Sacheonseong: Great Chinese Food in Seogwipo, Jeju
After a bowl of tteokguk (rice cake soup) for brunch, a trip to Hueree Natural Park, and burning off energy at Dynamic Maze, I was absolutely starving. I didn't want to go back to Doljib Restaurant where we ate yesterday, and I heard the baby goes crazy for jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles), so I searched for a nearby Chinese spot. I arrived at Sacheonseong without high expectations, just wanting a light noodle dish. But as soon as we saw the interior, my friend said this place looked promising. My friend is a civil servant who inspects restaurant hygiene, so their intuition is definitely on another level.
Looking at the menu, the prices were on the higher side. The biggest catch was having to order a minimum of two portions for the ganjjajang (dry black bean noodles). Still, we were so hungry that we ordered two portions of samseon ganjjajang (seafood black bean noodles), shrimp fried rice, and a small order of chapssal tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork with glutinous rice batter). Even as I ordered, I worried it was too much food, but for some reason, I was overflowing with the useless confidence that I could finish it all. If only I had this kind of confidence in my everyday life.
A man who seemed to be the owner was busily serving tables by himself. After exchanging a few jokes with him, our fried rice came out first. It looked pretty ordinary, except the rice had a yellow tint—maybe it was brown rice or just seasoned. But I must have been starving because half of it disappeared in a flash. If I had to point out a unique trait, it was much less greasy and had a stronger, nuttier flavor compared to the oily fried rice you usually get in Seoul.
Next up was the tangsuyuk. I was a little surprised to find chapssal tangsuyuk in a rural neighborhood like Pyoseon in Jeju. The batter wasn't mind-blowingly chewy, just pleasantly sticky, but the meat was truly top-notch. There was absolutely no funky smell to the pork, making the dish taste incredibly clean. As expected, the eyes of someone who inspects restaurants every day were spot on.
The ganjjajang I was looking forward to the most was the absolute highlight. I initially thought the portion was a bit small for 20,000 KRW, but it turned out that was just one of the portions. The noodles were extraordinarily chewy, and the sauce was so packed with seafood it felt like the owner was lecturing us on what the word "samseon" (three seafoods) really means. Mixed together, the black bean flavor was great, but the umami from the squid and other seafood completely filled my mouth. Is this what real samseon jjajang is supposed to taste like?
This is the first time I've been this impressed by a dish you can easily find in Seoul, rather than a local Jeju specialty. Most restaurants operating in Jeju leave you thinking, "It's not bad, but they probably failed in Seoul and moved down here." Usually, you can spot a few things lacking for the price, but Sacheonseong's jjajang would be a massive hit even if they opened exactly like this in Seoul.
It's just a massive shame that I drove to such a fantastic Chinese restaurant and had to leave without enjoying a glass of kaoliang jiu (sorghum liquor).
You might not plan on eating Chinese food all the way down in Jeju, but if you ever get a serious craving, Sacheonseong is the absolute go-to.