Located near Tanjong Pagar MRT, it’s no wonder that this place is really crowded as it is just a few streets away from the main Korean and Japanese food street at Tanjong Pagar. As we queued in line for our table, we noticed a great deal of Koreans and Japanese also queuing for this shop and waiting to have their meals here.
Banchan
No sooner had we ordered, and the banchan already came served to us. We were provided with the standard banchan and we found the kimchi to be appealing to the Singaporean palate. It was neither overly sweet nor overly sour, being the right balance of having been fermented enough to be slightly sour whilst still being able to taste the sweetness of the sauce.
Jjajangmyeon
The jjajangmyeon was alright with a nice balance of sauce and cucumber mixing together with the noodles but it didn’t have a wow factor for us as we felt that Obba Jjajang’s version suited our palate way more. Despite this, the jjajangmyeon here was nice regardless and is more than enough to satisfy any cravings you would have for this.
Tangsuyuk
The tangsuyuk was meant to pair well with the jjajangmyeon and it did really pair well together. We drizzled the sauce over the tangsuyuk and immediately dived into the dishes. The tangsuyuk was sweet and sour and the dried lotus root was crunchy and went really well with the sauce too. The meat was filled with flour and might not have been fried long enough as the meat wasn’t crispy even when hot. Furthermore, the dish was quick to turn cold and when cold, it felt grimy and soggy with the sauce all over it.
Jjampong
As the dish we believed tasted the best, the jjampong was really awesome. It had just the right amount of spice for it to have a kick but not be overly spicy as to cover the taste of the seafood. The dish also contained a fair variety and amount of seafood whilst having a large amount of noodles within. The noodles complimented the soup well and had a great taste profile when savoured together with the seafood. The sotong was soft and chewy, and wasn’t tough in the slightest.
As a lunch set, the meal was worth it and could have probably fed 3-4 to share. We ordered and shared it amongst 2 people and felt that it was a little too much for 2 pax to finish. The banchan paired really well with the dishes, with the radish helping to cleanse our palate when switching between dishes and helping to reduce the spice after having at the jjampong.
Itaewon Jjajang
Overall, Itaewon Jjajang was a really nice place to have a meal at, especially with the background chatter of the Koreans and Japanese eating at the same place. For the set meal, the portions were big and could have been shared with bigger groups of people. The jjampong retained a strong impression on us as it was a really well executed dish with the ingredients balancing each other in terms of both taste and texture.
If you’ve never been to Itaewon Jjajang, you should be considering making a stop to try out their jjampong and let us know what you think of it. As for the other dishes, they were great as well but not enough to attract us to pay a second visit to the shop. If you’re looking for other jjajang in the area, do check out Obba Jjajang as well.
