Hongdae Korean restaurant for peppery clear gomtang: Anok

I’m actually on the “I don’t like Pyongyang naengmyeon” side, but after trying a more approachable version last time, I enjoyed it more than expected. So I decided I had to have it before summer was over •• Then I heard that newly opened Anok was a great spot for Pyongyang noodles, so I went straight away ʚɞ

A tranquil hanok restaurant in the heart of Hongdae

Anok is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00–22:00, and is regularly closed every Monday. Groups, delivery, takeout, and Wi-Fi are available; corkage is ₩30,000 per bottle, haha. Private group bookings can accommodate up to 12 people!

Is this really Hongdae..? A tranquil hanok restaurant with that Seochon-like atmosphere right in the middle of Hongdae(?)!!!

As soon as you open the hanok gate and walk in, there’s a generously sized waiting area too, haha.

That door is the entrance!

The interior wasn’t quite as large as I expected, but there were plenty of two-person tables.

A Korean meal ordered from the kiosk

There’s a kiosk at every table, so you can order there. Just looking at the menu, it feels like neat, polished Korean food, right? There were lots of dishes to pair with drinks too, not just meal options—hot pots and steamed dishes. It has that refined Korean set-meal kind of vibe •• I bet beef bulgogi hot pot or the cheese potato julienne pancake would be sooo good as drinking snacks,,,,,

We ordered the clear gomtang (₩13,000), Pyongyang naengmyeon (₩14,000), and braised pork tail (₩29,000)!

The banchan (Korean side dishes) were kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), kimchi, and gungchae muchim (seasoned stem lettuce)!!!! I only learned about this one recently. It was pickle-like and went so well with both the gomtang and Pyongyang noodles that we cleaned it all up!

Ta-da, our generous full spread. The whole table was packed, hahaha.

You can tell at a glance that there’s loads of meat, right?,

Clear gomtang with extra pepper

First out was the clear gomtang (₩13,000). It came sprinkled with whole peppercorns and scallions, and strangely(?) even though steam was billowing off it, it didn’t feel incredibly hot? Just so you know, the rice comes mixed right into the soup!!!! That’s the current gomtang(?) style these days, you know.

Doesn’t the broth look unbelievably clear just from looking at it? •• They’ve removed almost all the fat, so it tasted as clear and light as it looked!!!! I added a little more pepper, and it was completely my taste. Today’s PICK🐰🤎 And especially, the boiled beef on top was so tender and ridiculously delicious!!!!!!!

My first Pyongyang noodles, piled high with meat

My first Pyongyang naengmyeon (₩14,000) that I sought out myself(?). Even at first glance, they pile on so much chilled sliced meat that there’s no need to order it separately •• There was so much meat on the noodles that some was still left until the very last bite, hahaha.

When you gently move the meat aside, the noodles appear.. Oh, with the first bite I remembered, ah right, this is that mild flavor, haha. But as I kept eating, I could taste a mildness that felt based on gomtang broth, and it had quite a charm too. Most of all, it was such a good pairing with the gungchae!

Chewy, sweet-spicy braised pork tail

And lastly, the visually overwhelming braised pork tail (₩29,000). I don’t normally get chances to eat pork tail, so I was so curious when I saw it on the menu, haha. As someone who loves pork skin and jokbal (braised pig’s trotters), it looked delicious to anyone(?)

One bite in, and the texture was seriously chewy,,, The skin? part was soft and springy, while the meat inside was completely tender, so they were great together 👍🏻 I worried it might be spicy because of the color, but it had just the right sweet-spicy tteokbokki-sauce style, which I loved. If you’re craving Pyongyang naengmyeon in Hongdae but want gomtang too, definitely visit. That clean flavor keeps quietly coming back to me, haha.