Pocheon restaurant with no break time: 3:30pm makguksu at Myeongimong

Today's spot is Myeongimong, a Pocheon restaurant we stopped at on our way out from Pocheon glamping with a friend. This is a place where you can eat handmade tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) together with house-made buckwheat makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles)!! I was looking for things to do in Pocheon, visited the 1999 Art Garden, and found this place right nearby.

Where Myeongimong is, parking, and eating at 3:30pm

Myeongimong sits quietly on Sinpyeong-ro in Sinbuk-myeon, Pocheon, and it's also well known as a restaurant near Pocheon Art Valley. We showed up at an in-between time, not quite a normal meal hour, and it was so nice that there was no break time.

There's parking all the way up to a third lot, so you don't have to worry about parking even if you drive.

We visited around 3:30pm, which is usually exactly the hour a restaurant would be closed for break time, but we could eat right away here haha. Since it wasn't peak meal time, the hall was pretty quiet.

There were terrace seats too. The weather's gotten cooler lately, so it's great weather to eat outside.

How the self-serve side dish bar works at Myeongimong

At Myeongimong's self-serve bar, they set the side dishes for you first, and you only go grab more of whatever you need. Things like the soy sauce for dipping the buckwheat pancake are at the self-serve bar too!!

Since it's a buckwheat makguksu place, there was a sign posted about the health benefits of buckwheat — good for you as always, buckwheat.. that makes it taste even better haha. Myeongimong's tteokgalbi is apparently the signature menu, made with 100% domestic pork and a special sauce. How could we not try it out of curiosity!!

Ordering the set menu and the buckwheat pancake that comes with it

At Myeongimong we ordered one each of the water makguksu, spicy-mixed makguksu, and tteokgalbi. There's a set menu, so we ordered that. Once we ordered, the basic table setting came out with a buckwheat pancake too!!! It was so chewy and delicious.

Myeongimong's handmade tteokgalbi: thick and juicy

We ordered just one tteokgalbi to eat alongside the makguksu. We were craving cool noodles but also couldn't skip the signature tteokgalbi lol so we split one. The size was bigger and thicker than expected, which made me even more excited.

It comes out fully coated in the special sauce, and I liked that the sauce wasn't too sweet or too intense. The tteokgalbi was thick with juices bursting out,,, it went well eaten plain, with rice, or with the makguksu.

Buckwheat pancake rolls, the side dish worth adding

We also ordered the buckwheat pancake rolls. We were so hungry at this point that we just ordered them on impulse, but the crispy chewy ends were the main event.. and inside it felt like a kimchi dumpling!!! A side dish I'd actively recommend.

Spicy-mixed or water makguksu: which to order at Myeongimong

My friend and I have different tastes, so we got to try both Myeongimong's spicy-mixed makguksu and water makguksu!! First, the spicy-mixed makguksu — house-made buckwheat noodles topped with seasoning, vegetables, and sliced boiled meat.

The seasoning was sweet and tangy with just enough spiciness to not feel greasy (spice-wimps can definitely handle it), and best of all the noodles had a firm, chewy texture that made it really delicious.

It's good with the sliced meat on top, and good with the tteokgalbi too. It gave off a bit of an old-school yukssam naengmyeon vibe, bringing back memories.. The water and mixed versions have completely different charms, so if you can, I'd recommend trying both haha.

Why the water makguksu broth stood out

The water makguksu is so refreshing. The broth is amazing. It's not too intense, and it's not only tangy either — the seasoning is just right, tangy and refreshing at the same time, and honestly it was the best out of all the naengmyeon I've had recently.

Even the water makguksu has a bit of seasoning sauce on top so it's not too plain, and adding a little vinegar and mustard made it exactly my style, ugh. I ordered the mixed one this time, but the broth on the water makguksu was so good I think I'll have to think hard next time,, if the spicy-mixed makguksu came with the water makguksu's broth, I'd choose the mixed one without hesitation.

Is Myeongimong in Pocheon worth a visit?

The place was so clean, the owner was kind, and it looked like they really put their heart into the food, which was nice to see. This might be the first place I've seen that makes its own buckwheat noodles in-house, and the buckwheat was more delicious than expected and supposedly good for you too, so it felt like eating something a bit healthier somehow lol.

The combination of the signature tteokgalbi and makguksu is so harmonious that I really hope you try both... And if you usually like spicy bibim-naengmyeon, go for the spicy-mixed makguksu; if you like the taste of a cool water-naengmyeon broth, go for the water makguksu!! The broth here is amazing... a big thumbs up. Come here if you're looking for good food in Pocheon or near Pocheon Art Valley~~