Kalguksu (칼국수)

5. Kalguksu (칼국수)

Kalguksu is a traditional noodle dish with knife-cut wheat flour noodles, broth, and other ingredients.
There are many different recipes for the broth out there. And, the taste usually depends on the broth. But, I would like to say there are roughly three types of the broth.

Type 1 - Chicken-based broth
Restaurant name : Myeong-dong gyoja (명동교자)
Without a doubt, the most famous Kalguksu restaurant in Seoul. The broth is chicken broth. So, it is rich and flavorful. Their kimchi may be the reason many people love this place. The kimchi is great. Some don't like it because it's too garlicky. But if you are a kimchi lover, you should try. This place is the hottest restaurant in seoul among Japanese travelers.

Type 2 - Beef-based broth
Restaurant name : Daeryeonjip (대련집)
VS Yeonheedong Kalguksu (연희동 칼국수)
Actually, the broth is made from beef-bones. So, the broth is light. If you tried Sul-lung-tang before, you might remember the taste. It's same. Personally, I like this type of Kalguksu becasue of the depth of the broth.

Type 3 - Seafood-based broth
Restaurant name : Halmeonie Kalguksu (할머니 칼국수)
VS. Chanyangjip (찬양집)
It has been controversial which restaurant is better for the past several decades. Each restaurant has lots of loyal fans. Since the broth are made from seafoods, you can have the smell of sea. Of course, it's tasty, and makes you feel refreshed.
If you go there, you would see they give you a big plastic bowl with Kalguksu. Are you wondering what it is? Go there and give it a shot!

Location : hard to get there. but think of this. "No pain, no gain."

- Myeong-dong gyoja (명동교자) : Get out through exit 8 of myeongdong station. Make a left on the corner of Crown Bakery. Keep walking until you see 명동교자 sign.

- Daeryeonjip (대련집) : Walk to Cheonggyecheon(청계천) from exit 14 of Jongro 3 ga station. Make a right on Cheonggyecheon ro (청계천로). Don't cross the bridge. Walk until Hana bank in red brick building. Walk 30 meters more and make a quick right. It's right by the corner.

- Yeonheedong Kalguksu (연희동 칼국수) : No subway station around it. You're better off taking taxi, or you could take neighrhood bus 4 (마을버스 4). address : 서울 서대문구 연희동 132-29. (they have a quite big parking lot)

- Halmeonie Kalguksu (할머니 칼국수)
- Chanyangjip (찬양집)
: Get out through exit 6 of Jongro 3 ga station (5 line, purple line). Walk straight and make a big right turn on the first little back street. If you can see 희망상회 when turning, it's a correct turn. Walk into the narrow street. You can find Chanyangjip first and Halmeonie Kalguksu second.

Nokdu Bindaetteok (녹두 빈대떡)

4. Nokdu Bindaetteok (녹두 빈대떡)
Restaurant Name : Sunheeneh (순희네) in Gwangjang market(광장시장).

Koreans want to eat Bindaetteok(빈대떡) when it rains. I don't know why, but it is true. I do, too. According to some reaserch, it's becasue people want to raise their blood sugar level, and flour in Bindaetteok is helpful for it.

But I think it's a kind of Koreans' psychological mechanism. If it rains, they have to eat Bindaetteok or Jeon(전) or Buchimgae(부침개). It's like Americans want to eat Pancakes on Sunday morning.

The best spot for Bindaedduck in Seoul is "Sun-hee-neh(순희네)" in Gwangjang market. (it's not a restaurant. It's a half restaurant and a half street stand, sort of.) Actually, Gwangjang market (광장시장) is the jewel-like place for Seoul foodies. Becasue there are various foods with the long accumulated know-how. Most foods here are traditional, popular and of course, yummmmmy. Additionally, you can feel a liveliness that the grocery store can't match and see a totally different scene from well-planned areas. Again, this is not a fancy spot. Everything is very old and less organized. This market has been 100 years. But I strongly recommend you to visit here. I believe visiting the traditional old market is an essential cultural experience when traveling or staying in other country.

There might be many people waiting. Then, you can try out other places like "Bahk-ga-neh(박가네)", or just say "Ssa-joo-se-yo." It's like "To go" in English. But, eating here would be a special experience.

I forgot. This bindaetteock is made of nokdu which is a kind of bean. Many called this a korean pancake. Tasty and soft inside, crispy outside. One more tip, it goes really well with Makgeoli(막걸리), a traditional alcoholic beverage. It's raining outside, today. Ummm~ I'm thinking of it with my mouth watering. Ah... wanna eat.

Location: it's kind of hard to find it like other hidden place. Find the gate of the market from exit 8 of Jongro 5 ga station. Go straight into the gate.

