Guk Su Nam Won
Naeng Myeon (Cold Noodles Soup) is another “hot” item on menus for the hot summer days in South Korea. This dish can be traced back to the Joseon Dynasty. Surprisingly, this chilly dish was a staple in the mountains during winter because buckwheat grew then, as now, well in high altitudes.
The noodles are handmade from flour and buckwheat. The most popular recipes are Mul Naeng Myeon (Water Cold Noodles) and Bibim Naeng Myeon (Mixed Cold Noodles). The first dish is topped with an egg and vegetables (cucumbers, daikon radishes and pears) in a cold-vinegary beef soup. Some restaurants add pieces of beef to the dish. Normally mustard and extra vinegar are served on the side, to top off the flavors in this dish. The latter dish is made with a spicy pepper sauce with not much broth. The meal also comes with a pair of scissors to cut up the long noodles, but traditionally the long noodles have represented longevity.
국수나무 (Guk Su Na Mu)
This restaurant chain translates into Noodles Tree and has many locations throughout South Korea. They specialize in (you guessed it) noodles, but they do serve up a variety of hot seafood based noodles and udon, rice dishes and pork cutlets. Another plus is that the menus are in both Korean and English.
Address:
광주 북구 용봉동
90우치로 번길 12
(062) 251-0281
www.namuya.co.kr
Area: This restaurant chain has multiple locations within Gwangju. For this review I visited the Chonnam University Back Gate location. From the two Chonnam University Back Gate bus stops (north and south), walk towards Dunkin Donuts and turn down that alley. The establishment is on the second floor on your right-hand side between two clothing stores.
Atmosphere: The Noodles Tree restaurants all include simple designs centered on wood. The tables and some of the chairs or booths are made of light-colored varnished wood. This look gives a clean and quick feel of visiting a fancier fast-food chain establishment. Around lunch time, I saw a 30-minute turn-over time
Service: The service was efficient and straight forward. Sometimes it took time for the waitress to respond to my table’s bell because of the lunch rush. But, the food arrived hot, or cold and steamy, within a 10-minute wait.
Food: There was a choice of five different cold noodles dishes at this restaurant. I went with the traditional Mul Naeng Myeon (Water Cold Noodles), but there was also bibim, a spicy soup, and regular noodles available as alternatives to buckwheat noodles. The soup my noodles came in was savory; I could taste the meat in the broth. The noodles were the way I like them, not too chewy or too soft. After the initial tasting, I cut my noodles and added the vinegar and mustard before digging in. The dish was deliciously refreshing, in contrast to the weather this summer.
Prices: The prices for the cold noodles ranges from 5,000 to 6,000 won. All other dishes on the menu were under 10,000 won.
Tips: Cold noodles can be found year-round in most kimbap, barbeque, bulgogi and sometimes seafood restaurants as a post meal snack. One of the most delicious bowls I have ever had was at a bulgogi restaurant in Yangsang-dong.