It's been quite a few years since I ate at Koryo Jajang. Last time I was here was the night before my buddy's wife gave birth to their first born. She joked that their spicy jjampong induced her into early labor! I was picking up some soondae at a restaurant in the same plaza on 08/16/2021 when I decided to get some noodles here as well. It was around lunchtime when I walked up. Several groups were having their meals at the tables set up outdoors. The entrance was blocked off by a table. The interior appeared clean. One of the owners promptly greeted me. After a quick scan of the menu, I ordered three items - Jjampong ($11.95, regular spiciness), Ja Jang Myun ($9.95), and Fried Dumplings ($10.95). I was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. My order was ready at the promised time. Everything was packaged nicely and securely. The fried dumplings (half kimchi/half pork) were good. They were deep fried to golden perfection and the fillings were delicious. The jjampong had a decent amount of seafood (shrimp, mussels, and squid) and various vegetables. The noodles were on the soft side. The broth was spicy but not overwhelming. The sauce of the Ja Jang Myun was made of chunjang, pork, and vegetables. It was thick and savory, but could use more meat in it. Portions were very generous. We had a lot of leftovers. This is a decent spot to satisfy your noodle craving. Still 4 stars. BONUS MATERIAL: - Private parking lot with limited spots. - Major credit cards accepted.
Joseph C.
Can you guys please change your hours? I'm here Wednesday at 730pm and you guys are closed. Other than that this place is dope as hell
Alor L.
This Korean waitress was super rude and demanded a higher tip. The black bean noodles, jampong and dumplings tasted disgusting that I couldn't finish it and look few bites. I had better Korean Chinese food and this place is a joke. All of the food tasted bland and all of the foods didn't have flavor. Super dull.
Audrey I.
I've been coming to Koryo Jajang for well over a decade now, and I'm STILL an avid fan. Prices increased, my palate's changed, but the one thing that remained the same is Koryo Jajang's delicious flavor. I recommend the Jengban Jajang, which (unlike traditional jajangmyun) is stir-fried, so the wok imparts an incredible smoky flavor to the noodles. The tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) is also a must. It's still fairly light and not TOO artery-clogging despite the fact that it's deep-fried. The service is also great, and you get free barley tea with your order. 5/5!!
hansel s.
What happened to this place? Used to come here all the time when I was a grad student in the 2000s. Might have been called a different name but of the 2-3 jjajang places in Oakland, this was the best. The gan jjajang used some kind of thick yellow noodle. Weird. Is it the supply chain disruption of 2021? The sauce had unusually large pieces of meat which was a pleasant surprise but I'm used to playing Where's Waldo with the meat in 99% of legit jjajang places. Disappointed. Will try again in the future to see if they've retained the tang su yook flavor. And the jjampong, which was never that great here in the first place.
Alisa K.
When: Sunday 10/10/21 @ 12pm Parking: located in a small plaza with free parking spots as well as free street parking in adjacent streets I had been craving ja jang mein for a while and came across this place on Yelp. Decided to try it out and ordered the fried chicken with spicy red sauce ($20) and of course a bowl of ja jang mein ($10). When you first walk in you'll notice the place is really small and is a bit run down. There's random things located all over the place and all the tables were kinda dirty... but that just means you know the foods gonna be fire. Overall I was really happy with this place and the food. You really can't beat the price of all their dishes, especially in the Bay Area. The portions are really large and just these two dishes were enough for 3 people. The fried chicken had a really nice crunch and the chicken was super juicy. The red sauce was a bit too sweet for me but it did pair well with the chicken and bonus points for putting the sauce on the side! The ja jang mein was amazing. The sauce was delicious and the noodles were perfectly cooked. Definitely one of the best I've had. Although, I could tell they put MSG into their food. Not a bad thing, but definitely noticeable. Very happy with Koryo Jajang would definitely recommend for a quick, home type meal
Scott L.
