Hansung Kalguksu 한성칼국수 (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

It's our travel day today so we knew we won't get much time to sit down for a proper meal until last afternoon. Turned out we were right on the money.

Located in Nonhyeon-dong just a short walk from Sinsa (around 15 minutes I think), Hansung Kalguksu 한성칼국수 (or some websites spell it as Hanseong Kalguksu) is a popular noodle shop famous for their kalguksu, a Korean noodle dish consisting of handmade, knife-cut wheat flour noodles served in a large bowl of broth. They've been around for over 30 years and are very popular among the locals.



The noodle shop is hidden in the basement level behind these stairs. It's not the easiest place to find but once you locate Kookmin Bank, it's just right next door.



A score of 8.6 in Foursquare is generally a good indication of a very good restaurant so we decide to take a look.



A full house at 6pm, another indication that it's a restaurant with very good food!



We finally got settled down in a small room at the back of the restaurant. By now, I was starving.



Korean poached pork slice (Small: 25,000 won) - Succulent and definitely not bad.



We had it wrapped with lettuce after adding kimchi and spicy chilli sauce to the mix.



Assorted Korean pancakes (24,000 won) - A house specialty here. It came with cod fish, zucchini, shrimp and oyster.



I thought the zucchini pancake was really juicy, almost like a tempura.



But there's no question which was the tastiest in the platter - the oyster pancake. It's a little like our Chinese style oyster omelette but the oysters were noticeably bigger and creamier. I couldn't get enough of these.



Korean dumplings in clear beef broth (11,000 won) - I couldn't believe we passed on their signature kalguksu but none of us wanted noodles at this hour.



This tasted exactly the same as our Chinese pork dumpling with loads of minced pork and vegetables. Pretty hearty dish like the ones grandmothers made for their grand kids at home back in China.



We always emphasize on the fact that we want to eat like locals when we travel so it's good to put it to work this afternoon. Now that we were fed, we are all set for our shopping spree in Sinsa!

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 735 Eonju-ro, Nonhyeon 2(i)-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Gangnam-gu Office / Hak-dong
Tel: +82 02-544-0540