Hong Kong Banjum

Charges extra 50 cents for credit card transactions. Terrible way to run a business — someone should report to BBB

Waited almost 45 minutes for two orders of noodles. The noodles (#6) were good but to wait that long seems ridiculous in addition to the $ 1 charge they put for Togo orders. If you’re in a hurry skip this place or browse around Zion market because they do take a while.

Got their jjamppong and it was right on point. The broth was warm and everything was nicely cooked. The number one factor was the aftermath of eating… there was no msg attack i didnt feel groggy after or really thirsty like other restaurants that serve this. They have a nice simple menu. I tho personally didnt like the the tangsooyook because it was a but dry and bland but their jjamppong made up for it: D

The best jjajangmyun in San Diego! I always stop by here when I’m at Zion. Come here for great food and great service :-)

Got to give it up to a place that only offers 4 dishes. The hook is that those 4 dishes must be pretty damn good. I can only vouch for the jjampong I tried. Honestly it’s my first time trying jjampong and it’s a great dish. HK Banjum might be serving the biggest bowls of soup I’ve ever experienced.
Love the broth. Nice spice and nice visual of stirring it up and seeing the different oils. Good fresh ingredients. The pork was a nice addition and mix from the seafood. Could of done with less broth and more noodles, but still a great dish. Big fan of Zion and everything they have to offer. I’ll be back to try more but will probably have to check out some other options that are in Zion first. Pretty surprised with the mixed reviews of this place on Unilocal.I was more than happy with my experience and will be back.

Praise the lawd for this jjajangmyun. I’ve come here so many Sundays for lunch at the food court and then grocery shopping at Zion after. Each time I check out the other options but always end up in line at Noodle J-​1 (also called Hong Kong Banjoum on the sign). With noodles like this who needs anything else? Chewy and thick, with meaty slurp-​y black bean sauce, a few slivers of cucumber, and pickled radish on the side… just take my money!
Also, I personally feel that eating their jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) in the winter is the way to treat yoself. Same chewy noodles, but in a spicy broth with lots of squid and veggies. Warms you straight down to the toes and put that satisfied smile on your face. The wait time for jjamppong is crazy long though – between 20 – 40 minutes. If you’re getting takeout, you can probably do your shopping while you wait. They separate the noodles from the soup for takeout, so you don’t have to worry about them getting soggy. Ah, what a wonderful life…
Real quick, the tangseuyuk (fried pork w/​sweet & sour sauce) is also amazeballs. I wasn’t used to drenching something deep-​fried & crispy in sauce, but it grew on me. I think it’s also good without the sauce, I could eat that stuff like fries haha. It’s not greasy or oily at all, but somehow still tastes light/​airy. Mmm.
Tips:
— Huge servings!
— Self-​serve radish & water
— In a food court, so your eating companions can eat elsewhere if they like
— Sometimes closed at weird times during the day (seems like they have a break from 3−5pm)
For what it’s worth, my Korean roommate who grew up in Korean tells me the jjajangmyun is on par with jjajangmyun in the motherland. But you don’t have to tell me that to keep me coming back here. :9

My quest to find the best ja jang noodle restaurant in San Diego has lead me to Hong Kong Banjum!
This is a fast food noodle place located inside of Zion market’s food court.
We ordered:
1. Ja-​jang noodles. This was okay. Not bad for SD standards, but sub-​par compared to OC or LA. The ja jang sauce is made is very large batches. Because of that, the veggies in the sauce doesn’t caramelize properly and the sauce doesn’t have deep flavor. I also think that the consistency of the sauce is a bit slimy. This is probably caused by them not rinses the fresh noodles after it’s boiled.
2. Tang soo yuk. This I would not order again. The sauce isn’t tangy enough and the meat is fried to a weird spongy-​ness, no crisp or crunch at all!
Service by the Korean (Chinese from Korea??) guy at the register was speedy, efficient and friendly. Food took about 10 minutes to come out, not exactly fast food… just casual dining
Total: $ 8 for ja jang + $ 10 tang soo yuk = $ 18
Pro-​tip:
1. $ 1 charge if you get your items to go!
2. Self serve oshinko station

Maybe he was having a bad day and his toast came out wrong that morning or should I say his egg rolls?
I went to the counter and wanted a noodle dish with no meat just vegetables with noodles. I alway get the same in different Asian spot, it is not rocket science to cook it without the meat, every dish is made to order DUH… they refused to take my order because I did not want meat in my dish! I guess they do not need the sales. Then I saw this older guy which was probably the owner because he started yelling at the cook in the back whom was clearly hispanic and not Asian.
I will never go back, if the owner read this you can try and YELL at this 1 star review of your poor customer service skills. Good Luck staying in business with that bad attitude!

Mmmmm. Jjajang myun.
I love jjajang myun, and this is a chain… in SAN DIEGO.
I think that’s enough said. Is it the best jjajang myun in California? No. But I’m a happy customer.
Tang soo yook is not bad. C’mon, it’s not I’m in a sit-​down restaurant. I’m eating at a cafeteria, and this is good enough.

