Korean restaurant for octopus mandu with lake view: Naengmyeon Gajun

It's getting cooler these days, but the midday sun is still so hot! I went out for a weekend walk with my boyfriend at Dongtan Lake Park, and after that I was craving cold mul naengmyeon, so we headed to Naengmyeon Gajun Dongtan Main Branch, a spot well known as a Dongtan Lake Park go-to restaurant :)

Naengmyeon Gajun Dongtan Main Branch store info

• Name: Naengmyeon Gajun Dongtan Main Branch
• Address: 32 Dongtandae-ro 5-gil, 208, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: 10:00 ~ 21:00 (closed Mondays), break time 15:00 ~ 17:00
• Recommended menu: Kudzu naengmyeon (cold), bibim kudzu naengmyeon, octopus mandu

What's on the menu?

The menu had a good variety — kudzu naengmyeon, bibim kudzu naengmyeon, abalone braised short ribs, yukgaejang (spicy beef soup), octopus mandu, and more :)

A restaurant with a wide-open Dongtan Lake Park view

The first thing I noticed walking in was the huge lake park view spreading out beyond the windows? We sat at a window seat and could see the green scenery and the lake right there, which kept me in a great mood the whole meal. It's one of the prettiest views among the Dongtan Lake Park restaurants, so it's perfect for a date course 🩷

On one wall inside, there were tons of autographs and photos from various celebrities. It was fun looking at the witty notes like 'this naengmyeon is insane,' and knowing it was already a verified famous spot really built up my expectations before we even ate!!

Clean and spicy in harmony: mul naengmyeon & bibim naengmyeon

We ordered one mul naengmyeon and one bibim naengmyeon to share, plus octopus mandu as a side :)

Kudzu naengmyeon (cold)

As soon as I took a sip of the broth with its floating ice slush, my whole mouth was flooded with coolness? The distinctively chewy kudzu noodles combined with the clean yet deep broth flavor, and it felt like the heat just melted away :)

Bibim kudzu naengmyeon

The sauce was savory, spicy-sweet, and clung nicely to the noodles. Paired with the cucumber and egg on top, the spiciness and nuttiness balanced out so well I kept eating without getting tired of it 😆 It came served neatly in a yugi (brass) bowl, which made it feel like a fancier meal and look even more appetizing.

Chewy octopus mandu that had me in awe

And the dish that impressed me most on this visit was this octopus mandu (dumplings)! This was my first time trying octopus mandu, and it was so much better than expected that I was genuinely surprised :) Honestly, since it was totally new to me, I went in half excited, half curious, but one bite in and I was completely won over?

Inside the translucent, chewy dumpling skin was packed with chewy octopus and other fillings, making the texture really fun and nutty. Eating it alongside the cool, spicy naengmyeon was a top-tier pairing 👍

Overall thoughts on Naengmyeon Gajun

Enjoying delicious kudzu naengmyeon and chewy octopus mandu while looking out at that wide-open lake park view made for a really satisfying Dongtan Lake Park lunch date? It's the perfect route for a weekend — take a light stroll around Dongtan Lake Park and then stop by for a meal. Free parking was available too, so we ate comfortably!

Highly recommend it if you want to cool off and lift your mood with a gorgeous lake view! Make sure to stop by for the cool naengmyeon and the unique octopus mandu.