May is National Family Month in Korea. While various kind of family restaurants and buffets are being created and gone, one of the most popular family gatherings for a long time was the Chinese restaurant.
Congee GoGo hase several branches in the Seoul metropolitan area. The Olympic branch is located at exit 4 of Bangi station on line 5 and walk along the main road for about 10 minutes.
Valet parking is available for 2,000 won.
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It seems that they hold an event every month. Last month, we have an event aimed at Black Day(On this day, people who did not receive gifts on the previous two days gather and eat Jajangmyeon), and in May we have a family event. What will it be the next one?
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If you go upstairs to the 2nd floor, you will find the entrance of the red brick.
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You can find an operating time guide right next to the entrance.
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Congee GoGo Olympic branch has their tables surround the kitchen and all the seats are window seats.
Isn’t a window seat the most favored position in any country?
When I go to a restaurant, my first concern is ‘Where should I sit?, but you don’t worry about it here.
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As it’s a restaurant with many family visits, there are several independent spaces, and there are plenty ofbaby seats.
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First, they serve cold water, jasmine tea, zha cai(pickled mustard plant) and pickled radish.
This zha cai isn’t salty. First of all, I like this part!
You don’t see onions, vinegar, or tianmian sauce that always comes out at every Chinese restaurants, do you?
It’s like dividing classes between Chinese restaurants and Koreanized Chinese restaurants.
(Of course they kindly bring them if requested.)
Let’s now open the menu.
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It felt a bit different because of the ‘Brand New’ part. Usually, Chinese restaurants have a variety of menus for a long time, but they introduce the new items at the front of the menu and offer them at a special price. Some meals are offered at a special lunch price on weekdays, so I guess it would be great even if it’s not a family gathering.
As in most restaurants, course meals can be ordered for more than two people.
I think the difference between Chinese restaurant and Koreanized Chinese restaurant is ‘course meal’(and also Chinese restaurants don’t offer delivery).
Most Chinese restaurants have a wide variety of dishes, and honestly, the ones I have eaten are only few of them.
Among the few experiences, always there are conflicts between sweet and sour pork, jajangmyeon, and jjamppong, but this time, I go with course A.
The first one is crab soup.
Warm and soft soup comforts my stomach for the upcoming dishes. It tastes a bit salty and has a strong pepper flavor.
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The course begins with Palbochae(팔보채:Stir-fried Seafood and Vegetables).
‘Palbo’ stands for ‘eight treasures’. Means eight rare ingredients in other words. ‘Chae’ means vegetable. I
It has chili oil in it, but it’s a mild taste that everyone can enjoy.
The next is gochujapchae(stir-fried meat and vegetables) and flower bun.
Cut the flower bun and put gochujapchae on it, and gulp it down in one bite.
It’s not a fancy dish, but it feels like I won’t get sick of it even if I have it everyday.
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Next one is sweet and sour pork.
There are 3 types of sweet and sour pork in Congee GoGo. They make the coat with glutinous rice flour and starch mixed. It’s not the chewy one which is popular these days, but it feels like 7:3 mix of the traditional one and the chewy one.
The food in here is generally not too stimulating, so I think most people will be able to enjoy it. The sauce also is properly mixed with sweetness and sourness.
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The mist important thing I see in sweet and sour pork is the cut surface when I bite it.
The meat and the coat should stick well and the quality and the texture of the meat should be good.
And by my standards, the sweet and sour pork in Congee GoGo is pretty satisfying.
I’d like to order it again in a single serve next time.
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Next, the dish for meals.
Dad or mom? Which one is your favorite? It’s as difficult as this to choose between jajangmyeon and jjamppong.
The right answer is, ‘both’.
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I ordered for 2, but I was with my 5-years-old child, so the manager offered free fried rice for my kid.
Did you know that you can tell if a Chinese restaurant is good or not by their fried rice?
The rice should not be too oily and should be cooked right and a bit dry.
Yes, I was satisfied with the ratio of seafood and the texture of the cooked rice.
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I
have tried a lot of jajangmyeon, and
it is a mild one that isn’t too salty or sweet.
Actually, I
am very generous when it comes to the taste of jajangmyeon. But still
I am kinda picky on its pork meat.
Sometimes greasy cheap meats are hidden in the sauce and it’s unpleasant when I chew the squishy fat while eating jajangmyeon, but I like this one because it isn’t like that.
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This jjamppong has excellent ingredients of seafood!
Instead of spicy taste that stimulates my throat, it preserves the original flavor of seafood.
The seafood is chewy and the vegetables are crunchy, so the texture is all good.
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Lastly, fresh finish with one sip of strawberry sherbet for a dessert.
This is the end of the course meal.
Overall, it isn’t artificial or stimulating.
Felt like it would be like this if I was invited to a Chinese home and have a Chinese home-style meal.
- Food★★★☆☆
It’s not a Koreanized Chinese restaurant but a Chinese restaurant. Vegetables and seafood are fresh and not stimulating.
- Cleanliness ★★★☆☆
Tables are clean, but found some grease spots.
- Service ★★★☆☆
The staff are kind, but the hall serving had a disadvantage of having to be called several times. Perhaps because of the dignity of the restaurant, they do not have order bell. Sometimes there was no response when I called them.
- Ambience ★★★☆☆
The tables are arranged long along the window, so the view is good, but the room is rather small. Recommending to take a meeting room if you have several people with you.
- Accessibility ★★★☆☆
Easy to find. You can find the restaurant as you walk along the main road 10 minutes away from exit 4 of Bangi station on line 5.
- Open hours: 11:30~22:00(There is break time on weekdays)
- Recommended for 2 people or more for a course meal
- Recommending: Sweet and sour pork, Jajangmyeon, JJamppong, Fried rice
- Value: About 10,000 Won for each. Course meal begins from 23,000 Won
- Amenities: Separated rest rooms by gender, Baby sits, Wifi, Diaper switchboard
Address: 182-2 Bangi 1-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul
