Try saying the title five times in a row without tripping over your tongue. It is a lot of j’s, and a fair bit of ambition too. For the next instalment of my showdown series, I’m turning my attention to two of the Klang Valley’s go-to spots for lard-free jjajangmyeon — O.BBa Jjajang and Shin Jjajang Budae Jjigae. Both are Korean-owned, both are popular, and both come with strong opinions from regulars who swear by their favourite.
Before we get into comparisons, let’s take a step back. What actually makes a good jjajangmyeon? At its core, it’s a simple dish that leaves little room for error. The sauce should be rich but not cloying, savoury with just enough sweetness to balance it out.
Chunjang, the black bean paste, needs to be fried properly to lose its bitterness, then cooked down with onions until everything softens and comes together. The sauce is thickened just enough to coat the noodles, not drown them, and finished with something fresh, usually cucumber, for contrast.
Now remove pork from the equation, and things get a little more complicated. Pork traditionally does a lot of heavy lifting in jjajangmyeon, adding depth and richness to the sauce. Without it, the dish depends even more on technique and seasoning — which is exactly what makes this matchup interesting in the first place.
O.BBa Jjajang
If you’re Singaporean, or at least familiar with the food scene there, chances are O.BBa Jjajang needs little introduction. The brand hails from Singapore, with its only Malaysian outlet tucked into The Starling Mall in Petaling Jaya. It has long been one of my personal go-tos for Korean food, though until now, their jjajangmyeon had somehow slipped past me.
A quick note before we go on. This is a pork-free establishment, but it is not JAKIM Halal-certified.
What first caught my eye on the menu was a jjajangmyeon dish topped with an entire fried chicken leg. But for the sake of fairness in this showdown, I stuck to the basics and ordered the Minced Beef Jjajangmyeon (RM28++). There is also a weekday lunch deal that brings the price down, if timing is on your side.
The moment the bowl arrived, the aroma did most of the talking. Chunjang, sweet onion and clean-tasting beef came through clearly. Even if beef or onions are not usually your thing, this was far from pungent. Portion-wise, it felt reasonable for the price and easily shareable if you are a moderate eater, which is exactly what we did. A pair of scissors was also provided to cut the noodles.
The sauce leaned firmly towards thick rather than runny, with generous chunks of onion visible throughout. Before mixing, the noodles themselves were worth a pause. O.BBa Jjajang makes their noodles fresh in-house, and it showed. Even after sitting untouched for several minutes, the strands stayed nicely separated instead of clumping together.
Then came the mixing process that fulfilled my K-drama fantasy. It took some effort, but it felt enjoyable rather than tedious (plus a free arm workout). The sauce clung stubbornly to the noodles — another good sign!
The first bite delivered exactly what you would hope for — comforting, homey, and soulful. The noodles were soft without tipping into mushy territory, and the sauce coated each strand evenly. That sauce-to-noodle ratio mattered to me more than I expected, and here, it felt just right.
You might not immediately spot the beef, but that is because it was incorporated so well into the sauce. The meat tasted clean, not gamey, and paired nicely with the sweetness of the onions and the savoury depth of the chunjang. Everything felt cohesive, rather than ingredients thrown together without much thought (or what some of us would call as “campak-campak”).
There is no question that O.BBa Jjajang set a high benchmark right out of the gate. Which naturally raises the question. How will the next contender measure up?
Side note: If you are ordering this, a side of tangsuyuk is highly recommended! Not mandatory, but you won’t regret it.
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Shin Jjajang Budae Jjigae
Formerly known as Tsuruhasi Authentic Korean Food, Shin Jjajang Budae Jjigae has been on a roll lately, despite having just two outlets so far. The buzz has only grown louder since they obtained JAKIM Halal certification. I visited their NU Sentral outlet on a Friday evening, and it was already packed wall to wall. The lunch crowd, I imagine, is another story (or nightmare) entirely.
Shin Jjajang Budae Jjigae is perhaps better known for its kocchi-and-noodles pairing, but for the sake of this showdown, I stuck closely to what I had ordered at O.BBa Jjajang. The Bulgogi Beef Shin Jjajang Noodle came in at RM25.90++, with a RM9.90 weekend promotion.
One immediate difference was the banchan spread that arrived alongside the noodles. A light kelp soup, kimchi, pickled radish and chopped chilli padi set the table, offering a mix of heat, acidity and crunch before the main event even began.
The sauce itself was generous, almost unapologetically so. Beyond the bulgogi beef, there were visible chunks of cabbage and cubed potatoes, making the dish feel heartier and more filling, especially if you come in hungry.
The sauce was already well on its way to mixing with the noodles by the time it reached the table, leaving little chance for me to show the noodles on its own. After mixing, it was clear this was a much saucier take on jjajangmyeon.
The first bite was a bit of a surprise. Rather than leaning into classic jjajangmyeon territory, the flavours veered closer to mee kicap or even Hokkien mee. It is a profile that would likely feel familiar, and comforting, to Malaysian palates. The beef slices were mostly tender, with a few pieces edging into chewiness, while the potatoes were soft and well-integrated into the sauce, suggesting they had been cooked down together.
The banchan turned out to be more than just an afterthought — the tang of the kimchi and pickled radish helped cut through the richness of the noodles. Taken as a whole, Shin Jjajang Budae Jjigae offers a version of jjajangmyeon that is filling and clearly tailored to local tastes, even if it plays a little loosely with tradition.
Final thoughts
In the end, it comes down to what you are looking for in a bowl. If authenticity is high on your list, O.BBa Jjajang takes the lead. Shin Jjajang Budae Jjigae, on the other hand, leans into generosity and familiarity. It is more filling, more value-driven, and shaped to suit local tastes, with flavours that feel immediately approachable.
My winner, however, was ultimately O.BBa Jjajang. Which one’s yours?
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