Bongpyeong buckwheat restaurant, 25-minute wait at 1pm: Migayeon

Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon, a Pyeongchang buckwheat restaurant we visited with my parents

If I had to pick the restaurant my parents liked most on this Pyeongchang, Gangwon trip, it would easily be Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon (봉평메밀미가연).

We were in Gangwon, so we figured we had to eat buckwheat dishes. It's already very famous as a Pyeongchang restaurant, so we waited in line before getting in.

It got even more famous after chef Edward Lee visited on a tvN show, so we waited quite a while at the lunch peak. 🤣 Still, my parents said it was the tastiest meal of the trip, so the wait was worth it and I felt proud.

It's a place with a wait, but I'll share some tips for using that time well!

Close to Phoenix Park, perfect for a trip itinerary

It's an easy drive from Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang, so it worked well as a stop on our route. Best of all, there's a large dedicated parking lot right next to the restaurant, so parking was easy.

Bongpyeong is famous as the home of buckwheat, and there are plenty of sights nearby, like Lee Hyo-seok Culture Village, Herb Nara Farm and Heungjeong Valley, so it's a great spot to continue your trip after eating.

A hanok-style exterior with great charm

The hanok (traditional Korean house)-style building stands out from far away. It felt grand yet traditional, which was really lovely. It was so pretty for photos that I spent a good while looking around before we even ate.

Waiting number 15 at 1pm, a 25-minute wait

We arrived around 1pm... and our waiting number was 15!🫢 There's a separate waiting area outside, and it wasn't just travelers; lots of locals came too.

Luckily the tables turn over fast, so we got in after about 25 minutes. You get real-time waiting alerts on KakaoTalk, so you don't have to just stand in line.

Waiting tips

We browsed the big Bongpyeong Hanaro Mart nearby, and our turn came sooner than I expected. (I bought... haha, a lot...)

On weekends, public holidays, or Bongpyeong's five-day market days (the 2nd, 7th, 12th, 17th, 22nd and 27th), I'd recommend arriving a bit earlier.

A space where you can feel a master's touch

We were second in line, so we went inside to wait. Wow, so many certificates and commendations were on display.

I noticed awards like Korean Master, World Master and Korean Food Grand Master, and you could tell that owner Oh Suk-hee has researched buckwheat cooking for a long time. She holds several buckwheat patents and also runs the Bongpyeong Buckwheat Food Culture Research Institute, which made me trust the food even more.

One side sells buckwheat products, so it was fun to browse after the meal. They looked good as gifts too.

A large hall and rooms, comfortable even with kids

Seeing almost every seat full surprised me all over again. Haha, you can really feel the popularity..

The space is big, the tables are well spaced, and there are group seats and rooms, so it would suit family gatherings or group meals. There are high chairs for children and the floor isn't slippery, so it felt safe to visit with a child.

Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon menu

• Premium buckwheat sprout beef tartare (yukhoe)
• Beef tartare bibim noodles (2:8 ratio, 100% beef tartare)
• Buckwheat sprout pork (suyuk, boiled sliced pork)
• 100% buckwheat noodles
• Buckwheat bibim noodles (spicy mixed noodles)
• Buckwheat sprout bulgogi bibimbap
• Seasoned buckwheat jelly (memilmuk muchim)
• Handmade buckwheat pancake

Every dish is built to bring out the natural flavor of buckwheat, so it looked like a really healthy meal. They say the noodles are made fresh every day by blending bitter and sweet buckwheat themselves, and you can feel how serious they are about buckwheat cooking.

What we ordered

I wanted to try a variety with my parents, so we ordered the buckwheat sprout pork, beef tartare bibim noodles, 100% buckwheat noodles and handmade buckwheat pancake. Ordering was easy at a kiosk.

What touched me even more... I added a bowl of rice for my daughter, who loves rice, and they gave us seaweed soup and gim (seasoned seaweed) too. Even during the busy hours they looked after us, which really impressed me.

Buckwheat sprout pork boiled in buckwheat noodle water

The first dish to arrive was the buckwheat pork.

Fresh buckwheat sprouts were piled generously on thinly sliced pork, and it came with salted shrimp and pickles, so it looked like a healthy spread just to look at!

They say Migayeon's pork is boiled in buckwheat noodle cooking water instead of plain water, and maybe that's why there was no gamey smell at all and it was so moist it melted softly in the mouth. It wasn't too greasy and the meaty flavor was rich, so I kept reaching for more.

Just a little salted shrimp on top brings out the savory depth, and adding the pickles and buckwheat sprouts gives a crunchy, fresh texture that makes it much lighter.

The signature 100% buckwheat noodles (Miga noodles)

Next was the signature dish I'd really been looking forward to, the 100% buckwheat noodles (Miga noodles).

Plenty of buckwheat sprouts and perilla powder on top made it look wonderfully healthy. I tried the noodles on their own first, and they were clearly different from the buckwheat noodles you usually find. Being 100% buckwheat, they weren't overly springy, yet the more I chewed, the more nutty flavor and faint sweetness of buckwheat came through. A really unusual texture!

The nutty aroma of perilla oil spreads first, then the deep flavor of buckwheat slowly rises.

The broth served alongside is tasty just poured over and mixed into the noodles, but you can also dip the noodles like soba, which has its own charm. The clean, cool broth brings out the buckwheat aroma even more, and I never got tired of it.

Dad added a little kelp vinegar and said the tang made it much more refreshing, and he enjoyed it a lot. It isn't a harsh flavor, so it was gentle on the stomach and felt light even afterward.

My favorite: the beef tartare bibim noodles

My PICK, my favorite dish, is definitely the beef tartare bibim noodles! Fresh beef tartare, buckwheat sprouts and shredded pear were piled on bright red sauce, and it made my mouth water just looking at it.

The chewy, nutty beef tartare, the crisp pear and the savory sauce come together perfectly in the mouth. The sauce isn't harshly spicy; it's sweet with real depth, so it didn't overpower the buckwheat aroma.

Once mixed, the sauce soaked evenly between the glossy buckwheat noodles for a really appetizing look😍 The beef tartare was fresh and went so well with the buckwheat that, along with the buckwheat noodles, it's the dish I'd recommend most.

Mild, charming handmade buckwheat pancake

Last to arrive was the handmade buckwheat pancake. It's pan-fried to order, so we got to enjoy it warm.

It had a golden, chewy texture with a faint toasty buckwheat aroma, and the nuttiness kept coming the more I chewed. Dipped lightly in soy sauce, the plain, clean taste of buckwheat and the nutty saltiness of the sauce went together so well.

It isn't flashy or heavily seasoned, but if you want to really taste the buckwheat itself, I think you'll be very satisfied.

A Pyeongchang buckwheat meal even my parents raved about

We tried several well-known restaurants on this Gangwon trip, but the one my parents liked most was Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon. The food is healthy, made with 100% buckwheat, so our stomachs felt comfortable afterward, and you could feel care and delicacy in every dish.

If you want a healthy, carefully made buckwheat meal that you can only have in Bongpyeong, the home of buckwheat, definitely stop by Migayeon. The taste, the friendly service and the pleasant atmosphere were all satisfying and made the trip even better.

I recommend it as a Pyeongchang, Gangwon restaurant that parents, kids and the whole family can enjoy.

Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon visitor information

• 108 Gipung-ro, Bongpyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon, South Korea
• Hours 10:00–17:00
• Closed every Wednesday
• Dedicated parking lot
• Naver reservation available (not a seat reservation; it is a black buckwheat tea giveaway event)
• Takeout and smart order available