By now I have been to Jinjin far too many times. This was partly a New Year’s party, and we gathered mainly people who had not yet been to Jinjin, but I have been going so often lately that it feels a bit odd to describe the food all over again. I will just get the photos up quickly.

Five-spice cold platter (ohyang naengchae)

It tastes fine, but the real reason you cannot skip it is that it comes out much faster than anything else on the menu. You need a simple snack to wet your whistle first.

Stir-fried garlic chives

Good ingredients, nicely stir-fried. Everyone, myself included, enjoyed it. It was a bit watery, but I suppose that is just this place’s style. Some people would probably prefer their chives stir-fried a bit crisper.

Stir-fried snow crab meat

This one is an appetizer too. You have to order these early, before the mains arrive.

Kkanpunggi (sweet and spicy fried chicken)

Honestly, the dish I find most so-so at Jinjin is the kkanpunggi. It is not bad, but there are plenty of Chinese restaurants in Seoul that do it better. And considering the countless chicken joints lining every street, I wish they would put a bit more care into their chicken dishes.

Menbosha (shrimp toast)

It would be a shame not to order it.

Quanjiafu (mixed seafood stir-fry)

You can only have this if you reserve it in advance. It is packed with quality ingredients, so it is always satisfying. We had also reserved the steamed fish, but the order did not go through properly and it did not come out this time. The service was a little disappointing, but I am sure that side of things will keep improving.

Zha chun juan (fried spring rolls)

The nice thing about a big group is that you can order all sorts of things and try them.

Mapo tofu

Since this was a gathering of gourmets, it seemed to have a bit more sancho pepper in it than before.

Fried rice

It is not bad, but the wok-fire flavor is a bit weak, which is a little disappointing.

Egg drop soup

Soup came out too.

Cakes from Mont St. Clair

Someone brought along some gorgeous cakes.

Royce’ makes an appearance too

I have a lot of Royce’ at home from the airport duty-free shop, so I always bring some along whenever there is a get-together.

Läderach chocolate

It was quite the dessert parade today.

Dutch coffee

To finish, we also had a cup of coffee sourced from Waffle Verbier. Another highly successful get-together.

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