Suwon Korean restaurant for octopus noodle soup: Daseon Kalguksu

Getting to Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch from Suwon Station

My mom and I came out to Suwon Station for a meal out for the first time in a while. We had heard there was a famous restaurant around Suwon Station, so we ended up at Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch (다선칼국수 본점). The weather has gotten cooler lately, too, and I had really been craving warm kalguksu (knife-cut noodles).

Daseon Kalguksu

It is open daily from 10:30 to 22:00, with a break from 15:30 to 17:00. It is about eight minutes from Suwon Station and about two minutes from the Suwon Tax Office. We took a bus, got off at Maesan Market, and walked for around five minutes.

It has even appeared on Amazing Saturday and been featured on Live Today, so it really is a well-known spot.

The interior and menu on a late weekday lunch

Inside

Even though we visited for a late weekday lunch, there were lots of people. Luckily, we got in without waiting. I took these photos when we were nearly finished and about to leave, so there was no one around then.

• Kalguksu ₩10,000
• Kalguksu lunch set (kalguksu + boiled pork) ₩15,000
• Jang kalguksu ₩12,000
• Dumpling kalguksu ₩12,000
• Bibim kalguksu ₩11,000
• Daseon kalguksu ₩16,000
• Dumpling soup ₩12,000
• Add boiled pork to set meal ₩6,000
• Kimchi dumplings ₩8,000
• Meat dumplings ₩8,000
• Half-and-half dumplings ₩8,000
• Plated boiled pork ₩15,000
• Boiled pork bossam, small ₩29,000
• Boiled pork bossam, large ₩39,000
• Stir-fried spicy octopus ₩35,000
• Spicy chili clam soup ₩20,000
• Seafood pajeon ₩18,000
• Jeonbyeong ₩10,000

Kalnakji ordered with broth and the regular spice level

We ordered Daseon Kalnakji for two, plated boiled pork, and one Coke. The Daseon Kalnakji was ₩16,000 per person for two people, the plated boiled pork was ₩15,000, and the Coke was ₩2,000.

We chose the signature Daseon Kalnakji, knife-cut noodles with octopus. You can choose either a brothy or thick version, as well as regular or spicy. We went with the brothy version at the regular spice level.

At first, we were going to order seafood pajeon, but apparently it is only available in the evening. So we ordered the plated boiled pork instead.

First came the kimchi, shredded radish, and barley rice. It is so good when you add the gochujang (Korean red chili paste) set on the table and mix it all together.

Plated boiled pork with plenty to eat at a fair price

The plated boiled pork arrived. Boiled pork is usually a little pricey, so I do not often order it when there are only two of us, but I loved that this came as a reasonably priced plated option. And there was quite a lot of it, too.

Just looking at the color, you can tell it was boiled really well. Eaten like jokbal (braised pig's trotters), it had a slightly herbal note that was delicious. There was no pork smell at all. And as you can see, it had just the right layer of fat, making it chewy and tender, so we enjoyed it so much.

Wrapped with kimchi, it is simply perfect. We almost finished all the boiled pork before the kalguksu came out.

Kalnakji broth with an enormous portion

The Kalnakji came in a huge bowl. The portion was seriously enormous. It did not even feel like two servings, haha.

I tried the broth first. It was so refreshing, with a deep, rich body. I thought it would be absolutely perfect for curing a hangover the day after drinking. We ordered the regular spice level, which was about as spicy as Shin Ramyun, so even spice wimps like us could eat it easily.

There was not only a lot of noodles, but also so many toppings. Since it was Kalnakji, there was octopus, and there were clams that went so well with the knife-cut noodles. The octopus was not tough at all; it was soft and surprisingly good with the noodles.

It was delicious with the boiled pork, too. One tiny disappointment was that we ate less of the delicious kimchi? If it had been kalguksu in a clear white broth, I probably would have kept refilling the kimchi and eaten loads of it, but because the broth was red, I ate less kimchi. A little disappointing, haha. Next time, I want white-broth noodles with lots of kimchi.