Pangyo Japanese restaurant: extra soba & double cheese nabe, Godai

Godai Kitchen hours and parking in Pangyo

Godai Kitchen is open Monday to Friday 11:00 am–9:00 pm, Saturday 10:30 am–3:00 pm and Sunday 10:00 am–8:00 pm. Break time is 3:00–4:30 pm, last order is 40 minutes before closing, and parking in the Samhwan Hi-Pex Building A lot is free for 2 hours.

My partner and I went back to Godai Kitchen, the Samhwan Hi-Pex favorite in Pangyo! This time we were craving tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) and soba (buckwheat noodles), so we hurried over.

Is there a wait at Godai Kitchen on weekend lunch?

There was no wait when we came for weekend lunch. Godai Kitchen mainly serves Japanese home-style food, so it's perfect for lunch, right? I'd guess there's a wait on weekdays, but on the weekend we had none!

We peeked at the menu outside first, then went in.

The place is nice and spacious~ Even though we went early, quite a few people were already having lunch: solo diners, couples, families!

What we ordered at Godai Kitchen

You order at a tabletop kiosk, and there were more menu items than we saw outside. We had already roughly decided from the outside menu, but the kiosk had more, so we took our time looking through it before

picking these!!

• Sirloin katsu + cold soba set (+₩4,000 extra soba) ₩18,800
• Kimchi cheese katsu nabe (katsu hot pot) (+₩3,000 double mozzarella) ₩15,000
• Handmade chicken karaage (fried chicken, 7–8 pieces) ₩8,000
• Pepsi Zero ₩2,500

My partner was a bit hungrier than usual, so yes, we ordered more than we normally would^^

Also, wet wipes and aprons are near the entrance, so grab them if you need them! And the food came out faster than I expected~

Below is my tonkatsu + cold soba, and above is my partner's kimchi cheese katsu nabe.

And the chicken karaage off to the side^^

How is the sirloin katsu + cold soba set at Godai Kitchen?

The sirloin katsu + cold soba set is Godai Kitchen's signature, with thin buckwheat noodles and a cool, savory broth. Let's start with that signature set..!

The first thing that catches your eye is the cold soba, with the broth filled to the brim so prettily,

and there's wasabi on the side, so add it to your taste..! As you can see, the noodles are on the thin side, and I like thin noodles of any kind, so I loved it!! The doneness was just right and they went down so easily.

I think that's because the broth was so good too. Apparently the noodles are high-quality, high-buckwheat noodles, and the broth is a Gumi (구미) Ogam broth cooked for 48 hours. I don't have some amazing palate that can tell these things apart;; but anyway, the broth was cool and savory and went so well with the buckwheat noodles that I ate a lot, that's for sure!

The sirloin katsu served with the cold soba

The sirloin katsu in the set had plump meat and a thin, crispy coating. And here's the katsu that came with it!! As you can see, it comes out nice and plump!

Dip it in wasabi or in the sauce that comes with it, either works! The coating is thin and crispy, the meat is plump with a great texture, and it's a perfect match with the soba.

How was the double mozzarella kimchi cheese katsu nabe?

The kimchi cheese katsu nabe arrives with a flame lit underneath to keep it warm, and with the double mozzarella you can smother the tonkatsu in cheese. Now here's my partner's kimchi cheese katsu nabe!!

They light the burner underneath at the start, so it's in a nice warm state to eat~

We added extra cheese and the cheese just kept coming. Just so you know, you can smother the tonkatsu in it,

and besides the perfectly cooked kimchi, there was even a poached egg inside!

I stole quite a lot of this one too. It's well seasoned, so when you put tonkatsu on rice, you keep going back for more!!

Portion size at Godai Kitchen: choose add-ons carefully

Portions at Godai Kitchen are big enough that a set alone fills you up, and I couldn't touch the handmade chicken karaage. I was sooooo full that I couldn't touch the chicken karaage (I honestly couldn't bring myself to), but my partner finished everything, so we went home with zero leftovers, just so you know^^

The sets alone will probably fill you up, so choose add-ons carefully, haha (guys maybe fine, but ladies, definitely!)

Anyway, both my sirloin katsu + cold soba set and my partner's kimchi cheese katsu nabe were delicious, and since one is cold and one is hot, they'd be great to share! If there are two or more of you, I recommend this combo, so try it together~~ If you're looking for a Pangyo lunch spot, I recommend Godai Kitchen!

Conclusion

• It's just right when you're craving soba and tonkatsu.
• If you're not that hungry, you probably don't need add-ons. (Big portions)
• The combo we ordered (cold soba set + kimchi cheese katsu nabe) was good too, so use it as a reference if you can't decide.