Restaurant Review: Sansu Momil
By Gabriel Ward
This month I’m more interested in recommending a particular Korean dish than any particular restaurant. I will never the less point out a restaurant downtown you can try. The dish is naengmyeon. Why am I recommending it now? Well, for those of you who are either new to Korea, haven’t tried it, or haven’t had it in a long time, naengmyeon is a cold noodle dish that is particularly good during the hot summer months in Gwangju.
Naengmyeon comes in two varieties: mul–naengmyeon and bibim–naengmyeon. Mul–naengmyeon is comprised of cold, long, thin noodles (generally made from either buckwheat or arrowroot) served in an icy broth made from beef, chicken, or kimchi, and gochujang (red chili paste). Bibim–naengmyeon is essentially the same, however, the ratio of broth to chili paste is different. There is usually a little more chili paste and certainly a lot less broth than mul–naengmyeon. Both are garnished with julienned cucumber, a boiled egg, and often sesame seeds.
One particular place you could try naengmyeon is Sansu Momil downtown. Just walk past the KEB opposite the YMCA towards Art Street, and Sansu Momil is on the left at the first intersection you’ll come to. I went there for the first time recently to try their naengmyeon offerings. There were a few people already seated and eating, which always raises my spirits when trying a new restaurant. Strictly speaking, they don’t serve naengmyeon as the noodles are actually momil, which I understand are a little different but very similar. I ordered the bibim–momil (which is their version of bibim–naengmyeon), while my friend got the makkuksu (mul–naengmyoen). Before our noodles were brought out, the waitress brought us kimchi and danmuji, both of which I like, and water. A couple of minutes later she brought out what looked like delicious bowls of noodles. I eagerly chopped up my noodles with the scissors provided, mixed everything together, and dug in. My anticipation was satisfied as the noodles had a nice texture to them, the chili paste had a good amount of spice, but not too much, and the broth was great. I should point out that naengmyeon can be quite spicy at some restaurants, so if you don’t like too much spice, you might like to ask for less chili. My friend, who hasn’t eaten as much naengmyeon as I have, was also very happy with the meal. A bowl of bibim or mul–naengmeyon at San-su Mo-mil costs 5,000 won. Thus, if you’re downtown, I recommend swinging by to try this delightful Korean dish. As I mentioned, though, I’m more interested in recommending you try naengmyeon at any restaurant. Even most Kimbap Naras do a pretty good bowl of it. It can also be found at many Korean BBQ restaurants. I’ve had it at some of the more well-known ones downtown such as Minsokcheon, and it’s great there, too. It generally costs 4,000 to 6,000 won.
If I had to make a list of my top five favorite Korean dishes, naengmyeon would be on it. I like both the mul and bibim varieties equally. I know a cold noodle dish might sound a little weird to anyone who hasn’t tried it before, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.