Makguksu by Hongcheon Makguksu Restaurant

I enjoyed delicious Makguksu at the 'Hongcheon Makguksu' restaurant in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do. So, Today I'll show you the culture I found here, and how to enjoy Makguksu. If you have never heard of food, please refer to Wikipedia for a detailed description of this food.

This restaurant looks exotic. It's like a bank building from an American western movie when I was a kid. It was the most exotic Korean restaurant building I've ever seen. 

However, the restaurant had a Korean culture of taking off shoes to enter. When I look at the location and space of the windows inside, my thoughts are that this place has been remodeled in to a restaurant from a space originally built for other purposes. 

The menu is

• 막국수(Makguksu) 7,000₩
• 막국수 곱배기 (A little bit more makguksu noodles) 8,000₩
• 전골(Jeongol with tofu, Kimchi, 비지) 
• 두부 자박이 (Spicy tofu for 2 servings) 16,000₩ 
• 돼지 김치찌개 (kimchi stew with pork for 2 servings) 16,000₩
• 공기밥 (a bowl of rice) 1,000₩
• 라면사리 (lamen noodles) 1,000₩
• 만두국 (Mandu-guk) 8,000₩ (only in Winter)

Menu for reservation

• 삼겹살(200g)1인분 (Pork belly for 1 serving) 13,000₩
• 묵은지 등갈비찜 (Steamed Pork ribs with Mugeun-ji) / Large : 55,000₩, Medium 45,000₩  *(a Mugeun-ji is Kimchi that has been aged for a long time)
• 능이 백숙 (NeungYi Baek-suk) 60,000₩
• 한방 백숙 (Hanbang Baek-suk) 50,000₩
• 닭 볶음탕 (Dak bokkeum-tang) 50,000₩

Side dishes

• 수육 (Pyeonyuk) [L] 20,000₩ / [M] 16,000₩ / [S] 12,000₩
• 손두부 (Homemade Tofu) 9,000₩
• 두부 구이 (Fried Tofu) 9,000₩
• 소주 (Soju) 4,000₩
• 맥주 (Beer) 4,000₩
• 막걸리 (Makgeolli) 4,000₩
• 음료수 (Drinks) 2,000₩

The waiter took my order and brought a kettle to the table. There was water in the kettle and I asked him what kind of water it was. But he didn't reply and quietly disappeared somewhere. This was a restaurant run by a family member and the waiter was the son of his mother cook. Any way, I was curious about the identity of this stranger water. 

It turned out that is was drinking warm water, according to the chef. She said that is provided for the elderly who feel their teeth are sensitive while eating cold makguksu. It is a 30-year tradition and the culture of our restaurant. The taste was a bit bland. 

Sesame oil, Gyeu-ja sauce, sugar, red pepper paste, soy sauce and vinegar are on the table. You can add it to your food to suit your taste. 

The dishes I ordered were makguksu and fried tofu. 

The black bowl in the upper left of the first photo with a ladle is makguksu broth. Put it in the makguksu noodles. The picture below is soy sauce, and the middle part is fried tofu that is delicious to eat with soy sauce. And the top right is white kimchi, and the bottom is shredded radish kimchi.  

The second picture is the main dish, Makguksu. The picture is after adding the broth, and the picture below is after mixing the broth and the basic seasonings inside.

It is delicious without any additional seasoning, so please enjoy it without adding any other seasoning.