Charcoal beef jjolmyeon at a Yongin noodle restaurant: Chilseong

A noodle restaurant near Seongbok Station with easy parking

Lately, I’d been craving tangy-spicy jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles) and steaming-hot udon so badly. But a regular snack-bar-style restaurant felt like it might have too few choices and be a little disappointing flavor-wise, so I went on a serious search. That’s how I happened upon Chilseong Jemyeonso Suji Main Branch, a noodle specialist, and I was so pleased with the quality!

This place is in the shopping area of an apartment complex near Seongbok Station in Suji-gu. Best of all, the building has a large, convenient parking lot, so it was perfect for driving there.

The dining room was extremely clean and comfortable. I saw lots of families, and the self-service bar was generously stocked with children’s water cups and bowls, which showed the owner’s thoughtful attention. The restaurant also clearly displayed its ingredient-origin information, so I could eat with peace of mind.

33 noodle dishes and a menu-completion challenge

Chilseong Jemyeonso’s biggest strength is that you can try 33 kinds of noodle dishes! It isn’t simply one jjolmyeon, one udon, and one noodle soup—each category has four or five variations.

Even jjolmyeon comes in an enormous range: buckwheat bibim jjolmyeon, fresh-wasabi bibim jjolmyeon, yeolmu (young radish kimchi) cold jjolmyeon, charcoal-grilled beef jjolmyeon, and more. I’d never seen such a varied noodle lineup, so I got excited the moment I looked at the menu! Usually, a large menu means some dishes fall short, but every single item here was remarkably good.

They were also running a menu-completion stamp challenge. Collect stamps after eating all 33 dishes and you get a ₩50,000 meal voucher—it definitely brought out my competitive side, haha.

The four dishes we ordered

All of our orders arrived. Even looking at them again makes my mouth water!

Potato pancake

It arrived round and thick, looking a little like a hotteok pancake, and I was surprised after one bite. The edges were crisp while the center was chewy and tender—the perfect crisp-outside, soft-inside texture. I normally don’t expect much from side dishes, but this was far better than expected; I blew on it and finished it in no time.

Charcoal-grilled beef bibim jjolmyeon, my favorite dish

The charcoal-grilled beef was truly the stroke of genius here! The smoky meat was a perfect match for the sweet-spicy jjolmyeon sauce. It was piled with vegetables, so it almost felt like eating a fresh salad—and even gave me the pleasant illusion that it was diet food (?). If this were near my home, I’d come here every day just for this!

Pan-memil soba set

To be honest, I don’t usually like soba that much. But after one bite here, I realized, “Ah, it’s not that I dislike soba after all!” The broth was deeply flavored and refreshing, while the noodles were wonderfully chewy. The pork cutlet served with the set was thick and freshly fried warm, making it an excellent match for the soba.

Nostalgic rice cake skewers, 2 pieces

They tasted exactly like my favorite tteok꼬치—rice cake skewers—from the snack shops in front of school when I was young! I’d missed that sweet-spicy sauce from those days, and I found it right here. The price is easy on the wallet too, so be sure to add these as a side.

Next time, I want to try the signature dishes too

This wasn’t just a simple snack-bar-style restaurant. As a true noodle specialist, the noodle quality stood out, and the wide variety made it a perfect place for healthy, delicious noodle dishes. It was such a satisfying meal that it was hard to find a downside!

Next time, I’m planning to return soon for the signature dishes advertised on the banner outside: charcoal-grilled beef udon, meat soboro bibimbap, and spicy hangover fresh-noodle soup.