Pocheon restaurant with free side dish bar refills: Myeongimong

A review of Myeongimong (명이몽), a Pocheon local favorite. Sharing my visit to this makguksu and tteokgalbi spot that locals swear by ^^

• 🌈 Hours: 11:00–20:00, last order 19:30
• ✔️ Closed every Tuesday
• Parking available

How to get to Myeongimong and where to park, near Pocheon Art Valley and Herb Island

🍭 As you can see, Myeongimong's parking lot is huge, and there's another one off to the side too. Pocheon Art Valley and Herb Island are both nearby, so if you like the tteokgalbi + makguksu combo, this is a great spot to eat with kids ^^

Maybe because it's known as a local favorite, but even though I visited a bit early, I was surprised at how many customers were already there~

Myeongimong menu and prices: Set Menu 1 at 32,000 won

🌈 Myeongimong's signature dishes are the hand-grilled charcoal tteokgalbi (grilled meat patties) cooked in-house and the house-made makguksu (buckwheat noodles). ✔️ I ordered Set Menu 1: 1 tteokgalbi + 2 makguksu ^^ Price is ₩32,000. The set comes with a choice of rice or mini bread~ An extra portion of makguksu is ₩2,000 more.

🌈 Set Menu 2 is 2 tteokgalbi + 1 makguksu, priced at ₩35,000.

• 🍂 Tteokgalbi à la carte 13,000
• Water/spicy makguksu 10,000
• Buckwheat mandu/jeonbyeong 7,000

What is on the self-serve side dish bar and doenjang soup

At places where the side dishes are delicious, it feels a bit awkward to keep refilling, but having a self-serve bar like Myeongimong's makes it so much easier~ The area around the bar is really clean too~

The doenjang soup (soybean paste soup) was so good I had it several times — exactly that countryside flavor 👍 Not too intense, savory and nutty, the kind of soup you want to pour over rice.

The banchan (side dishes) are set out first after ordering, and just looking at them makes you hungry ^^ They say the vegetables are homegrown and the makguksu is made in-house, keeping that distinctive buckwheat texture for a healthy meal — so I visited with high expectations.

Tasting the banchan, I got it right away. They tasted exactly like grandma's cooking, full of hands-on care~ Each side dish was seasoned with salt rather than sugar, giving it a really clean flavor~ The thin buckwheat pancake was so good that I figured the jeonbyeong (buckwheat crepe) must be great too 🤭 Honestly, after tasting the banchan I almost ordered the jeonbyeong, but worried I might not finish it, I told myself to try everything first — and in the end I was too full to order it 😢

The pickled vegetables worth refilling at Myeongimong

All the side dishes were tasty, but the pickled vegetables were so good I went back for refills~ Made with bell pepper, cucumber, apple, chili pepper, and onion, they were crunchy and full of fresh vegetable flavor — really delicious ^^ The lettuce and chive salad with a hint of fish sauce also hit the spot~ Usually this kind of dish is sweet and tangy, but Myeongimong's version has a clean, refreshing taste instead^^

Charcoal-grilled hand-made tteokgalbi with a 2,000 won cheese add-on

🍭 The thick, juicy tteokgalbi grilled over charcoal comes out on a sizzling hot plate, so the smell alone is amazing~

I added cheese (₩2,000) for cheese tteokgalbi, yum~~ Grilled over charcoal, the smoky flavor is fantastic and it's so incredibly tender~

The subtle smoky aroma soaks all through the meat, pairing great with the sauce, and it's soft enough that kids can eat it easily too ^^ You can see the juices right there!! Despite looking rustic and simple, it's genuinely so tender and delicious that I thought maybe I should have ordered two tteokgalbi with one makguksu instead..... haha

Making a tteokgalbi burger with the mini bread

🍡 Put this delicious tteokgalbi on a mini bread roll with plenty of cabbage salad, and you get a genuinely amazing burger ^^ If I could eat more, I'd have loved an extra mini bread roll.

House-made makguksu: chilled broth or spicy mixed?

I thought the tteokgalbi was amazing, but ~~ the makguksu (buckwheat noodles) was also completely 👍 Made fresh in-house, the distinctive cool buckwheat texture paired with the clean broth was so good I ended up drinking the broth to the last drop~ Even the shredded cucumber and two slices of meat on top were delicious ^^

Since I love cold noodles and prefer the water-based makguksu, I only tried a bite of the bibim (mixed) version, but the seasoning wasn't overdone or too sweet, so it was tasty too~ If two people visit, ordering one makguksu each with tteokgalbi is the absolute BEST combo.

✔️ A table packed full of tteokgalbi and makguksu — really generous portions!!

A bite of cool makguksu followed by a bite of warm tteokgalbi is the perfect pairing!! The chewy noodle texture with the clean broth kept me eating even when full, since it felt like a shame to leave any behind 🤭

Especially with seasoned bibim dishes, an overly heavy seasoning can taste greasy ~~ but here, everything tastes clean, which I think is what makes it so good~ There's a lot to see in Pocheon, so if you're out for a day trip, I recommend this hand-made tteokgalbi and makguksu ^^