Namdong ramen restaurant for spicy ramen and cheese katsu

Fukuoka-style ramen found in Incheon Nonhyeon

I had errands in Incheon Nonhyeon and finally made it to Hongdae Gureume Incheon Nonhyeon Branch, a place I’d been wanting to try forever! It’s already a much-talked-about spot among ramen lovers, so my expectations were sky-high.

Hongdae Gureume, serving up major Fukuoka-style vibes from the shopping arcade corridor 🍜

It’s on the second floor of Iplex Building in Incheon Nonhyeon. It’s close to Incheon Nonhyeon Station, so getting there by public transport is easy too!

🅿️ You can use the building’s underground parking, so it’s a comfortable place to eat without worrying about parking if you drive. (2 hours free)

Hongdae Gureume Incheon Nonhyeon Branch

What were the wait and atmosphere like?

🚨 As expected from a famous Incheon Nonhyeon restaurant, there was a wait as soon as we arrived!

How the waitlist works

You write your name and party size on the handwritten waitlist, then wait your turn. There are waiting seats inside the restaurant, which was nice—you don’t have to stand outside the whole time!

The walls are packed with details about the chef’s career, TV appearances—on all three major broadcast networks, no less!—and the ramen broth. It was fun reading through it while we waited ☺️

The restaurant has a clean, warm atmosphere 💡 It has that distinctive Japanese restaurant feel without being too dark or cramped, so it’s a comfortable place for a meal.

From counter seats that are great for eating alone to tables for two to four, the seating is thoughtfully laid out for families, friends, or couples. Best of all, the staff here are seriously, seriously kind 💓

The menu: ramen through cheese katsu

Depending on the toppings, there are Premium Special, loaded pork belly chashu, seasoned egg, and Gureume ramen options, each available in Fukuoka-style, Kumamoto-style, or Korean-style. Beyond that, Hongdae Gureume has quite the Japanese lineup: sushi served in a bowl, snow cheese katsu, set meals, and cold soba! The set meals, with ramen plus side dishes, were especially well put together.

What we ordered

Ordering was a breeze on the table-order system!

• Seasoned egg ramen set (spicy Kumamoto-style) ₩16,600
• Gureume ramen (spicy Fukuoka-style) ₩10,500
• Snow double cheese katsu set ₩13,900

Each seat has a number card. When you’re done, bring that card to the counter to pay!

Seasoned egg ramen set, spicy Kumamoto-style

Ta-da, the seasoned egg ramen set has arrived! We chose it spicy Kumamoto-style 🌶️ I ordered it because I wanted to compare it with the Fukuoka style too.

It arrived neatly arranged on a tray, and as a set meal, it was wonderfully plentiful!

It comes with so much: a vegetable salad to help prevent a blood sugar spike, kabocha squash salad, pickles, candied sweet potato, a jumbo fried shrimp, chicken karaage (Japanese fried chicken), and inari sushi (seasoned tofu-pouch sushi)!

The inari sushi topped with tuna mayo and flying-fish roe was a special little treat too.

When you eat Japanese food, you always want some fried goodies, right? The crisp-fried items were great too 👍

This ramen was the real deal! Kumamoto-style ramen adds black garlic sauce to tonkotsu (pork-bone broth), so the broth had this rich garlic flavor 🧄 It even had a slightly dark reddish-black color. With the spice added too, it was rich yet pleasantly hot—such a next-level depth of flavor!

The highlight of the seasoned egg set: the soft-boiled ajitama (marinated ramen egg)! The yolk was moist and wonderfully jammy—so, so delicious 🐣🐣

The springy noodles worked beautifully with the shredded scallions and bean sprouts! And those big slices of chashu... they were incredibly tender 🤎

Gureume ramen, spicy Fukuoka-style

This was the Gureume ramen I ordered. It’s based on Fukuoka-style tonkotsu ramen with an extra kick of spice 🌶️ The Gureume ramen came topped with bean sprouts and shredded scallions, plus a seasoned egg and chashu 🍜

The full-bodied, deep tonkotsu base paired so well with the bright, pleasant heat that just sipping the broth made me go, “Ahhh!” 👍👍👍

The umami was incredible, clinging to the palate with zero greasiness. Honestly, it was better than ramen I’d had in Fukuoka.... I just couldn’t put my spoon down 🥄🥄

There were generous amounts of bean sprouts and shredded scallions, so the texture with the noodles was great too. And the chashu wasn’t dry in the slightest—it was so tender it melted in my mouth. This place is absolutely a chashu gem 💯

Snow double cheese katsu set

My son picked the snow double cheese katsu set. It passed the visual test with flying colors from the start!

It came as a filling set with salad, rice, miso soup, and sauce.

It felt different from the cheese katsu we usually eat. Maybe because it was lightly torched for that charred flavor, but the savory richness along with the smoky aroma was no joke 🔥

One bite gives you that crisp crunch, and a little wasabi or a dip in the sauce cuts the richness perfectly—so tasty 🍯 My son gave this menu item a big thumbs-up!

I could totally see why it’s so popular 🤎 If you’re looking for truly good Fukuoka-style ramen in Incheon Nonhyeon, I recommend Hongdae Gureume Incheon Nonhyeon Branch!