Suwon Korean restaurant for chewy noodles and half-and-half dumplings: Daseon

While doing training at the center, I went for some seriously tasty kalguksu with Yeoni, who was training with me! Maybe because the weather has been getting cooler lately, I had such a craving for kalguksu. We searched nearby and ended up at Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch (다선칼국수 본점), a place that looked delicious from the sign alone.

Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch exterior and lunch seating

When we arrived, I took a few photos of the restaurant first.

What do you think? You can smell the longtime-local-favorite vibes from the sign alone, right? We went in at lunchtime, and luckily there was one table left, so we got to eat without waiting :)

Quite a few people had come for kalguksu, and once we settled in, we looked at the menu right away. When you are wondering what to have for lunch in Suwon and get a craving for kalguksu, a menu like this is easy and comforting, you know? I had only planned to have kalguksu that day, but the menu made me want to try this and that. Yeoni is especially a light eater, but she had a full-on food feast with me, haha.

Ordering kalguksu and half-and-half dumplings

We ordered kalguksu, bibim kalguksu, half-and-half dumplings, and a plate of suyuk (sliced boiled pork). It was just the two of us, so I was slightly worried we had ordered more than expected, but as the dishes came out one by one, it seemed totally doable. Kalguksu alone would have felt a little incomplete, so we decided to try other things too. I was especially curious about the dumplings. You can order half kimchi dumplings and half meat dumplings, so we added those. If you come as a group, a full set meal might be nice too. You have to look after the value, right?

Each table had bowls, cups, pepper, and so on.

They have aprons too. It would be so sad to splash your precious clothes, so grab one beforehand!

Starting the meal with kimchi and barley rice

Kimchi came out as a side dish, and what can I even say about a place with great kimchi? You know a restaurant is already a winner when the kimchi is good, right? This place was already a K.O., hehe.

They also gave us barley rice with fresh vegetable salad for bibimbap.

Yeoni, are you really having a full-on food feast and saying it is delicious before the mains have even come out??? Stop eating already.

Chewy sliced boiled pork

The suyuk came on one plate, and it was good too. I liked the pleasantly chewy texture of the meat, and eating it with the kalguksu or dumplings gave it a different feel. A bite of noodles, then a piece of pork, then a dumpling, then back to the noodles—I was glad we had ordered several dishes and could alternate like that. I kept reaching for the pork more than I expected, picking up piece after piece.

The memorable giant half-and-half dumplings

The half-and-half dumplings were the most memorable dish that day. We ordered half kimchi dumplings and half meat dumplings, and they were honestly much bigger than I expected. From the moment I picked one up, it was so large that it was hard to eat in one bite. I tried the meat dumpling first, and it was packed with filling, so even one was quite substantial.

I tried the kimchi dumpling too, and its flavor was different from the meat dumpling, making them nice to alternate. Maybe because I already love dumplings, but the dumplings stayed with me more than the kalguksu that day, haha. Honestly, it could almost pass as a dumpling restaurant. I went there for kalguksu and left more satisfied by the dumplings.

I thought they would be a side dish with a few small dumplings, but I was a little surprised by how big and tasty they were. People who love kimchi dumplings can have those, and meat-dumpling fans can have theirs—it would be nice to split them that way. I liked that this half-and-half option let me try both.

Chewy kalguksu noodles and bibim kalguksu

Warm broth kalguksu

The kalguksu noodles had a nice chewy texture. When I eat kalguksu, I prefer noodles with a springy bite rather than ones that have gone too soft, and these were exactly like that. They went down smoothly when lifted with chopsticks, yet stayed chewy when you bit into them, so I kept reaching for more. With the warm broth, they made a satisfying lunch. It was the kind of flavor that would come to mind when I simply wanted a solid bowl of kalguksu.

Bibim kalguksu mixed by hand with gloves

One thing that was a little fun at first was that they gave us disposable gloves. You put them on and mix the noodles yourself by hand. So I mixed everything well to coat each noodle evenly in the seasoning. Since I mixed it myself, the sauce clung nicely to every strand and it was easy to eat. It was also nice to have a different flavor from the soup kalguksu. They use the same kalguksu noodles, but alternating between the brothy version and bibim kalguksu was fun. I loved the chewy noodle texture, so I enjoyed the bibim kalguksu too. Oh, but it is a little spicy! (That is coming from someone with a low spice tolerance.)

If you are looking for a lunch menu in Suwon, this was a nice place to go for kalguksu. Kalguksu fans could try both the regular and bibim versions, and personally, please make sure to order the dumplings too. They were my favorite thing I ate that day. It would also be good for lunch with a friend in Suwon or for an easygoing meal, and worth stopping by if you are looking for somewhere to eat on a Suwon food date or while on a Suwon Station date.