I had some business over in Jongno, and while I was working out what to eat I heard about a place that does old-style jjajangmyeon well, so off I went. Truth be told, I am not much of a jjajangmyeon fan. It is greasy, and my stomach never feels great afterwards. But old-style jjajang comes with memories attached, so I had always wanted to try it at least once.
The basic banchan
The standard Korean-Chinese restaurant setup. The place looks a bit shabby from outside, but the dining room is reasonably roomy, and with all the government offices nearby it seems to pull in plenty of lunch customers.
Old-style jjajang
Ground meat, with the onion cut into big chunks. It is far tastier than your average jjajangmyeon, though I was a little let down that there were no green peas on top. The jjajang I remember from back then had peas on it and a thicker, darker sauce, and these days I cannot find that flavour no matter where I go. I hear there are places that do a great ganjjajang, but the sad thing is that ganjjajang does not carry any childhood memories for me..
Yusanseul over rice
Much cheaper than plain yusanseul, and the taste is pretty good. The sauce is probably the same and only the ingredients differ. I enjoyed it more than the jjajang.
The soup
A decent Chinese restaurant. Seoul has no shortage of good ones, but the menus are all so alike that it is hard to justify a special trip. Maybe it is only by staying away from Chinese restaurants in everyday life that going out of your way to visit a good one starts to feel worth it.