Gwanak udon restaurant: tori tempura bukkake with sweet potato korokke

I was trying to decide what to eat and ended up craving noodles, so I went to Kosi, a famous udon spot near Seoul National University Entrance Station, for some udon haha.

Location and how to get to Kosi Seoul National University Entrance Branch

It's about a 5-minute walk from Exit 5 of Seoul National University Entrance Station!

What's the exterior vibe like?

The exterior isn't overly flashy, but rather warm and clean with a wood-tone focus, which actually suited the image of an udon specialty restaurant really well. 😮👍

There was a menu board placed near the entrance too, so I could check out the menu before going in!

By the entrance hung a large wooden sign, and the combination of the wood material and calligraphy-style lettering gave the whole place a calm, tidy impression!

Interior vibe and table setup

The tables and little details all felt neatly arranged to match the overall atmosphere! On one side of the table, condiments like pepper, shichimi, and sesame seeds were neatly set out to enjoy with the udon.

Tissues and toothpicks were also neatly organized near the door, which seemed handy for tidying up on the way out!

Menu lineup and prices

There's cold udon, hot udon, katsu, and more, so it looks like you could enjoy a variety of dishes here!

When you think of udon, the first thing that comes to mind is usually a dish in hot broth...! But this time, a little differently than usual, I ordered the tori tempura bukkake cold udon!

Tori tempura bukkake cold udon + tori katsu set, ₩16,000

I added 1 set meal (tori katsu) and ordered for a total of ₩16,000!! Adding katsu made it a much more filling meal than just a bowl of udon alone!! And it's only ₩16,000 even with the katsu added, so pretty reasonable, right?! haha

The broth is served separately, so before eating you add green onion, radish, and tempura flakes, then pour in the broth to taste!

What I care about most when eating udon is the chewy texture of the noodles, and the plump, bouncy udon noodles with the sauce were so delicious 🤤🤤 The tori tempura was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, which paired really well with the udon!! Eating just noodles the whole time can get a little boring, but mixing in bites of tori tempura changed up the texture and made the whole meal feel much more satisfying haha.

Sweet potato cheese korokke side, 2 for ₩3,500

And since just eating udon felt a little lacking, I also ordered 2 sweet potato cheese korokke haha. They were ₩3,500! The outside was fried crispy and the inside had soft sweet potato and cheese, so I got to enjoy the crispy coating + sweet potato + savory cheese combo all at once 🤍🤍 Taking a bite of udon then a bite of korokke, the salty flavor and the sweet, savory flavor alternated nicely, and the combo worked well! If you're someone who always adds a side dish when eating udon, I'd recommend trying the sweet potato cheese korokke too. Recommended 👍👍

Final thoughts

Next time I visit, I want to try one of the other udon menu items! This time I had the bukkake udon, so next time I'm curious to try a hot broth udon and see how different it feels haha.

If you've been wanting a proper noodle dish for a while, or want to enjoy chewy udon with crispy toppings, I'd recommend the tori tempura bukkake udon! 🍜 If you like udon, this place is worth a visit 🍜🤎