)

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

solo

Wirye Dalingak is Korean-Chinese restaurant.  Offers variations of jjajang myeon, jjambbong, and fried rice.  Despite the glossy appearance of the place, both inside and out, the menu does not offer any fancy/pricy dishes.  Despite slick design elements, like the acronym “DIG (dal-in-gak)” and the cartoon chef mascot, it seems to be independently owned and operated (i.e., Naver search returns one other “dalingak” that’s clearly unrelated).

Located 243 m from Namwirye Station (exit 3), 1.8 km from home.

As suggested by the simple menu, their operation is focused on delivery.  In fact, our very first meal in our Wirye home, lunch on moving day, was ordered from Dalingak (see 11.166 Combination Pizza), having found their menu on the front door.

After a few disappointing experiences, we shifted our business to Shanghai (see generally 11.200 Lajogi), which is much closer (800 m vs 2.0 km) (food arrives quicker) (food is fresher upon arrival), better in quality (see for comparison 14.113 Yuni Jjajang Myeon (and More)), and broader in selection (see for example 13.060 Hongshyo Gaibashi).

They continue to leave their menu on our door, and the doors of everyone in the neighborhood, regularly.

In the neighborhood this afternoon (waiting for Louis Le Pieux to get his spa treatment), I dropped by to see if the food were any better in person, straight from the kitchen.

Curious to try the Jeju Octopus Jjambbong at 25,000 won per pop, just for the audacity of it, despite the poor showing of their 14,000-won dish.

What’s remarkable about the menu is that the noodle column includes 18 options, of which 6 are jjajang myeon variations + 9 are jjambbong variations.  The 3 other dishes are udong (essentially a mild jjambbong) + giseu myeon (chicken noodle soup, which I don’t recall ever ordering in my life) + samseon gguksae tang myeon (which I’ve never heard of).

Maybe the green provides some nutritional benefit.
At least one whole onion – although the photo doesn’t seem to convey the full volume of onion, the pile got so high that I had to use a second dish.

The jjambbong is graded 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.  Okay, though unremarkable.  Score: 2.5

NOODLES.  Cooked to al dente.  Otherwise standard, but with green coloring that kinda creeped me out.  Score: 2.5

TOPPINGS.  Generous squid, shrimp, mussels.  But, way way too much onion.  Score: 2.0

CONCLUSION.  Partly hit, mostly miss.  Final: 2.17

So no, not any better in person.

(See all GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See all RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

Leave a Reply