I’d been meaning to eat makguksu once before this winter was over, but I just didn’t have it in me to go all the way to Goseong in Gangwon-do. So instead I headed to Goseong Makguksu in Banghwa-dong. Taking Line 9 turned out to be surprisingly quick — it really didn’t take long at all.
Suyuk (boiled pork), small size
I’d already heard the suyuk here was good, and it really is. They do it as well as any decent naengmyeon specialist.
Side dishes
Simple, but by naengmyeon standards it’s a fairly generous spread.
White kimchi
You can wrap the suyuk in it, or just eat it on its own — either way it’s good.
Bibim-makguksu
This is the one I ordered, and apart from the sauce I couldn’t find a single difference.
Dongchimi (radish water kimchi) broth
Refreshing, though it didn’t have that sharp fizzy kick. I liked that it wasn’t sweet.
Makguksu
I poured the dongchimi broth over it and slurped it down. They say it’s sunmyeon (100% buckwheat noodles), and it certainly felt like it. The taste was decent enough, but when it comes to noodles of this kind I still think Pyeongyang naengmyeon suits me better. The suyuk is good too, so if you live around here it’s worth a trip, but it’s a long way for me and I’m not sure I’ll have reason to go back.