Bundang Korean restaurant with self-serve rice bar: Myeongyeok Sunae

It's such a waste to stay home on the weekend, haha!! The weather was so nice we went out for a café outing and ended up staying for dinner too. This day's menu was kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) — it had been a while! Trying to figure out what to eat near Sunae Station, we went to Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae, a kalguksu restaurant near Sunae Station. I only had kalguksu in mind, but once I saw the menu there was chicken katsu and cold noodles too, so my family picked a few different things and shared. Between the unusual perilla oil sauce for the kalguksu and the chicken katsu my kid loved, Myeongyeok turned out to be perfect for a family meal out.

Where is Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae? Location, hours and parking

Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae is at 1F 101-2, 9-7 Hwangsaeul-ro 200beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 271m from Exit 3 of Sunae Station on the Suin-Bundang Line. It's open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, with break time on weekdays from 15:00 to 17:00 and on weekends from 16:00 to 17:00.

• Address: 1F 101-2, 9-7 Hwangsaeul-ro 200beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• 271m from Exit 3, Sunae Station, Suin-Bundang Line
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00
• Weekday break time 15:00–17:00 / Weekend break time 16:00–17:00
• Free parking: 2 hours free in the building's 1F and basement lots for customers

The menu at Myeongyeok: chicken kalguksu, seasoned crab naengmyeon and chicken katsu

Myeongyeok isn't just a kalguksu place. From kalguksu to various naengmyeon (cold noodles) to chicken katsu, the menu was more varied than I expected. Even the cold noodles weren't just the usual options — there was seasoned crab bibim naengmyeon and perilla oil naengmyeon, so it was fun deciding what to order.

What our family ordered at Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae

• Half-chicken kalguksu ₩11,900
• Western-style mixed chicken katsu ₩10,900
• Perilla oil cold noodles + chicken tenderloin katsu (2p) ₩14,900

That day we each picked something we wanted — warm, brothy half-chicken kalguksu for me, Western-style mixed chicken katsu for the kid, and perilla oil cold noodles for my husband, who loves it — and ordered generously.

Half-chicken kalguksu, 11,900 won: a whole half chicken in the bowl

The dish I was most looking forward to that day was the half-chicken kalguksu. Just like the name says, it comes with a whole half chicken in it, so I was completely satisfied with how it looked the moment it arrived!!

The broth was rich yet clean-tasting, so I kept spooning it up. The chicken was so substantial too — picking off the meat and eating it with the kalguksu noodles made for a pretty filling bowl on its own.

How to eat Myeongyeok's chicken kalguksu with perilla oil sauce

And Myeongyeok's chicken kalguksu has a slightly different way to eat it. Instead of just eating the noodles in the broth, you dip the noodles lightly into the perilla oil sauce served alongside. I tried it, and it went surprisingly well.

It was full of nutty aroma, almost like eating perilla oil noodles. That feeling of getting two dishes out of one kalguksu!! Feels like a win somehow!! Eaten straight in the broth, you taste the chicken stock; dipped in the perilla oil sauce, the nutty flavor comes through and it feels like a different, perilla-oil kalguksu. Same noodles, completely different feeling depending on how you eat them.

The kimchi at Myeongyeok, as a kalguksu restaurant should have

At Myeongyeok, they served geotjeori (fresh unaged kimchi) made from cabbage they grow themselves. It tasted freshly tossed — crunchy, with clean-tasting seasoning. If you prefer freshly-made geotjeori over deeply fermented kimchi, you'll really enjoy it alongside the kalguksu.

Self-serve rice at Myeongyeok: even better stirred into the broth

Myeongyeok's self-serve corner also has rice ready to go. If you still feel like something's missing after finishing your kalguksu, you can mix the leftover broth with rice — great for guys who like a hearty portion, or anyone wanting a filling meal. Especially with broth made from half a chicken, mixing in rice on top of that is basically unbeatable. And it's Suhyangmi blend rice, so it should taste even better.

We didn't have room left for rice since we were sharing several dishes with our kid, but if one bowl of kalguksu leaves you a bit unsatisfied, grabbing rice from the self-serve corner is definitely worth doing.

Western-style mixed chicken katsu, 10,900 won: the kid's favorite

For our little one's dish, we picked the Western-style mixed chicken katsu. Pork cutlet is familiar, but this was the first place I'd seen with only chicken katsu, so I was quietly curious what it would taste like. Being able to order something like this at a kalguksu restaurant made it a great spot to visit with a kid.

The crispy-fried chicken katsu came with a Western-style sauce, and it was similar to familiar pork cutlet yet felt different being chicken. Paired with the noodles or naengmyeon, it was even more of a treat!! Whether mom stole a lot of bites is not a secret!!

The dinner rolls served alongside were turned into little sandwiches with salad and chicken katsu tucked in. My kid took a bite and said it was good, eating more than I expected. The chicken katsu is delicious on its own, but definitely try making these mini sandwiches too.

Perilla oil cold noodles + 2 chicken tenderloin katsu set, 14,900 won

My husband's favorite, the perilla oil cold noodles, is a completely different dish from the kalguksu, so we ordered it too and split it in small portions. With the nutty aroma of perilla oil plus whole perilla seeds mixed in, every bite had little bursts of nuttiness that made eating it fun.

Switching between the hot kalguksu and the cool perilla oil noodles in between bites was even better since the two didn't overlap in flavor. And with chicken tenderloin katsu included in the set, it was a much more filling option than the noodles alone!!

Is Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae worth it for a weekend family meal?

Probably because it was the weekend, there were a lot of families around. But I also spotted solo diners, likely drawn in by the variety of menu items and generous portions for a single meal.

Every dish had its own charm, so it was more fun ordering several things to share in small portions than sticking to just one. Half-chicken kalguksu when you're craving a warm broth, one of the various cold noodle styles when you want something nutty and refreshing, Western-style chicken katsu when you're in the mood for katsu — if you're looking for a kalguksu restaurant near Sunae Station or a Korean restaurant near Sunae Station, Myeongyeok is a solid choice that lets you enjoy a variety of dishes depending on your mood.