Seongbok-dong noodle restaurant for a family group table: Chilseong

Why Chilseong Jemyeonso Suji works for a family meal near Seongbok Station

Now that Cheoseo has passed, mornings and evenings feel cooler, but the midday sun still hits hard. At the end of summer, my family got together for a meal at Chilseong Jemyeonso, a well-known restaurant near Seongbok Station in Suji, with signs up for summer specialties like chogye guksu, handmade soy milk noodles and soba. Sunday, 1pm — Sampo's Restaurant Outings starts this review of a Seongbok-dong restaurant in Suji.

There's a poster I hadn't seen before — "33 lifetime noodle dishes" — haha.

The vivid photos on the posters for spicy hangover fresh noodles and charcoal-grilled beef brisket udon are making my mouth water.

Inside Chilseong Jemyeonso Suji: the room and the center group table

Here's the interior of Chilseong Jemyeonso Suji Main Branch. It's plain but tidy, with a warm wood-toned atmosphere. Even though Sunday peak hours had passed, customers kept coming and going. The center group table is the one we claimed.

Chilseong Jemyeonso Suji Main Branch 80 Seongbok 1-ro, Suji-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, Seohee Star Hills 1F #104 Hours 11:00–21:00 / Last order 20:30 / No break time Group seating, takeout, reservations available

It's 955m from Exit 4 of Seongbok Station, and you can park for free at the Seohee Star Hills lot or in front of the store.

The moon-jar-shaped light fixture is Chilseong Jemyeonso's mascot, and there's a self-serve ice water tub and empty plates nearby. At the self-serve corner there's an origin-labeling notice along with kids' bowls and scissors. There were so many dishes we wanted to try that we let everyone, kids included, choose their own. My husband and I picked chogye guksu and handmade buckwheat soy milk noodles to share.

Handmade buckwheat soy milk noodles, 13,000 won: a late-summer bowl

Here's the handmade buckwheat soy milk noodles (₩13,000), a summer specialty at this Seongbok-dong noodle restaurant. If the flavor feels a bit plain, sprinkling on some salt or sugar helps. There's also a separately ordered fire chicken kimmari (fried seaweed roll) plated on the side.

Buckwheat noodles are a healthy food known for improving vascular health, preventing diabetes and strengthening liver function, and the soy milk broth is rich in plant protein and fiber. The mild broth tastes so good we finished it down to the last drop.

Chogye guksu, 13,000 won, and where the dish gets its name

Here's the chogye guksu (₩13,000) at this Seongbok-dong noodle restaurant. It's a traditional summer health noodle dish made with chilled chicken broth seasoned with vinegar and mustard, topped with shredded boiled chicken breast and noodles. In the name chogye, cho (醋) means vinegar, and gye is not chicken (鷄) as it might seem, but a Pyeongan-do dialect word for mustard. It apparently comes from chogyetang, a winter specialty from Hamgyeong-do and northern Pyeongan-do.

The noodles are chewy and the broth is so cold it makes your teeth ache, but the clean, deep flavor feels like it's restoring your strength after spring.

Whole pork loin cutlet 13,500 won and cheese pork cutlet 14,000 won

Here's the whole pork loin cutlet (₩13,500) at Chilseong, a Seongbok-dong pork cutlet restaurant. It's made with 100% domestic loin, and the sauce is apparently Chilseong's own special recipe. It's crispy outside and juicy inside — excellent, and the kids especially loved it. One thing that stands out about Chilseong Jemyeonso is that every dish comes neatly served on its own wooden tray with side dishes or sauce, as shown in the photo above.

Here's the cheese pork cutlet (₩14,000) the kids ordered. Bite into it and the cheese oozes out; it comes with a bowl of rice too, so it's plenty filling. It's also nice to share a piece or two of this alongside the whole loin cutlet with everyone at the table.

Snow cheese tteokbokki, 10,000 won: sweet rather than spicy

Here's the snow cheese tteokbokki (₩10,000), one of the specialties at this Suji Seongbok-dong restaurant.

The rice cakes soaked in the sauce are chewy and delicious too.

Pick up a piece of fish cake and the cheese stretches right along with it. Despite how it looks, the sauce isn't spicy at all — it's sweet. There are also two pieces of kimmari fried rolls included, and cutting them with scissors and dipping them in the sauce is really tasty.

Fresh wheat noodles 8,500 won and other Chilseong Jemyeonso signatures

Among today's orders, the fresh wheat noodles (₩8,500) didn't make it into a photo, but they were just as refreshing and good. Chilseong Jemyeonso Suji Main Branch is also known for its charcoal bibim jjolmyeon and charcoal white jjolmyeon, loaded with fresh vegetables and topped with charcoal-grilled meat, as well as popular items like Chilseong mazesoba udon and charcoal beef brisket udon, served in broth simmered directly in a cauldron.

They're also running Instagram and Naver review events, I see.