Namdaemun Market has quite a few good restaurants, and one I had not been to yet was Buwon Myeonok. The places that come to mind when you say naengmyeon are mostly clustered around Jongno, so eating naengmyeon in Namdaemun had never really occurred to me, but lately the Jongno naengmyeon spots have long lines and rising prices. It is summer and it is hot, so a bowl of naengmyeon it is.
The entrance
The shop is on the second floor, but the line stretches down to the first. Honestly, considering the trendy naengmyeon places these days, a line this size is something to be grateful for.
The menu
Mul-naengmyeon is 12,000 won, which is a decent price, but this place keeps the price down by blending sweet potato starch with the buckwheat, so I am not sure it is really all that cheap.
Bindaetteok
It makes a nice side, but this day I just ordered the naengmyeon.
Inside
Maybe because of the long history, the walls are covered in autographs.
Inside
This kind of vibe
The table
There is mustard and dadaegi (chili paste).
Naengmyeon
Well.. by blending sweet potato starch and buckwheat, they seem to have made a naengmyeon that just about anyone would like. The broth is decent too. But being as fond of buckwheat as I am, these noodles were not quite to my taste.. It seems that in the old days this place was really down-to-earth, with plenty of famous people coming by, and especially lots of folks dropping in for a drink. Now, though, the line is so long that it looks hard to recapture that old atmosphere.
Naengmyeon
Well.. it is a nice cool bowl for summer, and pairing it with bindaetteok and soju would be just about perfect.. But I came alone and the line was so long that it was not the kind of mood for enjoying that sort of romance.. At a place like this, eating quickly and clearing out is just good manners..
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