Lunch discount kalnakji noodles at Obongjip Samseong, Gangnam

OH! DELICIOUS DAY Another delicious day today

Deciding on lunch near Samseong Station, I ended up at Obongjip Samseong Branch

I wanted a hearty meal near Samseong Station, so I went to Obongjip Samseong Branch. There are so many good restaurants around Samseong Station and COEX that it's always hard to choose, but that day I was craving spicy octopus stir-fry, so I headed to Obongjip, famous as a Samseong Station favorite.

Obongjip Samseong Branch is located on Teheran-ro 81-gil in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, so it's easy to reach from Samseong Station. It's also close to COEX, so it's a great option after shopping, an exhibition, or a movie.

• Obongjip Samseong Branch
• Address: 62 Teheran-ro 81-gil, 1st floor, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 11:00–22:00
• Weekday break: 14:30–17:00
• Weekend break: 15:00–16:00

Interior and seating

Walking in, the space was spacious with lots of tables — overall a comfortable atmosphere to eat in. Lots of office workers come here for lunch, so it's a good spot near Samseong Station for a midday meal. I was there for lunch too!

And there's this separate space in the back — like a room, but without a door — a dedicated area that would be great for gatherings or work dinners.

They have hair ties, dental floss, and a phone charger ready to go. I happened to need them right then and used them gratefully. Cold plum tea was also provided for free. Such a nice touch.

Side dishes and self-service bar

The side dishes and seaweed soup arrived right after ordering. A whole tray full — round of applause for the visuals. Basic side dishes come out with the meal, and you can top up anything you're missing at the self-service bar. Rice and soup refills too. Great.

Kalnakji and bossam set ordered with the lunch discount

Obongjip's signature dishes are fire-grilled octopus stir-fry and bossam (boiled pork belly). Every time I've come here I've ordered the fire-grilled octopus stir-fry with bossam, but this time, visiting for lunch, I ordered the kalnakji (knife-cut noodle octopus soup) I'd wanted to try for a while, plus the bossam set. Since it was lunchtime, the lunch menu came with an extra 1,000 won off each item.

The kalnakji I ordered for lunch was 14,000 won, and the bossam set was 11,000 won. I also added a rice ball since I wanted one.

And here's today's finished lunch spread. The kalnakji looked so appetizing I was genuinely surprised, and surprised again by the generous portion. I ordered the bossam set as a side, and the meat was more generous than expected, plus it came with radish kimchi — it all looked so good.

I recorded a video of the tasty part too. Let's take a closer look.

Kalnakji, the trendy dish these days — the noodles feel like dosakmyeon

Kalnakji seems to be really trending lately. The noodles looked chewy, with a knife-cut noodle texture almost like dosakmyeon (hand-shaved noodles) — different and delicious.

The kalnakji's rich broth color was visible just by looking at it. Even though it's meant for two, it came piled high in a bowl big enough for four. My mouth was watering the second I saw it...

The octopus and knife-cut noodles danced together in the bowl. There was a whole cute little octopus in there too, and it was a big one. Obongjip really is the best.

The noodles in the kalnakji felt like dosakmyeon. That meant the sauce clung to the noodles better, and slurping them up with that rich flavor was even better.

Before eating, they cut the octopus up with scissors — snip, snip. Magic trick: it looks like even more once it's cut.

Can you see how plump those octopus legs are? Eating a piece of octopus together with the kalnakji noodles was a burst of juicy flavor. The octopus meat was chewy yet tender — genuinely impressive.

The kalnakji noodles were soft and easy to eat. Great for slurping, and since the sauce was fairly thick, it felt less like a soup and more like a soup-stir-fry-noodle hybrid. That bold, rich flavor made it even better.

Obongjip's octopus is a dish you can always trust. The octopus was really soft and plump. My style.

Mixing rice into the leftover sauce

While eating the soup, I kept thinking how good it would be mixed with rice — and once I finished the noodles, mixed the rice in and sprinkled seaweed flakes on top. Pure bliss. One more bowl of rice, please! I mixed in the bowl of rice that came with the bossam set. I honestly wanted to take the leftover sauce home just by itself.

The bossam set we ordered as a side

Since there were two of us, we ordered the bossam set as an extra side. How does the meat get this tender? A piece of mild bossam with radish kimchi — need I say more? Meat is love...

The cut might have been pork jowl (hangjeongsal) — the ratio of lean meat to fat was just right, chewy yet tender, with great bossam flavor.

Final thoughts

I'd been so curious about kalnakji, and I finally tried it. The octopus was soft and plump, delicious, and the broth had a rich flavor that suited my taste perfectly. When eating out, bold flavors are the way to go, in my book!

Overall the portions were generous, and you get the smoky char and spicy sauce of the octopus stir-fry along with tender bossam, all at reasonable prices with big portions — a trusted favorite I keep coming back to. If you're trying to decide on lunch or dinner around Samseong Station, give it a try. It'd suit anyone looking for a good restaurant near COEX or a Korean restaurant for a gathering near Samseong Station. If you love spicy octopus stir-fry like I do, you'll be satisfied.