(momschestnut.blogspot.com)

Naengmyeon

3. Naengmyeon(냉면)

Restaurant Name : 을지면옥, 필동면옥

As I know, naengmyeon is one of the most unique cuisine in the world because it includes not only cold noodles but also cold (even icy) broth in it.

Although it's a cold food, ironically, it's originally from North Korea, which is colder than South Korea. Probably, the most famous naengmyeon restaurant in Korean peninsula would be Okryugwan in Pyeongyang. But, you know, it is very hard to go there to eat naengmyeons. So, I recommend two restaurants in Seoul as a substitute for the restaurant in North Korea.

There are two famous and popular Pyeongyang mul-naengmyeon restaurants in Seoul. It is hard to judge the taste of two naengmyeons because they have maintained rivalry for a long time. One is Eul-ji-myeon-ok(을지면옥), the other one is Pil-dong-myeonk-ok(필동면옥). Actually, the owners of the restaurants learned the recipe from the same teacher. The teacher is their mom. Yes, they are sisters.

How is the taste? The naengmyeon looks a little different from some other South Korean style naengmyeons. Therefore, the taste is a little different, too. it is plain, mild, but not bland, definately tasty, and of course cold. (If you want, you can adjust the taste by adding vinegar, mustard, or red chili powder.) In a nutshell, it's awesome and different.

You might have to wait here for mul-naengmyeon for over 20 minutes in summer. But you know what? It's worthwhile waiting. The hot weather is returning. Why don't you try the old traditional naengmyeon here.

을지면옥 - If you get out of the Euljiro-3ga station(orange line) through exit 5, you can find the sign up there.

필동면옥 - get out of the chungmuro station through exit 1, keep walking forward until the intersection of Chungmuro and Toegyero. Make a right at the intersection, walk 200 meters.

Doenjang Jjigae and Tteokbokki

I have been in Chicago for a year.
There, I have been to Mcdonald just one time because I can try Mcdonald's burgers in Korea and wanted to try traditional American food. So I tried some American food in many diners in Chicago.

After coming back to Korea, I found many foreigners were just getting a couple of famous items like Bulgogi and Samgyeopsal with soju in the restaurant. Well, these are definitely what you should try out in Korea. But, it is sad that many foreigners don't experience real Korean food, becasue there are tons of traditional food except Kimchi in Korea.

So, I would like to share my Korean local restaurant list as a Korean, who really wants many foreigners to taste Korean traditional food.
If you are looking for nice western food restaurants, click the back button on the left of your browser or the close button on the right. If you are ready to try real Korean food or willing to dive into Korean local diners, feel free to read this and ask me a question.

1. Doenjang Jjigae 된장찌개
Restaurant Name : 툇마루집 된장예술

If you didn't try Doenjang Jjigae in Korea, you should not say you ate Korean food. On the contrary, if you feel the depth of Doenjang, you know Korean food.
This Doenjang Jjigae is a little diffrent from normal Doenjang because of the various ingredients in it. Korean people call this Gang-Doenjang (강된장). If you travel in the country, you might have a chance to meet this type of Doenjang. So, it is a really good luck to meet this level of Gang-Doenjaang in Seoul. It reminds Korean people of their grandmothers.That's why they are crazy about this old-fashioned food.

This is provided with steamed barley and rice in a big bowl. Put some spoonful Doenjang JJigae in it with the offered vegetables and dried-seaweed pieces. Mix and eat them like a bibimbap. You will be surprised by how savory and appropriately salty it is. (order Doenjang bibimbap!)
It's definitely worthwhile for having a Korean country style meal.

(Insadong sageori)

The problem is the location of this restaurant. It's hard to find this in Insadong. First off, you have to find the insadong intersection(or insadong sageori). If you can see 차향기 or 낙원떡집 from Jongro bound, you would stand in the right place. Make a right there, walk 20-30 meters toward Nakwon-sanga, and make a left at the first corner. You will discover the signboard soon after walking on the narrow alley.

2. Tteokbokki (떡볶이)
Restaurant Name : 종로 분식

I'm not going to explain what Tteokbokki is.
Since this became a representative snack in korea, there have been lots of varieties, which I can't even count.
But I have to say Jongro Bunsik(종로분식) is one of the best tteokbokki restaurants in Seoul, specially for foreigners.
The reason I said "specially foreigner" is their speical menu "Tuigim+Tteokbokki.(튀김+떡볶이, or 튀김떡볶이)"
This tteokbokki includes some pieces of fried seaweed wraps(김말이 튀김), and these pieces make it more flavorful and little spicy. My American friends really loved it.

Location : about 100m from exit 6 of Jonggak station. (by Yung-poong bookstore)