Koryo Jajang is my go-to place for Ja Jang Myun and Fried Dumplings on the cheap. This place has been in Oakland's quasi K-Town area for ages. It's a no frills place that is located in a small strip mall with limited parking spots. The Ja Jang comes in a large or regular, we opted for a regular while also ordering the crispy fried dumplings. Enough food for two people. The JJM has plenty of sauce for the noodles and pork and veggies are immersed in the sauce. They give you extra bowls and a scissor if you're sharing because them noodles are loooong and plentiful. Condiments of bean paste, pickled radish, and raw diced onions to further burn your throat accompany the food. As to service and crowds, we went at an off-hour, 2:30pm on a Saturday, and had plenty of parking to choose from along with a whole restaurant to ourselves. Service was excellent at that time with multiple water refills by the lone server.
Odie K.
Love this place. It's changed name throughout the years but been my go to jajamyun spot. Just went back today and the bowls are def bigger than before. They have tables outside under a trellis if you prefer as well.
Heather S.
Affordable and delicious are the two words I would describe this hidden gem! With the kindest worker taking our order to the quick wait time to both receive our food and to be seated, I would definitely come here again to get my jajang fix. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend:) -- - Ja Jang Myun ($7.95) // First off, the portion was HUGE and the sauce was super flavorful. The noodles were perfectly cooked and mixed well with the other components of the dish. The sauce is fermented black beans which I know sounds intimidating, but I swear it is to die for. Definitely a classic and shareable! - Fried Dumplings ($8.95) // Perfectly crunchy and piping hot, this dish was the perfect appetizer to share amongst all my friends! - Tang Su Yuk Shrimp ($17.95) // Once again, this dish came in huge portions with crunchy fried shrimp and its iconic sweet and sour sauce on the side.
Sarantuya P.
I ordered jampong and tang su yook. Jampong wasn't bad at all, comes with big portion. Tang su yook tho, on the other hand came in big pieces, hard to chew, hard fried batter, it felt like it could cut my mouth open if I don't be careful chewing. The meat was dry and hard too. I found some luncheon meat inside too which I didn't know they include that in tang su yook. I've tried their jja jang miang before and it was really good! That's why I'm giving this a 2 star, order everything else but tang su yook
This place use the oil from the fryer to cook disgusting I don't recommend and also employees use the cellular when is cooking
Brandon C.
Worst place ever! First of all, it tastes so weird. Have tried so many jajamyeon place because I'm Korean, but it taste nothing like jajangmyeon. Also ordered tangsuyook (fried pork with sweet/sour sauce). Oh my god, it's only half battered and it's hard as rock. I could barely eat one and stopped eating it. Better not waste your time and money here.
Cindy C.
Wth!! I ordered the large Jajangmyeon thru ubereats, I was surprised they added the sauce to the noodles?!? See photo!!! They added the sauce to the noodles and MIXED IT, big NO NO ! The noodles and sauce should have been separated.. other places ALWAYS separated the sauce, and this place used to separate the sauce from the noodles when I order take out from them. BY the time it got to my house, the whole thing was soggy and disgusting!! See Pics!! I had to throw the whole thing away! Just waste $$
Meghann M.
GREAT COMFORT FOOD. WARM AND FILLING. REASONABLE PRICES. Koryo Jajang could be considered a "hole in the wall" restaurant but the atmosphere and cooking reminded me of home styled cooking-- it felt warm and filled me up. I highly recommend pairing their jajamyeong with the tang su yuk; the combination of chewy, sauce-laden noodles and fried sweet pork is like no other. My friends and I (3 people) went on a Saturday (06/26) ready to indulge ourselves in their Jajang! We were seated almost immediately after arriving at 5:45PM The total price of the meal came to $45 with tip and tax.
Nicholas K.
Quality and taste has gone down dramatically but the cost has gone up. Can't recommend this place anymore. They used to use fresh ingredients and whole pineapple in their sweet and sour sauce, now it's chopped up canned stuff (see picture). Also they used to have lots of vegies and seafood in the jjang-pong but now it's about 1/4th the amount. So disappointed.
