Woodlands is a neighbourhood that hasn’t really been affiliated with many exciting food options in the past, but it does seem that things are starting to change in the last couple of years with the opening of Woods Square (where establishments such as The Tipsy Panda by The Tipsy Collective, Cat and The Fiddle Cheesecakes etc. are located), as well as other hipster and indie options such as Parched by Parchmen & Co, D’Pasta Hero, and Tasty Thai etc. at other parts of the neighbourhood. Obba Jjajang Express probably the newest addition to the Woodlands neighbourhood as at the writing of this post — brought by the same folks behind Obba Jjajang at Tanjong Pagar as well as Obba BBQ & Jjajang at Beauty World, their latest express outlet is situated within the ground level food court at Koufu HQ located at 1 Woodlands Height. Being an express outlet, expect Obba Jjajang’s newest digs to carry a more streamlined menu as compared to their full-service restaurants; for a start, Obba Jjajang Express does serve up a variety of Jjajangmyeons (i.e. Black Bean Sauce Noodles) that Obba Jjajang serves — this includes the Frai Jjajangmyeon (i.e. Black Bean Sauce Noodles with Egg) and the Sausage Jjajangmyeon just to name a few. For those who are not into Jjajangmyeon, Obba Jjajang Express also offers dishes such as Jjampong (i.e. Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup), Jajang Bab (i.e. Black Bean Sauce Rice), Kimchi Fried Rice and Korean Ramen as well. Sharing plates that are served up here includes the Tangsuyuk (i.e. Sweet & Sour Pork), as well as various forms of dumplings.

Given how we will never give the Jjajangmyeon a miss whenever we hit Obba Jjajang at Tanjong Pagar, we had to go for the Jjajangmyeon when we made our visit to Obba Jjajang Express. We were glad to say that the Jjajangmyeon at Obba Jjajang Express is pretty consistent in terms of quality as compared to the ones that we have previously had at the Tanjong Pagar outlet — the bowl of noodles is beautifully covered with the black bean sauce just like how we recalled it to be previously. Giving the noodles a good toss, each strand of noodle is coated with ample black bean sauce — the noodles are slurpy and chewy; almost akin to that of the consistency of potato noodles that the Koreans are known for, while the sauce lends a sweet-savoury note that comes from the caramalised black bean sauce that is not only sufficiently thick and dense, but also comes laden with other condiments such as minced meat, as well as onions for a good bite. The strips of cucumber that they have included with the noodles helped to provide a refreshing crunch amidst the heaviness of the sauce and the carbs — makes the entire bowl pretty easy to eat despite being a rather flavoursome item on its own.

Still remembered visiting Obba Jjajang when they had first opened their doors at Tanjong Pagar a couple of years ago being impressed with what they have to offer. Since then, queues do form up at their store, and Obba Jjajang has also moved on to even selling their signature Jjajangmyeon in the form of a easy cooking kit for a portion of two pax stocked in supermarkets for patrons to easily replicate the dish at home. It is little to say that we are pretty surprised how they have since come so far — and a little unthinkable that they would have launched an express outlet in a location that some residents within Woodlands would have called “ulu” as well. Nonetheless, Woodlands residents would probably be glad that they no longer have to make their way down to town to get the Jjajangmyeon — pretty impressed with how the quality of the food here remains pretty on par to our previous experiences at the main outlet; this is not to mention that the prices here for the Jjangmyeon is also priced lower than that served in the full-service restaurant (a single portion costs $7.50 at Obba Jjajang Express instead of $13 at their full-service restaurant) without a substantial reduction in serving size. We do wish that Obba Jjajang Express will be able to maintain the food quality in the long run — certainly the outlet that we would consider returning back for Jjajangmyeon given the proximity for us!