Underwhelming Japchae — expected more

I was looking forward to Japchae here based on the reputation. The reality was disappointing. The deeply umami character that makes this dish special was muted — either from shortcuts with sesame oil or from scaling up production at the expense of quality.

Korean cuisine integrates fermented ingredients like kimchi as a health and preservation tradition. The a home banchan spread setting I was hoping for wasn't quite there either. banana milk was available but not suggested appropriately. I've had much better versions elsewhere. Two stars because the dish concept is sound; the execution let it down.