It's been quite a few years since I ate at Koryo Jajang. Last time I was here was the night before my buddy's wife gave birth to their first born. She joked that their spicy jjampong induced her into early labor! I was picking up some soondae at a restaurant in the same plaza on 08/16/2021 when I decided to get some noodles here as well. It was around lunchtime when I walked up. Several groups were having their meals at the tables set up outdoors. The entrance was blocked off by a table. The interior appeared clean. One of the owners promptly greeted me. After a quick scan of the menu, I ordered three items - Jjampong ($11.95, regular spiciness), Ja Jang Myun ($9.95), and Fried Dumplings ($10.95). I was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. My order was ready at the promised time. Everything was packaged nicely and securely. The fried dumplings (half kimchi/half pork) were good. They were deep fried to golden perfection and the fillings were delicious. The jjampong had a decent amount of seafood (shrimp, mussels, and squid) and various vegetables. The noodles were on the soft side. The broth was spicy but not overwhelming. The sauce of the Ja Jang Myun was made of chunjang, pork, and vegetables. It was thick and savory, but could use more meat in it. Portions were very generous. We had a lot of leftovers. This is a decent spot to satisfy your noodle craving. Still 4 stars. BONUS MATERIAL: - Private parking lot with limited spots. - Major credit cards accepted.
Can you guys please change your hours? I'm here Wednesday at 730pm and you guys are closed. Other than that this place is dope as hell
This Korean waitress was super rude and demanded a higher tip. The black bean noodles, jampong and dumplings tasted disgusting that I couldn't finish it and look few bites. I had better Korean Chinese food and this place is a joke. All of the food tasted bland and all of the foods didn't have flavor. Super dull.
I've been coming to Koryo Jajang for well over a decade now, and I'm STILL an avid fan. Prices increased, my palate's changed, but the one thing that remained the same is Koryo Jajang's delicious flavor. I recommend the Jengban Jajang, which (unlike traditional jajangmyun) is stir-fried, so the wok imparts an incredible smoky flavor to the noodles. The tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) is also a must. It's still fairly light and not TOO artery-clogging despite the fact that it's deep-fried. The service is also great, and you get free barley tea with your order. 5/5!!
What happened to this place? Used to come here all the time when I was a grad student in the 2000s. Might have been called a different name but of the 2-3 jjajang places in Oakland, this was the best. The gan jjajang used some kind of thick yellow noodle. Weird. Is it the supply chain disruption of 2021? The sauce had unusually large pieces of meat which was a pleasant surprise but I'm used to playing Where's Waldo with the meat in 99% of legit jjajang places. Disappointed. Will try again in the future to see if they've retained the tang su yook flavor. And the jjampong, which was never that great here in the first place.
When: Sunday 10/10/21 @ 12pm Parking: located in a small plaza with free parking spots as well as free street parking in adjacent streets I had been craving ja jang mein for a while and came across this place on Yelp. Decided to try it out and ordered the fried chicken with spicy red sauce ($20) and of course a bowl of ja jang mein ($10). When you first walk in you'll notice the place is really small and is a bit run down. There's random things located all over the place and all the tables were kinda dirty... but that just means you know the foods gonna be fire. Overall I was really happy with this place and the food. You really can't beat the price of all their dishes, especially in the Bay Area. The portions are really large and just these two dishes were enough for 3 people. The fried chicken had a really nice crunch and the chicken was super juicy. The red sauce was a bit too sweet for me but it did pair well with the chicken and bonus points for putting the sauce on the side! The ja jang mein was amazing. The sauce was delicious and the noodles were perfectly cooked. Definitely one of the best I've had. Although, I could tell they put MSG into their food. Not a bad thing, but definitely noticeable. Very happy with Koryo Jajang would definitely recommend for a quick, home type meal
Koryo Jajang is my go-to place for Ja Jang Myun and Fried Dumplings on the cheap. This place has been in Oakland's quasi K-Town area for ages. It's a no frills place that is located in a small strip mall with limited parking spots. The Ja Jang comes in a large or regular, we opted for a regular while also ordering the crispy fried dumplings. Enough food for two people. The JJM has plenty of sauce for the noodles and pork and veggies are immersed in the sauce. They give you extra bowls and a scissor if you're sharing because them noodles are loooong and plentiful. Condiments of bean paste, pickled radish, and raw diced onions to further burn your throat accompany the food. As to service and crowds, we went at an off-hour, 2:30pm on a Saturday, and had plenty of parking to choose from along with a whole restaurant to ourselves. Service was excellent at that time with multiple water refills by the lone server.
