I went over to Yeouido to meet a friend, and while we were trying to decide what to eat we ended up at Jinju Jip, the one and only nationally famous restaurant in this neighborhood. We had deliberately missed the lunch rush and there was still a line. Quite a place.
The front entrance
It’s a big place, but it was almost completely full.
Kimchi
The side dishes are simple, and maybe that’s exactly why they went so well with the kongguksu.
Kongguksu
The photo quality isn’t great, but this is roughly the kind of kongguksu that came out. I thought about taking a picture first, but the staff quickly went at the noodles with a pair of scissors. One taste and you understand why it’s so popular. As you can see in the photo, the soybean broth is so thick that it doesn’t seep into the cut ends of the noodles. It’s almost like syrup, and incredibly rich and nutty. I suspect they put something like pine nuts in besides the soybeans, but only the owner knows the secret. I had thought it was expensive for a bowl of kongguksu, but after eating it I’d say it really is worth its national reputation. I didn’t begrudge the money at all, and I’d love to come back. Thanks to my friend in Yeouido I got to eat a really delicious summer treat. I think the taste of this kongguksu will stay with me for a long time.