Sokcho makguksu restaurant with dongchimi broth: Topgol Makguksu

One of the must-eat foods on a trip to Gangwon-do was makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles). You can find makguksu easily in other regions too, but after trying it on a previous Gangwon-do trip, we decided among ourselves that it was something we absolutely had to eat whenever we came here, haha. Let me show you my detailed review of Topgol Makguksu, right near Sokcho Beach and Sokcho Eye~~

Outside and inside Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch

Topgol Makguksu is right behind Sokcho Beach and Sokcho Eye. It was easy to find because it sits directly in front of the Sokcho Beach public parking lot, and parking support is available if you park there!

They open early in the morning, so it seemed like a great place to visit if you are looking for breakfast near Sokcho Beach, haha.

There were plenty of high chairs ready too, so it was great for visiting with a baby, haha.

Celebrity and famous-person signatures were posted on the wall, and it really felt like we had found a proper Sokcho favorite, haha.

They were also running a receipt-review event: write a review and you get two buckwheat king dumplings free, so do join in~~

Topgol Makguksu menu and what we ordered

There were so many kinds of makguksu: deulmemak, plain buckwheat, pollock sashimi buckwheat, and perilla seed makguksu. Sides included buckwheat perilla seed kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), buckwheat king dumpling soup, potato pancake, boiled pork, a single serving of boiled pork, a children's set meal, acorn jelly, buckwheat king dumplings, and buckwheat jeonbyeong (pan-fried buckwheat rolls).

• Deulmemak
• Pollock sashimi buckwheat makguksu
• Extra pollock sashimi
• Buckwheat jeonbyeong
• Sweet pumpkin sikhye

Pollock sashimi buckwheat makguksu in two styles with dongchimi

Everything we ordered came out at once, haha. We ordered makguksu and buckwheat jeonbyeong, but how could the spread look this good? Haha.

This is the pollock sashimi buckwheat makguksu. It is the first dish that comes to mind when I think of makguksu, and doesn’t it look even more delicious with heaps of seasoned pollock sashimi and ground sesame on top? Haha.

Dongchimi (radish water kimchi) broth came separately. For the pollock sashimi buckwheat makguksu, they recommended first adding just one ladleful and mixing it like a moist spicy noodle dish, then adding more broth later to enjoy it in the style of mul makguksu (noodles in broth). So that is exactly what we did, haha.

With one ladleful of broth, it mixed together even more nicely and moistly.

The portion was quite generous, and the seasoning and pollock sashimi came together beautifully. Once the dongchimi broth went in, the umami just exploded.. I love mul makguksu, but this mixed style was so good that I think I ate nearly half of it just like this.

After eating some, I added a little more of the extra pollock sashimi and poured in the broth to try it like mul makguksu. Even without adding any extra seasoning, the dongchimi broth itself was delicious, so the mul makguksu was amazing too, haha.

Adding dongchimi to deeply fragrant perilla oil deulmemak

This is the deulmemak my husband ordered. Deulmemak is short for perilla oil buckwheat makguksu, and from the moment it arrived, the nutty aroma of perilla oil was no joke, haha. There was quite a lot of perilla oil underneath, with lots of ground sesame, seaweed flakes, and perilla leaves, so it looked even more delicious, haha.

My husband took one bite and said it was crazy, telling me to try it. I did, and the nuttiness was absolutely insane.. The aroma of perilla oil and buckwheat came together to make truly delicious deulmemak!!!

They said the deulmemak was also good with dongchimi broth, so we added the pollock sashimi too and tried it that way. At first I was a little doubtful—dongchimi broth in deulmemak?—but there was a reason they recommended it.. It already had loads of nutty perilla oil, and the cool dongchimi broth made it a delicious-plus-delicious combination. It could not possibly be bad, haha.

Crisp buckwheat jeonbyeong and sweet pumpkin sikhye

We came for buckwheat makguksu, so of course we had to have buckwheat jeonbyeong too!!

It was completely crisp outside and tender inside. It had a kimchi filling, while the exterior was so crisp it was almost like it had been fried—such a special treat. Be sure to have the buckwheat jeonbyeong alongside your meal too, haha.

My mouth was a little spicy from the makguksu, so we ordered sweet pumpkin sikhye (a sweet rice drink) to finish. It had the gentle sweetness of sweet pumpkin rather than an intense artificial sweetness, so it was very easy to drink, and it was perfectly sweet for calming the spice, haha.

Overall thoughts on makguksu in Sokcho

Makguksu really is one of the foods you have to eat in Gangwon-do!! Gangwon-do produces lots of buckwheat, which is why buckwheat makguksu and buckwheat jeonbyeong are famous, and that is why we came looking for a great Sokcho makguksu place. The pollock sashimi buckwheat makguksu was wonderful, of course, but the deulmemak was unexpectedly so delicious too!! The buckwheat jeonbyeong was a great side because the portion was not overwhelming, and the homemade sweet pumpkin sikhye was the best finish to the meal, haha. If you are looking for great makguksu in Sokcho, I recommend Topgol Makguksu—a real favorite for deulmemak and pollock sashimi buckwheat makguksu, with breakfast available near Sokcho Eye and Sokcho Beach ❤️