Donghaejang in Pyeongtaek is a pretty famous Chinese-Korean restaurant. It looks far away, but it is in the greater Seoul area and fairly easy to get to, so surprisingly many people have already been. I had known about it for a long time too, but however close it is, it is not the kind of place you can go alone, so I finally made it there when an expedition party was put together this time.

The front entrance

It looked like the whole building belongs to Donghaejang.

The wallpaper inside

They said they bought it directly in China. Looking at older posts about this place it had a completely run-down feel, but now it is very glitzy. I suppose that is because business is going well.

Ohyang jangyuk (five-spice braised beef)

It is braised beef, and there was not a trace of off-flavor. The portion was generous too. I have not seen jangyuk of this caliber very often.

Fried eggplant

I think this may be the signature dish here. Eggplant stuffed with meat and other ingredients and deep-fried. It is so good when you eat it piping hot. Somehow this kind of food made me think of wine rather than soju or kaoliang liquor. Probably because the seasoning is that light and the flavor stays true to the ingredients.

Egg drop soup

Unlike the usual soup, this one has a lot of ginger in it. Apparently there are hardly any Chinese-Korean restaurants that use this much ginger these days. So we talked about how that makes this place all the more precious.

Mala scallops

Slightly spicy, but milder than I had expected. The scallops were really fresh.

Matsutake with meatballs

They said the matsutake were frozen, but even so the aroma was incredible. Apparently they have a technique for thawing them. One of the best dishes of the day.

We stopped the dishes there and ordered our mains.

Samseon jjamppong

The broth was really clean and refreshing. A proper jjamppong.

Eggplant jjamppong

It is just the samseon jjamppong with eggplant added to the ingredients, but the taste was completely different. I really enjoyed it.

Yuni jjajang (minced-pork jjajangmyeon)

It is the style with a bit of chili powder, but this one was just so-so. The noodles were not great either. Seeing that some people love it, it may just be that it does not suit my taste.

Fried rice

Nicely fried, but a little under-seasoned.

Mooncakes

They even gave us mooncakes on the house~

Since only the core members came along this time, we really got to eat a wide variety of delicious dishes. Gatherings like this are always welcome. Looking forward to the next one.

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