South Bay: Jangtu
CK's coworker recommended Jangtu as THE place to get soondae in the Bay, so of course we had to check it out:
Apparently it's not a secret because there was a bit of a wait for a table:
When we finally sat down, we were immediately brought an array of banchan:
And quite a respectable array at that. I love it when banchan is varied in terms of texture and flavor. Jangtu does a good job of that. I approve.
We went all out and ordered the jokbal and modum soondae combo ($23.99):
The plate was loaded with soondae, jokbal (pork feet), and other steamed innards. For those who have never heard of soondae before, it is essentially a Korean sausage made with pork blood and cellophane noodles. Jangtu's soondae was so good, it eclipsed their jokbal. I honestly have no memory of how their jokbal tasted.
The best accompaniment for soondae is none other than salt:
So simple and yet so delicious! Use a light hand when dipping though, you don't want to accidentally end up with a mouthful of salt. Unless that's what you like. In which case, carry on.
CK and I barely made a dent in that mountain of goodness, but we certainly gave it our best shot.
It didn't feel right just ordering one plate for the two of us. Then we saw soondae gopchang guk ($15.99) on the menu and just had to give it a try:
I mean, soondae and small intestine in one soup? How could we resist?:
If you're in the intestine fan club like I am, this soup is for you. That broth was perfectly intestine-y, though I could see it being a bit too intense for some people.
I loved Jangtu so much that when Jiejie came to visit in November, I made it a point to bring her there. There's nobody in the world that loves soondae as much as Jiejie. She'll buy the frozen ones and just eat them like a corn dog without slicing them. It's almost barbaric, but we love her, so we look the other way.
In order to try more things off of Jangtu's menu, I enlisted my mom, Abby, and UK to come with us. Instead of going for the jokbal and soondae combo, this time around we just ordered the modum soondae ($12.99):
Gotta focus on the good stuff, right? Speaking of good stuff, I made them try the soondae gopchang guk because it was that delicious.
To appease my mother, who isn't the biggest lover of offal, we got the haemul pajeon ($15.99) or seafood pancake:
A bit too pricey in my opinion, but it was super thick and filled with seafood.
We were super excited about the soondae gopchang bokeum ($35.99, meant for two people):
CK and I didn't order this when we went because we felt like it would've been too much food. We were right. This giant pot with all its veggies, soondae, and intestine was more than enough for the five of us:
I was expecting it to be a dry pot, so I was surprised it find it so soupy. Not that that was a bad thing. The liquid continued to cook down until it became a thick sauce. And at the end of the meal, our server dumped rice in with the leftovers to make fried rice:
If you're patient and leave the rice alone long enough, you'll get a crispy bottom, which is freakin' awesome.
I think I've made my love for Jangtu pretty clear in this post, but in case I haven't, I will repeat it again. I LOVE JANGTU. Yes, it's not the cheapest place around town, but where else can you get soondae like that in the Bay?
I have boarded the Jangtu train and I have no intention of ever getting off. Toot toot!
Jangtu
1012 E El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 245-5720
Apparently it's not a secret because there was a bit of a wait for a table:
When we finally sat down, we were immediately brought an array of banchan:
And quite a respectable array at that. I love it when banchan is varied in terms of texture and flavor. Jangtu does a good job of that. I approve.
We went all out and ordered the jokbal and modum soondae combo ($23.99):
The plate was loaded with soondae, jokbal (pork feet), and other steamed innards. For those who have never heard of soondae before, it is essentially a Korean sausage made with pork blood and cellophane noodles. Jangtu's soondae was so good, it eclipsed their jokbal. I honestly have no memory of how their jokbal tasted.
The best accompaniment for soondae is none other than salt:
So simple and yet so delicious! Use a light hand when dipping though, you don't want to accidentally end up with a mouthful of salt. Unless that's what you like. In which case, carry on.
CK and I barely made a dent in that mountain of goodness, but we certainly gave it our best shot.
It didn't feel right just ordering one plate for the two of us. Then we saw soondae gopchang guk ($15.99) on the menu and just had to give it a try:
I mean, soondae and small intestine in one soup? How could we resist?:
If you're in the intestine fan club like I am, this soup is for you. That broth was perfectly intestine-y, though I could see it being a bit too intense for some people.
I loved Jangtu so much that when Jiejie came to visit in November, I made it a point to bring her there. There's nobody in the world that loves soondae as much as Jiejie. She'll buy the frozen ones and just eat them like a corn dog without slicing them. It's almost barbaric, but we love her, so we look the other way.
In order to try more things off of Jangtu's menu, I enlisted my mom, Abby, and UK to come with us. Instead of going for the jokbal and soondae combo, this time around we just ordered the modum soondae ($12.99):
Gotta focus on the good stuff, right? Speaking of good stuff, I made them try the soondae gopchang guk because it was that delicious.
To appease my mother, who isn't the biggest lover of offal, we got the haemul pajeon ($15.99) or seafood pancake:
A bit too pricey in my opinion, but it was super thick and filled with seafood.
We were super excited about the soondae gopchang bokeum ($35.99, meant for two people):
CK and I didn't order this when we went because we felt like it would've been too much food. We were right. This giant pot with all its veggies, soondae, and intestine was more than enough for the five of us:
I was expecting it to be a dry pot, so I was surprised it find it so soupy. Not that that was a bad thing. The liquid continued to cook down until it became a thick sauce. And at the end of the meal, our server dumped rice in with the leftovers to make fried rice:
If you're patient and leave the rice alone long enough, you'll get a crispy bottom, which is freakin' awesome.
I think I've made my love for Jangtu pretty clear in this post, but in case I haven't, I will repeat it again. I LOVE JANGTU. Yes, it's not the cheapest place around town, but where else can you get soondae like that in the Bay?
I have boarded the Jangtu train and I have no intention of ever getting off. Toot toot!
Jangtu
1012 E El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 245-5720
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