Jecheon buckwheat noodle house, ₩45,000 lunch for two: Samhan Makguksu

We stopped in Jecheon for lunch on the way to Yeongwol in Gangwon-do, and I found a makguksu place that was sooo good I had to share it. It's Samhan Makguksu Jecheon Main Branch (삼한막국수 제천본점), my recommendation for lunch in Jecheon!

Samhan Makguksu Jecheon Main Branch: location, hours and parking

Samhan Makguksu Jecheon Main Branch is at 33 Goam-ro, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (1st floor), open daily 11:00–20:30 (break time 15:00–17:00). Parking, reservations and group visits are all possible.

It's a makguksu place people travel a long way to visit, about 10 minutes by car from Jecheon Station.

With this early-summer weather I was craving cold makguksu for lunch, and that's how I found this place. Great job finding such a gem, me, I'm so proud~

There's a big private parking lot right in front of the restaurant, so parking was super easy. When you're traveling, easy parking really matters, right?

What is the inside of Samhan Makguksu like?

Inside is much bigger and more comfortable than it looks from outside. It was a fairly late lunch, but customers kept coming in. (I took these photos during a brief empty moment.)

At the back there's a large room that looks like it could be booked for groups.

Samhan Makguksu menu and what a lunch for two cost

Samhan Makguksu says it's the first in Jecheon to make noodles in-house from 100% pure buckwheat, and it's a Good Price Business (착한가격업소) designated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The main menu is a range of makguksu plus jokbal (braised pig's trotters) and bossam (boiled pork wraps), and prices were really reasonable.

Here's what the two of us ordered!

• Buckwheat sprout suyuk (boiled pork) ₩25,000
• Pure buckwheat Sokcho pollock bibim makguksu ₩10,000
• Pure buckwheat perilla oil makguksu ₩10,000
• Total ₩45,000

The jokbal smelled so good and I wanted it, but it was lunch, so we went "light"? haha.

If you write a receipt review you also get a chance at a random prize draw, which is fun to join just for the heck of it. The owner was incredibly kind and the staff service was great too.

How do the pollock bibim makguksu and perilla oil makguksu taste?

The pollock bibim makguksu was sweet, tangy and refreshing, and the perilla oil makguksu was mild and nutty. There are so many kinds of makguksu that I agonized before ordering the pollock bibim, and wow, it was really good.💛 Honestly, even with cold noodles I'm a broth-based (mul naengmyeon) person over the spicy mixed kind, but it said popular menu so I ordered it. I instantly understood why it's popular, haha.

Was sweet, tangy, refreshing bibim makguksu always this delicious? The pollock was great too, and the combination worked.

My friend's perilla oil makguksu tasted exactly like you'd imagine, in a good way! Mild and nutty. I think it's perfect to order a spicy-sweet bibim makguksu with a gentle perilla oil makguksu and share.

They say Samhan Makguksu uses gluten-free buckwheat noodles with no wheat flour at all. Easy to digest and good for you! Even after eating a lot, my stomach definitely felt comfortable.

Why is Samhan Makguksu's buckwheat sprout suyuk the highlight?

The ₩25,000 buckwheat sprout suyuk, with tender meat that melts in your mouth, was the highlight of everything we ate at Samhan Makguksu that day. Today's highlight: buckwheat sprout suyuk!! It doesn't look like ordinary suyuk, but one bite and I was totally moved..💛

The meat is so tender it melted in my mouth. It's great with the seasoned buckwheat sprouts,

great with white kimchi, chili peppers and garlic,

and above all, eaten with the bibim makguksu, well, need I say more? So good I fainted..🔫 It looks soft, and the actual texture melted even more. (I'm so curious how they boil it...) Samhan Makguksu is a makguksu spot I'd recommend on any Jecheon outing, a real gem I want to go back to.

Samhan Makguksu review event and free dumpling perks

Samhan Makguksu Jecheon Main Branch runs a random prize draw for receipt reviews, and I got a tangerine jjondeugi (chewy candy snack). Even the snack was delicious~ I enjoyed it on the road during our trip.

Samhan Makguksu Jecheon Main Branch gives 2 free service dumplings to pregnant women, soldiers, police officers and firefighters. Such a kind restaurant, love it.💛 If I visit Jecheon again, this is a place I definitely want to come back to.