Hapjeong noodle restaurant for summer bibim kalguksu: Pyeongidambaek

I feel like I'd seen Pyeongidambaek Ppyeo Kalguksu branches around here and there, but I only recently found out the main branch was near Hapjeong/Mangwon, so I went straight there.

Where is Pyeongidambaek in Hapjeong, and what are its hours?

Pyeongidambaek Ppyeo Kalguksu is in Mapo-gu, Seoul, about 6 minutes on foot from Hapjeong Station Exit 2 and about 7 minutes from Mangwon Station Exit 1.

⏰ Hours: 11:00–22:00 / break time 15:00–17:00 / last order 14:30, 21:30

I went around 6:30pm on a weekday and got straight in with no wait.

They also give a 10% discount to firefighters, soldiers, and police officers. Seoul Pay is accepted here too.

The interior has that unmistakable good-restaurant vibe. Since it's a budget-friendly spot, there were a lot of young solo diners eating alone.

Pyeongidambaek menu and the 58,500 won order for two

There's ppyeo kalguksu (bone knife-cut noodle soup), bibim kalguksu, Namhae anchovy kalguksu, perilla oil kalguksu and other noodle dishes, rice dishes like bone soup rice and spicy bone soup rice, plus mains like bossam, sliced cold meat platter, squid chive pancake, acorn jelly, spicy stir-fried octopus, perilla-oil grilled tofu, and meat-chive dumplings.

To mark a new menu launch, there was a half-price event on clam kalguksu, but sadly it was sold out by the time we got there. 😭

Every ingredient had its country of origin clearly labeled, which somehow made me trust the place even more.

Since ordering a medium bossam gets you anchovy kalguksu for just ₩5,000, we added that, and the menu made bibim kalguksu look so tempting we ordered that too. Total: ₩58,500!

Diced radish kimchi and kimchi come as basic side dishes. Since this place is all about kalguksu and bossam, the kimchi tastes freshly made, like just-tossed geotjeori — genuinely amazing. 👍

Medium bossam, 42,000 won: tender pork with no gamy smell

Bossam (medium, ₩42,000) — the medium bossam arrived soon after.

The boiled pork had a nice fat-to-lean ratio, served with cabbage, radish salad, raw garlic, chili, and ssamjang (dipping sauce).

The meat was tender with zero gamy smell. Wrapping it in fresh cabbage with the slightly sweet radish salad and salted shrimp was so good.

Anchovy kalguksu for 5,000 won with a bossam order

Anchovy kalguksu (₩5,000) — ordering bossam drops this ₩10,500 dish down to ₩5,000.

The noodles had a bouncy, chewy bite, and the clean, refreshing anchovy-based broth was especially wonderful.

Bibim kalguksu, 11,500 won: noodles between jjolmyeon and kalguksu

Bibim kalguksu (₩11,500) — we were already fairly full but greedily ordered this too. 🐷 The portion was surprisingly huge.

Ordering bibim kalguksu gets you a free cup of bone kalguksu broth on the side. The clean broth, fragrant with pepper, made a strong impression.

Wow, this was genuinely so good. ✨ The noodles felt like a cross between kalguksu and jjolmyeon (chewy noodles) — slightly firm yet chewy — topped generously with lettuce, minced meat, cucumber, and egg ribbons, all pulled together by a sweet-tangy, nutty, umami-rich sauce that worked perfectly with the noodles and toppings.

If you like bibim naengmyeon or jjolmyeon-style noodles, you'll love this without question!!! It's especially fitting in summer.

Next visit to Pyeongidambaek: the pork bone kalguksu

This place has solid fundamentals — a genuinely good bossam and kalguksu spot. The boiled pork was tender with no gamy smell, the anchovy kalguksu was clean yet deep in flavor, and the bibim kalguksu was sweet, tangy, nutty, and packed with umami — it couldn't not be delicious.

Ppyeo kalguksu is this place's signature dish, and most other tables were eating it, but somehow I missed it this time — next visit, I have to try the ppyeo kalguksu. 🐷