A few months back; "FOY" Elle asked me if I'd been to the new location of Paik's Noodle, which had moved from the Zion Market Food Court, where it was known as Hong Kong BanJum, to a location next to the Hive in the same strip mall as CoCo Ichibanya and Da Nang Corner. I felt a bit hesitant about checking them out. You see, I tried Hong Kong BanJum way back at the end of 2013 when they first opened and I really didn't care for the Jajangmyeon. It was greasy and much too sweet, so I never went back. Those were the days when I used to make sure to visit at least twice before doing a post, so those photos ended up in the recycle bin. I thought about returning once or twice, especially since Cathy seemed to enjoy her visit, but I just never made it back.
So finally, about two weeks ago, I decided to head on over and check the place out.
The location is shared with the Hive. Go right, it's the Hive, go left it's Paik's.
The space is elongated and quite spartan.
The two folks working here were so very nice. This was especially admirable when I watched them deal with the very rude, demanding, and entitled young men that came in a bit later on.
Ordering here is done off a tablet like display.
I knew I had to give the JaJangmyeon another try. I saw an option I thought I might enjoy; I ordered the JaJang Rice ($14.95), which came with an omelete and a side of the Jjampong. Also, based on my previous experience, I asked for the JaJang, the black bean based sauce on the side, so I could control flavors and texture.
Soon enough, some Takuan Danmuji arrived.
Accompanying the JaJangmyeon, which according to several sources derives its existence from Chinese workers in Incheon in the late 19th, early 20th century. I've always found it kind of interesting that the Missus does not care for this dish, since it's origins have been traced to Shandong Province, where She is from!
I'm glad I ordered my dish in this fashion as it was a heck of a lot of JaJang! While it still has a bit of that greasy mouthfeel, this wasn't overly sweet, had some decent umami tones, and some interesting pungency. It was definitely better than what I had experienced at Hong Kong BanJum in the Zion Food Court.
The rice was moist, there was also a good amount of fairly fluffy egg, which I guess because of the JaJang didn't seem to be seasoned at all.
While definitely not a "go to" dish for me, this was not bad. The portion size was quite generous.
I was glad that the Jjampong was included as it was my favorite of the meal.
Another dish which claims an interesting history, this was comfortingly spicy, with good savory – pungent – umami tones. I'm thinking I'll order the Meat Jjampong if I return.
Overall, quite a hearty meal, generous portion for the price. And while not claiming a place among Korean (or Korean-Chinese) eateries on my rotation, I'm glad I visited under the auspices Paik's which I think is better than the former iteration of Hong Kong BanJum. I also enjoyed reading about the history of these dishes while doing this post as well.
Paik's Noodle
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm
Thanks for the reminder for Paik's Elle!