Chef Baek Jong-won is famous for his TV appearances and F&B chains Paik’s Coffee and Paik’s Bibim. However, he actually has a lot more F&B chains than expected, and Hong Kong Banjeom 0410+ is one of them.
I’m not actually sure why there’s ‘Hong Kong’ in it, because this sure isn’t what Hong Kong cuisine is. Maybe he was going for the Chinese vibes without explicitly labelling it so, I don’t know.
What to eat at Hong Kong Banjeom 0410+
Anyway, we didn’t exactly plan to eat here! It was mere coincidence that we chanced upon this while walking around BIFF in Busan and half of us were craving Chinese food (the type of Chinese food in Korea).
I don’t have a photo of the exterior (I hadn’t exactly planned at that time to write a travel blog so pls blame my lack of foresight), but other travel blogs have been very helpful:
As you can see, the restaurant is really full of customers because it’s super cheap! At that time (2017), jjajangmyeon cost only 4000 won. That’s honestly not a price you can get at many places, because Chinese food is apparently pretty expensive in Korea.
If you see the photo above, you’ll find that the banner features a 5000 won naengmyeon set (“chagamyeon”) complete with a full set of side dishes (!!!).
I ended up ordering that because I really wanted some cold naengmyeon in the blistering summer heat. On the other hand, my friends ordered jjajangmeon and jjajangbap (basically replacing noodles with rice, which I have to say is also a very delicious combination).
Please admire my 5000 won naengmyeon set. JUST LOOK AT IT!! 5000 won is about SGD 6, USD 4.50, and you’re definitely not going to be able to get something like this outside of Korea.
This was absolutely refreshing to eat in summer. You can see that there is ice in the noodles (hence naengmyeon, “cold noodles”). That plate of ingredients included ingredients like shredded eggs, kelp, ham strips, cucumber strips, and tofu skin. However, I think this was a summer special and is not a permanent item on the menu!
I also tried my friends’ jjajang-meals. The rice felt a bit like I was eating Japanese curry rice, which was quite interesting.
I highly recommend eating at this place at least once in Korea! It’s highly unlikely you can get cheaper Chinese food anywhere else. They have branches in Seoul as well, so you don’t have to specially take a trip down to Busan in order to eat this.
After that first experience, whenever I need a quick Chinese food fix in Seoul, I’ll always go to Hong Kong Banjeom 0410+ in Myeongdong!
I usually order their jjajangmyeon, tangsuyuk, and mandu. Here are more photos for your reference!
DIRECTIONS
Busan: 7-2, Nampo-dong, Jung-gu, Nampo-gil, Busan, South Korea
Myeongdong: 7-4 Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Busan: The nearest train station is Jagalchi Station. Turn into BIFF and walk along the streets with many stores and restaurants (not the street food).
Related Posts:
- Andong Jjimdak: Seoul chain restaurant for the hearty dish
- Lucky China (幸運大飯店): Chinese Food in Incheon
- Cheonghwawon (中華范)
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