Naengmyeon spot open on Chuseok near Sunae Station: Myeongyeok Sunae

Chuseok day, our first holiday without ancestral rites: a family trip

Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae (면계옥) is the kalguksu and naengmyeon place near Sunae Station where we stopped for lunch on the way home from our Chuseok trip to Seonjaedo. First, let me tell you a bit about this Chuseok.

This Chuseok... for the first time in 23 years, since I got married in 2003... there are no ancestral rites... meaning... the first holiday where I don't have to fry jeon (Korean pan-fried patties)... haha

Time passes... and even I get a day like this, huh... haha. My mother-in-law has less energy every year, which is why it came to this, so it's not something to be purely happy about... but still... not having to fry that enormous, endless variety of jeon is... so good. I've been grinning for days now lol

Anyway... thanks to my mother-in-law's big decision, this Chuseok holiday became one where we could travel. But... as someone who worked 22 years in the travel industry... Chuseok is peak season for airlines and travel agencies, packed with travelers where you think, 'they're going even at these prices?' So overseas travel was off the table from the start... and since my father-in-law finds long drives hard, we decided on a one-night trip to a Seonjaedo pension near Seoul that my sister-in-law picked out~~

It was our first trip with the whole in-law family, including my sister-in-law's household, so I was a little worried, though not really... and thankfully everyone had a calm, happy time~~

Is there a naengmyeon restaurant open near Sunae Station on Chuseok day?

The naengmyeon place we found that was open on Chuseok day was Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae near Sunae Station. It's supposedly a kalguksu hotspot, but it has even more naengmyeon on the menu, of every kind.

We had breakfast, checked out right on time, and headed home... I originally planned to visit my mom's memorial park first, but the rain kept getting heavier, so we pushed the memorial park to the next day and decided to have lunch before going home. Maybe from the meat we ate yesterday, my husband and son both wanted something light like naengmyeon... so I searched in a hurry..

Would there be a naengmyeon place open on Chuseok day near Pangyo, Jeongja and Sunae~~ Ohh~~ and yes there is.. haha. Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae!! It's in the very same building as Hanssem Interior, where we used to stop by a lot for a while.

We made it just before break time~~

The peak was over, so it was quiet, nice~ After being in a spot packed with tourists... coming to a calm neighborhood restaurant puts my mind at ease~ this feeling is exactly home sweet home.. haha

What we ordered at Myeongyeok: chicken kalguksu, mul naengmyeon and pollock hoe naengmyeon sets

Our family ordered chicken kalguksu, mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth) and myeongtae-hoe naengmyeon (cold noodles with seasoned pollock), all as sets with 2 pieces of chicken tenderloin katsu for +₩5,000. The main dish, chicken kalguksu, first~~

After looking over the naengmyeon, chicken katsu and everything else, our family's final picks were... chicken kalguksu, mul naengmyeon and pollock hoe naengmyeon. And all of them as sets with 2 pieces of chicken tenderloin katsu added for +₩5,000!!

Basic side dish and the self-service corner

Myeongyeok's basic side dish is geotjeori (fresh kimchi) served in a ttukbaegi (earthenware pot). The fresh kimchi at a kalguksu place is, as it should be.. excellent~ and the noodle broth, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), pickled radish and so on are self-service, so help yourself~~

Mix Myeongyeok's chicken kalguksu with the perilla oil sauce

The kick of Myeongyeok's chicken kalguksu is the deulgireum-jang (perilla oil sauce). Ohh.. maybe it was because we came after mealtime? It looked especially delicious..

Just like the instructions say.. mixing it into the perilla oil sauce is pretty darn good..

Mul naengmyeon and pollock hoe naengmyeon

After the chicken kalguksu, the mul naengmyeon came out~

And the pollock hoe naengmyeon came out too~~

The chicken tenderloin katsu set: how big is the portion?

The 2 pieces of chicken tenderloin katsu in Myeongyeok's set looked like quite a lot for a light eater. The 2-piece chicken katsu included in the set came out too~~ for the small-appetite crowd.. ordering the set looks like a lot..

Chicken katsu burger with morning rolls, coleslaw and pickles

The chicken tenderloin katsu comes with morning rolls, coleslaw and pickles, so we made it into burgers. Nobody told us to, but.. I suddenly wanted to build it like a burger.. If we'd eaten them separately I'm sure I couldn't have finished the bread... but made into a burger like this.. gone in three bites lol

Where to find Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae

A grateful restaurant that's open even on Chuseok day, the Sunae Station kalguksu, naengmyeon and chicken katsu spot Myeongyeok Bundang Sunae is at 9-7 Hwangsaeul-ro 200beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea, Unit 101-2, 1st floor, in the building with Hanssem Interior.