I’ve been trying to come to this place many different times but they were always closed.
I grew up eating jjampong in LA, same company… So I was really excited to try some, but was left with only disappointment.
It was really bland than what I’m used to eating. Broth was still good but not strong enough. There was a lot of veggies & squids inside though I’m just really disappointed that it tasted different although its the same company.
The lady was very nice though, kindly let me know that they take breaks from 3−5ish.
I’ll come back & try again cause I really love korean food. Maybe next time, it’ll taste better

I came here several times and each and every time, food taste so different. Different taste, different portion. Today, i ordered two jjajangmyun with one tangsuyuk (sweet&sour pork). One of my jjajangmyun was alright but one was not. One that i had was overly cooked or left for awhile, the noodle was blob and doesn’t even mix well with the sauce. I thought maybe because it was busy lunch time. The worst was the tangsuyuk that i ordered, it was little smaller than what i expected. I saw different tables tangsuyuk who received right before us, they had different size than what we got. Even i check pictures on Unilocal,their sizes are all different!!!

The black bean noddles were pretty good here. They need to cut them because they were way too long! Almost as good as my fav spot san tung in San Fran. Really good price for what you get. It was 5.99 and they gave you a descent amount. Located in the food court of Zion. They seem to have the longest line out of all the food options.

Came here today for lunch. Food was tasty and portion size was huge, however…
20 mins and still waiting for our order of ONE ITEM at Hong Kong Banjum. They forgot our order… good thing we walked up and said something. No apologies from them at all.
Plus, they only have a handful of items on the menu. Not much of a selection.
Agree with other reviewers who commented on how they charge $ 1.00 for a to go box. What planet are they on?
Won’t come back to this restaurant. Will spend my money elsewhere at Zion.

There are very few places in San Diego that delivers with good jjajangmyun (Black Bean noodles). It’s such a Korean staple ever since I was a kid and eagerly waiting for the delivery guys to ring my doorbell and present me with a super-​sized portion steaming hot and ready to devour – all for a smokin’ 5 bucks. J-​1 helps to relive those memories by making this dish affordable, and provide a decent-​sized meal. Thank you for opening one in the Zion shopping center, it makes all the difference.
Food:
— Jjajangmyun ($ 5.99): A great mixture of thick black bean sauce with a decent-​sized portion of pork belly (usually it’s pork, so it makes sense). The noodles usually are the deciding factor since other places in San Diego seem to make it with odd options, but this stays true to the flour-​based noodles that work perfectly with the consistency of the sauce. It’s not lacking in flavor or missing important ingredients, and holds true to the deep black bean flavor (which for most, can be somewhat comparable to soy sauce but in a much smoother fashion). Ample onions, zucchini, and voila! It’s what you should expect in this Korean-​Chinese dish.
Pros:
— Cheap for good quality Korean-​Chinese food! Cheapest in San Diego, and easy to access
— You can get more side dishes if you ask for extra!
— Decent portion, and perfect for not a heavy meal.
— This is a food court so you’ll be saving some money on tipping! Plus your other friends can get whatever they want.
Cons:
— Sometimes they are closed on the most odd hours and times. Three I went this past month and twice they were closed.
Cheap food, and a stab back at my childhood, J-​1 does the trick to any person who calls themselves Korean. I’m glad that they decided to make this affordable and easily accessible. Dear Unilocalers who have never tried this, give this a whirl! I know I’ll be back. Thanks for making my day. I’ll just let that lingering tear from my childhood just marinade… what am I talking about.

Noodle J-​1 is in the Zion food court. It stands out because it’s got a very simple menu. There are only 4 items: jambong (spicy seafood noodle soup), zhajiangmian (dry noodle with black bean sauce), stir-​fried noodles, or fried pork in sweet and sour sauce.
The food is really good, especially for $ 5.99 per bowl. We always get the jambong and it is huge. It’s loaded with tons of veggies, perfectly cooked noodles, beef strips, and some chewy thing that I think is supposed to be calamari.
But beware: THEY ARE SUPER SLOW. You would think that a food court place would be maybe 10 minutes, but every time I’ve come here, we have waited over 30 minutes. This time we waited 45 minutes! You may ask how could they possibly be this slow when there are only 4 items on the menu? I have no idea, but once they run out of soup or veggies, they start cooking from scratch. There’s no pot going at the same time, probably due to limited stoves, so it’s just another wait for them to prepare everything over again. At least the food is fresh… if you can stand the wait.
Credit cards only for purchases over $ 10. Take out orders for an additional $ 1. Note that they take a break in the afternoons. Business hours are 11−3pm, 5−8pm.

With only 4 things or so on the menu, you’d think the food would be served immediately! The wait was really long, and we started to regret ordering from here. All the people walking by us with hot pots full of tofu soup started to look more appealing even on this hot day.
Prices are extremely reasonable. We ordered the black bean noodles, spicy noodles & sweet/​sour pork. Everything was decent, but definitely not the best food around.
If you’re looking for a grab to bite inside Zion, this place isn’t a horrible option if you have time to wait. Just keep in mind, their food isn’t anything you’d write home about! Certainly not to the motherland of Korea!

I love Zion Market and one of the best things about it is that if you’re hungry with indecisive friends, then just drag them here and let them pick and choose. One of the places that really caught my eye was Noodle J-​1.
My only order has been the number 3 — Jajangmyeon. Really really good. It is basically fresh noodle with a black bean sauce that contains a variety of veggies, onions, a bit of meat topped off with a bit of cucumber. It’s very similar to the one served by Liang’s Kitchen but with WAY more sauce. Despite this, I enjoy it a lot. The noodles are fresh and sauce, while plenty isn’t too overpowering. I might try some of their other items when the weather is cooler but if you’re in the area, Jajangmyeon is a solid choice.
Also, they only accept credit cards for orders over $ 10 so if you’re buying just for yourself, make sure to have some cash.