Window-seat chicken hot pot in Suseong, Daegu: Golmok Naengmyeon 1966

Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 (골목냉면 1966) is a place in Deuran-gil, Suseong-gu, Daegu, where you can eat dak hanmari (a whole chicken simmered in a pot at the table). When the weather turns chilly and you crave something warm and brothy, this is the hearty dish to get. I went to Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 as a Daegu chicken hot pot spot. They have a dak hanmari specialty menu: domestic chicken boiled richly with plenty of fresh vegetables. The portions are generous, and you get different flavors depending on the order you eat in, so it was a satisfying meal.

A naengmyeon shop that also does chicken hot pot?

Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 carries naengmyeon (cold noodles) in its name, but it turned out to do dak hanmari properly too. The name alone gives off a sense of long tradition. Because of the name I first wondered if it was just a cold noodle specialist, but you can really enjoy chicken hot pot here as well.

Atmosphere and the self-serve bar

The restaurant is decorated with wood-tone tables and chairs, and there are tables by the window too. Walking in, I found wood-toned tables and chairs. Overall the mood was warm and comfortable, and some tables were set along the windows.

The big windows give you a view outside, so it never felt stuffy.

One side has a self-serve bar as well. It had chopped Cheongyang chili peppers, chili sauce and other extras you can add to your own taste.

The restaurant also posts detailed instructions on how to enjoy dak hanmari, so even first-time visitors should have no trouble.

What's in the whole-chicken set?

The dak hanmari menu at Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 is chosen by the number of people. What we ordered was ✔️ the dak hanmari whole-chicken set, which lets you enjoy kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) after finishing the chicken. I also liked that you can add ingredients to suit your taste.

As soon as the pot arrived, the generous look caught my eye. A big pot was packed with chicken, napa cabbage, mushrooms, scallions and other vegetables. With vegetables tucked in all around the chicken, it looked hearty just to look at.

The taste of the broth, boiled at the table

The dak hanmari at Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 is boiled at your own table. The broth starts out clear, but the longer it boils, the more the flavor of the chicken and vegetables comes out and the deeper it gets.

Watching it bubble away made me want to dig in right away. Boiling the chicken and vegetables together gave the broth a savory, clean taste. It's a dish where you enjoy the ingredients' own flavor without any harsh seasoning.

House soy sauce and house dadaegi: how to dip

At Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 you dip the vegetables in the house soy sauce and the chicken in the house dadaegi (seasoned chili paste). You can't skip the special sauces if you want to enjoy dak hanmari at its best. Put the house soy sauce and house dadaegi in the small dish provided, then add vinegar, hot chili powder and mustard to taste.

• Put the house soy sauce and house dadaegi in the small dish
• Add vinegar, hot chili powder and mustard to taste
• Dip the vegetables in the soy sauce
• Dip the chicken in the dadaegi sauce

Dipping the mildly cooked chicken in the spicy, tangy sauce gave it a whole other flavor. The chicken was tender and juicy, and the drumstick in particular had thick meat, which made eating it fun.

The napa cabbage and mushrooms in the pot soaked up the broth and tasted even better. Alternating between meat and vegetables kept it from feeling greasy, so I enjoyed it to the very end.

How about the finishing kalguksu?

Another charm of the dak hanmari at Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 is the kalguksu at the end. After we'd had our fill of chicken and vegetables, we added kalguksu noodles to the remaining broth and boiled them.

Since the broth had absorbed the flavor of the chicken and vegetables, it tasted much richer than at the start. The chewy noodles with the warm broth made a really fitting way to end the meal.

Fishing out the noodles is tasty, but eating them together with the broth was even better.

Who is the dak hanmari at Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 for?

This visit to Golmok Naengmyeon 1966 gave me a generous chicken hot pot and a rich broth. Domestic chicken and a variety of vegetables came together for a clean yet deep broth, and dipping in the special sauces was fun. Above all, I was happy that the whole-chicken set let us enjoy everything from chicken to kalguksu and dumplings.

It's a good place if you like clear, mild broth dishes or want something warm on a chilly day. If you're looking for a family meal or a filling dinner in Daegu, I'd recommend the dak hanmari at Golmok Naengmyeon 1966.