Ipum 이품

Thick wrappers give the gun mandu (pan-fried dumplings) a browned, crisp base and chewy folded edges. The filling is not packed tight, but it stays moist against the heavy dough. Plating is plain, and a few dumplings may arrive stuck together. Ganjjajang, black bean sauce stir-fried with little liquid, is all crunchy onion and strong chunjang aroma; the sauce looks scant at first yet coats every strand once mixed. Because it is so dense, sauce and noodles never separate, and the noodles keep their chew. The jjamppong broth runs clear and light rather than thick, a clean counterpoint to the ganjjajang, and the seafood-rich samseon jjamppong keeps that same clean broth. Sweet-and-sour pork rounds out a short menu. The restaurant once ran several branches and now continues only at its Yeonhui-dong home.