짜장면 vs. 炸醬麵

Sully and i often get into debates about korean vs. chinese food. being the stalwart korean that he is, his cuisine of choice is always korean, and in particular, korean barbecue.  i, on the other hand, have a wide and diverse palate that cannot be limited to any 1 or 2 cuisines, so i have a hard time picking a "favorite" anything and have cravings for different cuisines depending on my mood.

due to my lack of fortitude when it comes to these debates, Sully seems to come out the victor more often than not, and i don't really mind.

except when it comes to jajang noodles.  

i am a BIG fan of korean food, mainly because i can finish a meal without ingesting a single carb which tricks my mind into believing that i ate "healthy." i mean how bad can a few pounds of pork belly and beef short ribs be? plus i always eat it with tons of lettuce wraps and banchan. so really, the 2 balance each other out.

the only time i can't do this is when i go out to eat korean-chinese food. which i rarely ever do, except that Sully likes korean jjajang noodles and the tangsuk squid/shrimp. and that's how we found ourselves at Son Ja Jang in k-town (a branch of which i'd previously visited in NJ). the k-town restaurant is interesting because Son Ja Jang and Muk Eun Ji seem to merge their offerings together since they share the same space.  the 2 restaurants' offerings don't overlap, which provides a nice symbiosis for diners with differing agendas. also, and this is a BIG ALSO, sharing with Muk Eun Ji makes for awesome kim chi banchan since Muk Eun Ji serves something called maisan kimchi which is pretty delicious.

as such, i ordered the Kalbi Gobdol Bibimbab ($14.99) and Sully opted for the Handmade Noodle w/Bean Sauce w/Spicy Soup ($9.99).  at my request, we also ordered Man Doo Gui ($7.99) which were the crispiest and plumpest fried dumplings i've had to date in k-town. the bibimbab was good, although i'm not the best judge since i don't usually order it (i wasn't very hungry at the time and knew that Sully loves kalbi and bibimbab so i figured he would eat most of it).

Sully really liked the jjajang noodles and went on and on and on and on and on about how korean jjajang noodles are so much better than chinese jajang noodles. which i totally disagree. don't get me wrong, korean jjajang is good. i just don't understand why it has to be so sweet. and have such a little amount of meat. and SO many beans. whereas chinese jajang has a generous portion of mince and an adequate savory flavor that can be adapted to spicy or not spicy versions. as lunch/dinner food should be.

i guess we'll have to agree to disagree.