Chicken kalguksu near Bokjeong Station, Seongnam: Cheongdam Dak

Why Cheongdam Dak Kalguksu in Bokjeong-dong, Seongnam?

These days, as the weather cools down bit by bit, I find myself craving warm soup dishes. Today I'll introduce Cheongdam Dak Kalguksu Seongnam, where I stopped for lunch while I was in the Seongnam area. I've always liked kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), but I was looking for a place where the noodles come with chicken instead of just plain noodles, so I could eat something more filling — that's how I ended up here.

Parking at Cheongdam Dak Kalguksu: the public lot across the street

There's no parking at the restaurant, so you'll need to use the public parking lot across the street — the first 30 minutes are free, and it's ₩1,000 per hour after that. It's pretty cheap, so if you're driving, keep that in mind.

Late weekend lunch: the dining room and self-serve bar

Even though I visited on a late weekend lunch, customers kept streaming in nonstop. The place isn't small, but it was packed full anyway. People kept coming in and delivery orders never seemed to stop — this really is a Bokjeong Station favorite. At the self-serve bar you can help yourself to as much kimchi as you like: spicy kimchi, mild kimchi, diced radish kimchi, and pickled radish are all there, so grab some and enjoy them with your noodles. So good.

The menu: pick your topping (the boiled pork set was sold out)

The menu is interestingly organized by topping: Cheongdam Dak Kalguksu, spicy Cheongdam Dak Kalguksu, plain Dak Kalguksu, and so on. You can pick seaweed topping, egg topping, or green onion topping to your taste. The boiled pork and set menus are also reasonably priced, but they were sold out by the time we got there. We'll have to try them next time!

If you write a Naver receipt review, you get galbi mandu (rib dumplings) as a free treat, so make sure to take part and enjoy an even more filling meal.

Four side dishes, and how hot the spicy kimchi really is

I grabbed the four basic side dishes from the self-serve bar. I'm not great with spicy food, and the spicy kimchi was hotter than I expected. If you love spicy food, you'll probably be totally satisfied with it. The regular, lightly spicy kimchi was also really delicious.

The three bowls we ordered and what they cost

• Chicken kalguksu (green onion topping) ₩10,900
• Chicken kalguksu (seaweed topping) ₩10,900
• Spicy chicken kalguksu (green onion topping) ₩11,900

We each ordered one, based on our own preferences.

Chicken kalguksu with green onion topping: clean, mild broth

I started with the basic chicken kalguksu. The hot broth comes with both the knife-cut noodles and chicken, so even one bowl feels quite filling. I think the broth is really what makes or breaks a bowl of kalguksu, even more than the noodles, and here the mild flavor from the chicken paired beautifully with the warm broth.

With the green onion topping added, the broth's aroma felt a bit cleaner too, and eating it with the noodles went down smoothly without feeling heavy. The noodle texture was great as well. There's a reason popular places are popular.

Chicken kalguksu with seaweed topping: the savory bowl my child finished

The seaweed-topping chicken kalguksu my kid ordered had a nutty, perilla-seed-like flavor that was really tasty. I wondered if the seaweed flakes on top made it taste nuttier, but overall the broth just felt richer.

Piling kimchi right on top made it even more delicious. The kimchi here is really, really good. I liked the mildly spicy one best. If you like spicy food, you'll probably be totally into the spicy kimchi.

Spicy chicken kalguksu: hot enough to work as a hangover cure

The spicy chicken kalguksu is spicy just as the name suggests, and the broth was so rich and deep. I thought it would be great for curing a hangover, and anyone who likes spicy food is bound to love this dish.

The broth was fiery and the noodle portion was generous too. I got curious about the gomtang (bone broth soup) and went to order it, only to find it was already sold out. This place really deserves its reputation. Next time, I'll definitely come earlier so I can try the gomtang and boiled pork too.

Six free galbi mandu for a Naver receipt review

To finish off, there was the galbi mandu we got from taking part in the event. It's free, but a whole plate came out. The six galbi mandu were freshly steamed and piping hot. Definitely write a review and claim yours.

Even without dipping them in soy sauce, the galbi mandu had a chewiness all their own. They paired perfectly with the kalguksu and left us completely full. Whenever I think of chicken kalguksu, Cheongdam Dak Kalguksu near Bokjeong Station will definitely be the first place that comes to mind — highly recommend it.