Itaewon Jjajang 이태원짜장 @ Tanjong Pagar

Happy Jjajangmyeon Day! Our Korean food journey in Tanjong Pagar comes to Itaewon Jjajang, a shop that has been here for a while but I have never tried until now.

Itaewon is a gathering place for foreigners, foreign embassies, foreign products, and foreign cultures, and it is always crowded with many people because you can experience various food and culture from all over the world. It got on the worldwide news for the wrong reason this new year’s eve.

Itaewon Jjajang 이태원짜장, as the name suggests, is specialised in jjajangmyeon or black bean sauce noodles. If you are expecting the Beijing version also known as zhajiangmian 炸酱面, then you are wrong. Korean jjajangmyeon is closer to our local version of lor mee 卤面. Koreans even have a nonofficial celebration for jjajangmyeon on April 14, when single people celebrate their shared loneliness on Black Day with a bowl of jjajangmyeon.

We ordered the haemul jjajangmyeon 해물짜장면 (Black bean paste noodles with seafood) although it can come with or without seafood. It’s actually a very popular Korean Chinese dish, created by early Chinese immigrants in Korea, catering to Korean tastes. The almost caramel taste of the savoury black bean sauce over the thick, chewy wheat flour noodles makes for a really unique taste and texture. You have to ask for a pair of scissors to cut up the noodles or else you would no the able to share the humongous plate of noodles.

As there were no banchan for the meal, we ordered some jjapchae 잡채 (stir-fry glass noodles with meat and vegetable) to share. While it had more ingredients than the normal jjapchae I get from other restaurants, it was tad too sweet for me. Acceptable as a side dish, but too sweet as a course.

Besides jjajangmyeon, they also serve other Korean classics like this bossam 보쌈 (boiled pork belly) with a special kimchi relish. Decent portion and reminded me of my mom’s boiled salted pork belly. Eaten by wrapping with the lettuce and a generous dollop of the gochujang and other condiments.

And to wash it all down, we had the hangover special, yukgaejang 육개장 (spicy beef soup). This soup was smoky, spicy, and rich, with healthy hunks of sliced beef and plenty of vegetables that were soft, but not mushy—they’re full of earthy mountain flavour from gosari (fernbrake). 

Afterthoughts

This place is a very good eat and very popular with the lunchtime crowd because of the value-for-money set menus that really appealed to the K-drama fans that have gained a deeper understanding of the varied Korean cuisine apart from KBBQ. The jjajangmyeon was really authentic but not the best in town; my Korean lunch mate recommended me another place that he often goes to for the KKM fix. Nevertheless expect a crowd during lunchtime, no reservations (unless you are Korean 😉 as the owners speak limited English).

Itaewon Jjajang 이태원짜장
64 Peck Seah St, Singapore 079325
Tel : +65 6223 1600

Visited Jan 2023

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