Buckwheat restaurant near Phoenix Park for a pancake lunch: Migayeon

This autumn, with the weather so nice, my family went on a trip to Gangwon-do after a long while. We spent our time in Pyeongchang, and if I had to pick the best restaurant from this trip, the first place that comes to mind is Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon (봉평메밀미가연).

We found this place while looking for nearby restaurants during our two-night stay at Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang, and a friend recommended it too. Pyeongchang is famous for buckwheat, so I went in with high expectations — and after actually eating there, I could see why it's so well known as a Pyeongchang restaurant.

From Phoenix Park to Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon: is parking easy?

Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon isn't far from Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang, so it wasn't a hassle to head out from our accommodation for a meal. Parking was easy since there's space right beside the restaurant, and since we visited on a weekday, we got to eat in a relatively relaxed atmosphere.

As soon as we walked in, photos of a master chef (hansik myeongjang, a certified Korean cuisine master) and TV appearances were hanging on the wall. I'd heard it was a favorite among Pyeongchang locals, and just walking in got me excited haha.

Main hall and private room: big enough for a group meal

The restaurant is quite large. There's the main hall, but it looked like there was also a room in the back for family gatherings and other group meals. There were just three of us so we ate in the hall haha, but if you're with a group, it seems like it'd be nice to eat comfortably in the room.

Why we skipped the noodles for buckwheat sprout pork and pancakes

Being in the Bongpyeong area, there were tons of buckwheat-related restaurants around. Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon is only open from 10am to 5pm, so evening visits aren't possible. Since we'd already had buckwheat noodles (memil-guksu) elsewhere earlier in the trip, on our last day we ordered buckwheat sprout pork belly and buckwheat pancakes instead of noodles for lunch at Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon.

I usually like boiled pork belly (suyuk) and order it often, so the idea of eating it with buckwheat sprouts was a little intriguing. Pairing the mild pork with the buckwheat sprouts added a crunchy texture that worked better than I expected. It felt different from the usual suyuk I've had, which made it memorable.

How to eat it: buckwheat sprouts, salted shrimp and pickles

Besides the buckwheat sprouts, the side dishes that came with it were great for wrapping too. Wrapping the pork with buckwheat sprouts, salted shrimp (saeujeot), and pickles (jangajji) together was seriously delicious. The side dishes were so good we asked for a refill.

The pork was tender enough for my kid to eat easily too — this seems like a dish people of all ages would enjoy.

What worked well at Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon with a child

Since we visited with our kid, I appreciated the restaurant's small touches of care. They gave us seaweed soup (miyeokguk) and kimchi, and prepared separate tableware for our child. Whether there's a menu a child can actually eat matters more than you'd think when traveling, and since my kid ate the pork happily too, we were able to eat comfortably.

Two buckwheat pancakes, brought to the table by a serving robot

The dish I was most looking forward to that day was the buckwheat pancake (memil-jeonbyeong). I love this dish, and I'd actually tried to order it elsewhere during the Pyeongchang trip but it had sold out — I was disappointed to miss it. So this time I ordered two right away. Here's the robot serving the buckwheat pancakes :)

I thought about packing one to go in case ordering two turned out to be too much, but once we started eating, that worry turned out to be unnecessary.

Eating it while still warm, the pancake's signature chewy texture was great and paired well with the filling inside. I'd been expecting a lot since it's already a favorite of mine, but it still delivered. In the end we finished both, without leaving a bite. Out of everything we ate on this Pyeongchang trip, the buckwheat pancake was especially memorable.

Is Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon worth a lunch stop?

We weren't that hungry, so I thought about packing up leftovers if there were any haha, but the bowls ended up completely empty... It was great to see that you can enjoy buckwheat not just through familiar dishes like buckwheat noodles, but also through buckwheat sprout pork or buckwheat pancakes. Especially with a kid along, it seemed like a good setup for a family meal — the adults can eat buckwheat dishes while the kid eats pork, seaweed soup, and kimchi.

If you're looking for a good restaurant near Phoenix Park while traveling in Pyeongchang, Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon is close by and easy to park at, so it's worth stopping by. We visited on a friend's recommendation, and the food was satisfying and easy to eat with a kid — it's ended up as one of the most memorable restaurants of this trip.