Love this place. It's changed name throughout the years but been my go to jajamyun spot. Just went back today and the bowls are def bigger than before. They have tables outside under a trellis if you prefer as well.
Affordable and delicious are the two words I would describe this hidden gem! With the kindest worker taking our order to the quick wait time to both receive our food and to be seated, I would definitely come here again to get my jajang fix. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend:) -- - Ja Jang Myun ($7.95) // First off, the portion was HUGE and the sauce was super flavorful. The noodles were perfectly cooked and mixed well with the other components of the dish. The sauce is fermented black beans which I know sounds intimidating, but I swear it is to die for. Definitely a classic and shareable! - Fried Dumplings ($8.95) // Perfectly crunchy and piping hot, this dish was the perfect appetizer to share amongst all my friends! - Tang Su Yuk Shrimp ($17.95) // Once again, this dish came in huge portions with crunchy fried shrimp and its iconic sweet and sour sauce on the side.
I ordered jampong and tang su yook. Jampong wasn't bad at all, comes with big portion. Tang su yook tho, on the other hand came in big pieces, hard to chew, hard fried batter, it felt like it could cut my mouth open if I don't be careful chewing. The meat was dry and hard too. I found some luncheon meat inside too which I didn't know they include that in tang su yook. I've tried their jja jang miang before and it was really good! That's why I'm giving this a 2 star, order everything else but tang su yook
Restaurantji Recommends
This place use the oil from the fryer to cook disgusting I don't recommend and also employees use the cellular when is cooking
Worst place ever! First of all, it tastes so weird. Have tried so many jajamyeon place because I'm Korean, but it taste nothing like jajangmyeon. Also ordered tangsuyook (fried pork with sweet/sour sauce). Oh my god, it's only half battered and it's hard as rock. I could barely eat one and stopped eating it. Better not waste your time and money here.
Wth!! I ordered the large Jajangmyeon thru ubereats, I was surprised they added the sauce to the noodles?!? See photo!!! They added the sauce to the noodles and MIXED IT, big NO NO ! The noodles and sauce should have been separated.. other places ALWAYS separated the sauce, and this place used to separate the sauce from the noodles when I order take out from them. BY the time it got to my house, the whole thing was soggy and disgusting!! See Pics!! I had to throw the whole thing away! Just waste $$
GREAT COMFORT FOOD. WARM AND FILLING. REASONABLE PRICES. Koryo Jajang could be considered a "hole in the wall" restaurant but the atmosphere and cooking reminded me of home styled cooking-- it felt warm and filled me up. I highly recommend pairing their jajamyeong with the tang su yuk; the combination of chewy, sauce-laden noodles and fried sweet pork is like no other. My friends and I (3 people) went on a Saturday (06/26) ready to indulge ourselves in their Jajang! We were seated almost immediately after arriving at 5:45PM The total price of the meal came to $45 with tip and tax.
Quality and taste has gone down dramatically but the cost has gone up. Can't recommend this place anymore. They used to use fresh ingredients and whole pineapple in their sweet and sour sauce, now it's chopped up canned stuff (see picture). Also they used to have lots of vegies and seafood in the jjang-pong but now it's about 1/4th the amount. So disappointed.