Bucheon kalguksu restaurant with steamed shrimp: Jakdong Hongdukkkae

On days when I crave kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), I somehow think of a bowl of hot broth before any other menu item. When the weather turns a little chilly, I really start craving kalguksu—slurping chewy noodles in warm broth. This time, while visiting the Jakdong area of Bucheon, I stopped by a place that is widely known for great kalguksu.

A large parking lot and spacious interior

Even before going inside, the scale of the place stood out. If you picture a small neighborhood restaurant just because it specializes in kalguksu, it may feel much bigger than expected—and the parking lot was truly huge, too.

Recent visitor reviews also say there can be a wait during busy periods, such as lunchtime or weekends.

The interior was genuinely larger than I expected. There were so many tables that I thought running out of seats would not be a problem.

Clam kalguksu and steamed shrimp for a solo meal

Here is the menu at Jakdong Hongdukkkae Kalguksu Bucheon Main Branch. I ordered two things: clam kalguksu for one at ₩11,000 and steamed shrimp (10) at ₩11,000. I came for a solo meal today :)

The weather was especially lovely that day. I could see the sky right outside the window, and the view was wonderful!

Here came the kalguksu and steamed shrimp I ordered. They looked so delicious, and the smell was incredible. Only people who have tried it know what I mean, haha. It looked ridiculously good even before eating, and it was every bit as tasty when I did~

Once the kalguksu had cooked in the seafood broth, I opened the lid—and the presentation was perfect. I started eating right away. I waited without touching the barley rice so I could take photos. Normally, I would have finished it before the kalguksu or shrimp even arrived... hahaha.

Maybe because it is such a popular Jakdong spot, people kept coming in. The smell of kalguksu drifted through the air, and perhaps because I was hungry, it made me even hungrier.

When I took the photo horizontally, the whole table was filled. Since I ordered so much just for myself, people beside me gave me a glance now and then, hahaha. After taking several food photos, I also filmed everything in detail.

Barley rice and fresh kimchi before the kalguksu

While waiting for the kalguksu to boil, the first thing to eat is the barley rice. It was not really a substantial meal on its own, but more of a light appetite opener before properly digging into the kalguksu.

You mix it with yeolmu (young radish greens), so it was nice and light to eat while waiting for the kalguksu. It tasted excellent, too~

Of course, kimchi is essential at a great Jakdong kalguksu place. It had the feel of geotjeori (freshly made kimchi), and it was exactly to my taste.

Ten steamed shrimp between bites of kalguksu

I felt that kalguksu alone would be a little incomplete, so I ordered the steamed shrimp as well. Personally, the shrimp was the menu item that unexpectedly paired so well with this meal.

While kalguksu centers on hot broth and noodles, the steamed shrimp changed the rhythm of the meal when I picked one up between bites. Ten shrimp arrived neatly arranged on one plate, so the presentation was clean, too.

Peeling the shrimp is a little bit of work, but eating one at a time between bites of kalguksu actually made the meal at Jakdong Hongdukkkae Kalguksu more fun. They were plump with a great texture, and they went well with gochujang (Korean red chili paste)!

Chewy noodles cooked at the table with seafood broth

The kalguksu noodles come separately. Just put them into the vigorously boiling broth and let them cook until all the sand runs through the hourglass—that is it!

The broth with clams brought together noodles and seafood, and it leaned refreshingly clean overall. Since you cook the noodles yourself here, they retained a bouncy yet chewy texture. At first, I could feel the noodles' springiness, and as time passed and the broth gradually soaked in, they offered another kind of enjoyment. There is a reason Jakdong Hongdukkkae Kalguksu is such a popular spot!

What I looked forward to most in the clam kalguksu was the broth. With clam kalguksu, you expect a refreshing flavor and the distinctive savory depth of seafood. The refreshing taste from the seafood felt like the centerpiece.

There were plenty of clams and shrimp in the broth, which gave it a deep, excellent flavor.

The broth is made with seafood such as shrimp, mideodeok (sea squirts), and clams, which helped me understand the seafood flavor I could taste in it. Once I finished the noodles, the seafood underneath appeared. I picked all the meat out of the clams, haha.

If you enjoy chewy fresh noodles and refreshing seafood broth in kalguksu, you will likely be very satisfied. Being able to cook it yourself, plus the barley rice and steamed shrimp that pair so well with kalguksu, was the best part!