For some reason Seocho has a lot of long-established Chinese restaurants. I have no idea why, but it’s hardly a bad thing. Cheonjigung here is where I went for Black Day 2024.
The entrance
35 years of tradition, apparently.. There really are a lot of places around with deep history. Even the clock standing beside the door makes you feel it.
The menu
Everything on the menu looks lavish. The photos on the menu, though, can’t keep up with the real thing.
Fried mandu
I ordered them because I’d heard they were famous, and, with only slight exaggeration, out came fried mandu the size of a small child’s face. Held up against the chopsticks there wasn’t much difference. Once I tried them, though, the wrappers were nicely crisped and they were packed with garlic chives and juices, so they tasted good too. The sheer size did make them a bit awkward to eat.. I never thought I’d run into a dumpling bigger than the ones at Ginza Tenryu in my lifetime, and I certainly never imagined it would be two or three times Tenryu’s size, still less that I’d meet a dumpling like that in Seocho-dong..
The inside
Packed with garlic chives and delicious. It wasn’t spectacular, mind you. The same flavour just keeps going, so it does get a little monotonous..
Onion and danmuji
The standard sides at any Chinese place
Jjajangmyeon
The presentation on this one is a work of art as well. And since the noodles are hand-pulled, they come in all sorts of thicknesses.
Mixed up well
It tastes like standard jjajangmyeon, but the chew was fun, probably thanks to the hand-pulled noodles. In any case the fried mandu alone had already filled me up, so I only just managed to finish the jjajangmyeon. There’s a bit of a hurdle here for an ordinary person to take on.. On the other hand, the big-eater crowd would be very happy..
Glancing over at the next table, the jjamppong came out in what was basically a washtub, and I wondered whether a human being could actually finish it.. Having lasted 35 years in Seocho, the service must be good too.. The menu itself does feel tailor-made for Instagram, and that is exactly why coming here for the fun of it would be entertaining. It’s not a truly outstanding restaurant, though, so I don’t think there’s any need to make the trip from far away.
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