When you think of Jeju, gogi-guksu (pork noodle soup) is what comes to mind, and sure enough, once I actually got to Jeju I saw noodle shops everywhere I went. This trip was short, so I couldn’t work my way through a whole range of noodles, and I decided to stop by Ollae Guksu, which several blogs had recommended.
The entrance
They’re open until 11 at night, which makes the place perfect for drinks first, noodles after – part of why I picked it, to be honest. Late in the evening, though, gogi-guksu is all they serve. Having come all that way I’d have liked to try the myeolchi-guksu (anchovy-broth noodles) or the bibim-guksu too, but it wasn’t going to happen this time.
The side dishes
Simple and to the point. I don’t know whether my timing was off or whether it’s always like this, but the noodles took a while to arrive and I ended up waiting quite a bit. I suppose that’s the price of eating something good.
Gogi-guksu
Delicious! Up to now I’d assumed gogi-guksu tasted much like tonkotsu ramen, but that’s not really it at all. A well-simmered Korean-style broth, clear and clean, with thick noodles and a generous heap of boiled pork (suyuk), filled me right up. And the chili powder and spring onion keep a flavor that could easily turn monotonous nicely in check.
The noodles
The thick noodles go beautifully with the broth. One bowl of gogi-guksu is already more than enough for a meal, and since I’d eaten my fill at the first stop of the evening, finishing it was no easy task. Next time it might be fun to do a route made up of nothing but noodle shops.