Noryangjin restaurant open on Chuseok with cold soba: Gyudongjip

Is Gyudongjip in Noryangjin open during the Chuseok holiday?

Gyudongjip is a donburi (rice bowl) and soba noodle specialist at 1 Manyang-ro 14ga-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, and it's open through the Chuseok holiday too. Lunch every day but picking what to eat is never easy, haha. A simple rice bowl is nice sometimes. Honestly I was craving cold soba. So I headed to Gyudongjip in Noryangjin.

It was around 1pm and there were still people waiting.

A woman looking at the menu board on the sign quietly moved to the entrance — you have to put your name on the waitlist. I didn't know that on my first visit. My companion put a number down and we were third. Register on the waitlist as soon as you arrive.

It's good to know at least one restaurant open during the Chuseok holiday. In Noryangjin, Gyudongjip is one that stays open.

Inside Gyudongjip: seating and the self-serve corner

We got seated shortly after. There were foreign visitors too, and quite a few solo diners.

Plum dessert is available too. Water seems to be self-serve.

Worth reading the Gyudongjip usage guide too — it mentions the karai sauce that comes with the food.

Gyudongjip menu and prices: rice bowls, curry, soba and udon

• Sous vide chashu-don set ₩12,500
• Gyudon full set ₩11,900
• Yukhoe-don set ₩10,900
• Sous vide chashu-don ₩10,900
• Yukhoe-don ₩9,500
• Gyudon ₩8,500
• Karai gyudon ₩9,100
• Cold soba ₩7,000
• Udon ₩6,000
• 24-hour aged curry ₩6,900
• Karaage curry ₩8,900
• Fried shrimp curry ₩9,500
• Chashu curry ₩8,900
• Gyoza curry ₩8,500

Check the menu board for other items and prices. Prices are on the kind side, and you can choose options when ordering.

Gyudon set for 10,500 won with a cold soba added on

That day at Gyudongjip we ordered the gyudon full set for ₩11,900, the gyudon set for ₩10,500, and added one extra cold soba for ₩7,000. Pretty kind pricing, right?

Side dishes were pickled radish and kimchi.

Here's the gyudon set I ordered, ₩10,500. You can choose between cold soba and udon. Naturally I went with the cool cold soba.

Gyudon is a beef rice bowl — topped with bulgogi (marinated beef).

Cold soba with floating ice slush. It comes with the set, but the portion looked small so I added one extra.

The poached egg (suran) can be stirred right into the gyudon. Making suran is apparently tricky, but they made it without breaking it. Suran is an egg poached in boiling water to a soft-boiled texture — it's said to be difficult enough to appear as a challenge on the cooking show Hansik Daechup.

Gyudon set vs gyudon full set: only the fried chicken differs

This is the gyudon full set my companion ordered. As expected, they went with warm udon.

There's just one difference between the gyudon set and the gyudon full set.

If it has fried chicken, it's the gyudon full set. If you're not that into fried chicken, order the gyudon set like I did.

My companion's food preferences are a bit different from mine. Wherever we go, they prefer warm food over cold.

Two of the three dishes are mine. I love noodles, so I can never pass up cold soba at a Japanese restaurant. The karai sauce comes in a small red dish.

Chuseok is right around the corner but it's still hot out. Cold soba is great on hot days like this.

You know about the karai sauce, right? My companion avoids spicy food but mixed in both portions anyway — turns out it's not that spicy.

Verdict: is Gyudongjip worth it for a Noryangjin lunch?

Gyudongjip offers great value. Noryangjin has quite a few good-value spots — probably a leftover of the old exam-prep neighborhood, food prices here tend to be affordable. Looking for a good-value meal in Noryangjin? Give Gyudongjip a try. Reservations are a must during peak hours.

※ Please understand this place may get busier after this post.