Now that I’m back in Korea, maybe because it’s winter, I’ve been craving naengmyeon even more. So I made a point of carving out some time to visit a famous naengmyeon place nearby.
Myeonsu (noodle water)
Nice and hot. Sipping the myeonsu and looking around, the interior seems to have changed a bit and the prices seem to have gone up slightly. Whether that’s why or it’s just the cold, people weren’t flooding in like they used to. For me it was actually a plus, since I could eat in peace.
Mandu-guk (dumpling soup)
Really hearty. It’s been ages since I had dumplings this substantial. The 9,000 won price didn’t feel wasted at all.
Naengmyeon
Hmm.. both the noodles and the broth were below expectations. I even wondered whether this was really Pyeongyang naengmyeon. It may just come down to taste, but it definitely seemed worse than before. Not that it was terrible, but at this level I’d have been better off ordering the mandu-guk too.
A flower shop that’s also a coffee shop
After finishing a nice meal, I dropped by a small flower shop-cum-coffee shop near the office for a coffee. My coworkers are regulars, so the owner was nice to me as well. That’s the power of being a regular.. I should start building up my own list of regular spots too.