House-made noodle ramen near Gongneung Station, Seoul: Torikokoro

Today I visited Torikokoro Gongneung Direct Store near Gongneung Station.

Walking along the alley near the Hwarangdae train tracks, I spotted a cozy little shop tucked among the houses. 🏠

Where is Torikokoro Gongneung Direct Store, and what are the hours?

Torikokoro Gongneung Direct Store is a cozy tsukemen spot at 10 Gongneung-ro 35-gil, B1, Nowon-gu, Seoul, in the alley by the Hwarangdae train tracks near Gongneung Station. It's open daily 11:00–21:30 with last order at 21:00, weekend break time is 15:15–17:00, and there's no parking.

Tsukemen, Torikokoro's signature dish, is a Japanese-style ramen where springy, chewy self-made noodles are dipped into a rich house-made broth. It lets you experience both the texture of the noodles and the deep savory flavor of the broth at once. Even first-timers can enjoy it without hesitation, and since the noodles and broth are served separately, you get to enjoy the full flavor right to the last bite.

A small storefront in the Hwarangdae train track alley

From the outside it wasn't a big place, but these small shops tucked into alleys often turn out to be famous ramen spots.

Hungry as I was, I went straight in. 🍜 Right as you enter, you can order immediately.

Inside, it was a clean open kitchen with bar-style table seating. It had been a while since I'd been to a ramen shop like this, so it felt a bit different.

We ordered two dishes: 🍜 Tsukemen M 200g and 🍜 Niboshi Soyu Ramen. Waiting excitedly to see how they'd taste.

Since the kitchen is so open, at first I wasn't sure where to look, haha 👀 but it was fun sitting there watching the food being prepared and taking it all in.

Noodles made in house: the flour sacks by the entrance

Near the entrance, I saw a space behind glass piled with flour. I thought it might just be decoration, but on closer look it seemed to be the flour used to make the noodles.

Torikokoro apparently tried tsukemen in Japan and has been working to recreate as close a flavor as possible. Seeing the actual ingredients and the noodle-making space up close, I could feel the passion for ramen. 😊 Knowing they make the noodles in-house raised my expectations even more.

Torikokoro's bar table and the tableware set out for you

Sitting down, I noticed water dispensers placed around the tables, so it was easy to get water whenever I wanted.

I was curious what tsukemen actually meant. Tsuke (dip) and men (noodles) — "noodles you dip to eat" — was helpfully written right on the table.

They also had a Naver receipt review event going, so it might be worth joining if you're interested. And salt and chopsticks for the tsukemen were all set out and ready! 🥢

How does the Niboshi Soyu Ramen taste?

The Niboshi Soyu Ramen came out first. The broth looked quite dark from the start. I took a sip first...

Huh? What is this flavor? 🤔 It's a broth blending chicken stock and anchovy stock, and to my palate the first thing I noticed was a slightly salty taste.

But once I had it with the noodles, the seasoning felt just right.

At first I ate it with a slightly puzzled feeling, but oddly enough, the more I ate, the more I kept thinking about the flavor. It's the kind of ramen that gets more delicious the more you eat it, if that makes sense. 😋

Add kelp vinegar and the broth changes

One of the staff told us that if you add kelp vinegar partway through the ramen, you can enjoy a whole different flavor.

Adding the vinegar, I could just faintly taste it, and it made the dish even better. I ended up adding quite a lot, haha.

The kind of flavor you'll think of right before falling asleep.

Tender chicken with a hint of char

The chicken in the ramen was really delicious too. It was soft with a subtle smoky char flavor. 🔥 That seemed to bring out even more umami. Eating the rich broth and soft chicken together with the noodles was a great combination. Personally, this chicken is what stuck with me most.

Tsukemen M 200g: the texture of house-made noodles

And finally, the long-awaited tsukemen arrived! Unlike regular ramen where the noodles sit in broth, tsukemen is served with the noodles separate from the dipping soup.

Looking at the noodles, they had a clear springy look right away. Being handmade noodles, they had a nice elasticity to them. The dipping sauce came separately too, with a rich color and aroma unlike anything else.

I picked up a bite of just the noodles first. Chewy, with no raw flour smell, just clean flavor! 😋 The noodles' own texture was so good they were fine to eat plain.

Dipping the noodles in salt instead of sauce

I also tried dipping the noodles lightly in the salt that was set out. Honestly, I found dipping them in salt quite delicious too. 🧂 It brought out the noodles' own nutty flavor and chewy texture even more. Of course dipping lightly in the sauce that came with it was tasty as well. It was fun being able to try one type of noodle in several different ways.

Bamboo shoots in the tsukemen dipping broth

The tsukemen had bamboo shoots and chicken in it. The bamboo shoots added another crunchy texture, which made eating it more fun along the way. Chewy noodles, a rich sauce, and crunchy bamboo shoots together made for a lot of textural variety. 🥢

Just like adding vinegar to ramen midway, I tried adding vinegar to the tsukemen sauce too.

Is Torikokoro comfortable for solo diners?

Even while we were eating, customers kept coming in. There seemed to be regulars who come all the time, as well as first-timers like me. Especially since it wasn't lunch hour and customers kept streaming in, I thought, "guess I was the only one who didn't know about this place," haha 🤣

For anyone looking for a ramen place near Gongneung Station, I think this is worth a visit. Thanks to the bar-style seating, it felt totally fine to come alone and have a bowl of ramen. Recommended for anyone looking for solo dining near Taereung Ipgu Station too.

A good lunch at Torikokoro, one more time

Today I had lunch at Torikokoro, a place I discovered in an alley near Gongneung Station, with the Niboshi Soyu Ramen and tsukemen.

The Niboshi Soyu Ramen, which had me a bit puzzled at first with its rich broth, kept coming to mind as I ate; and the tsukemen was fun for dipping the chewy handmade noodles separately in salt and sauce.

Above all, it was fun being able to watch the noodles being made and the food prepared in the open kitchen of this small shop tucked in a residential alley. 😊 Today's lunch was a great one. If you're looking for a ramen restaurant near Gongneung Station, or a comfortable place to eat ramen solo, Torikokoro is worth remembering. 🍜