Hongdae Korean restaurant for Pyongyang naengmyeon: Anok

My husband and I were out in Hapjeong for weekend lunch and stopped by Anok. It is a new specialist restaurant for Pyongyang naengmyeon and gomtang that opened in August.

A hanok tucked into an alley off Hongdae's fashion street

Climb a few dozen steps into an alley off Hongdae's hip fashion street and this hanok catches your eye.

With graffiti pressed right up against the hanok wall, it feels as though you are entering another world. The name means “a comfortable home,” and both the exterior and interior are hanok, so it had such a calm, warm feeling. Let's open the gate and head in.

Isn't the courtyard so pretty? Every photo came out lovely without even trying. There were lots of tables mainly for two to four, including dining-room and window seats. For a group gathering, they say up to 12 people can be accommodated if you call in advance.

Inside the hanok and the menu

It had been less than a month since opening, so the interior and tableware were all clean and new. The hanging scrolls here and there looked as if they had stepped straight out of a history book. We sat down and looked through the menu on the tablet ordering system.

Although it specializes in gomtang and Pyongyang naengmyeon, there are dishes to share too, so it would be nice for lunch or dinner—or with a drink.

The other dishes looked delicious too, but I will have to come back for a drink with grilled deodeok (bellflower root) and a cheese potato pancake.

A full spread for two, complete with braised pork tails

Cubed radish kimchi, kimchi, pickled gungchae (stem lettuce), and a dipping sauce for the meat arrived as the basic side dishes.

First out was the meat dish, braised pork tails (₩29,000). Its sauce was spicy, sweet, and savory, making it a nicely balanced companion to the mild Pyongyang naengmyeon and clear gomtang. The sauce was really delicious.

Both Pyongyang naengmyeon and clear gomtang are dishes where the broth is key. Anok says its broth gains a subtle depth from carefully selected medicinal ingredients such as astragalus root and burdock, then has its fat meticulously skimmed over 48 hours, leaving only the clear, deep purity of Korean pork—easy on the stomach, too.

Next came the clear gomtang (₩13,000) and Pyongyang naengmyeon (₩14,000).

With everything we ordered on the table, our spread for two was completely full.

Clear gomtang and Pyongyang naengmyeon alone will fill you up, but you know that little something-something that still feels missing? The meat dish made the combination so much more abundant. Still, it was almost too much for two people, so I thought a set menu with half portions of the two meals and the braised pork tails would be perfect.

It was my first time trying braised pork tails, and I was surprised by how much meat there was on the bones. I especially recommend it to anyone who likes jokbal (braised pig's trotters). It was less chewy and more tender than jokbal.

Pyongyang naengmyeon through the eyes of a Hamheung-naengmyeon fan

Pyongyang naengmyeon: the noodle dish that people either love or hate, that splits people into camps. Team spicy-sweet-tangy Hamheung naengmyeon versus team mild, clear Pyongyang naengmyeon. I am closer to Team Hamheung. But today, I am falling for the charm of Pyongyang naengmyeon.

That mild, clean broth gives our palates, so accustomed to bold flavors, a little rest—Pyongyang naengmyeon! It was so clean and really quite good.

Singer Lee Seok-hoon of SG Wannabe once shared on a broadcast that when he went to meet his mother-in-law for the first time, she asked, “Do you eat Pyongyang naengmyeon?” He had never tried it at the time, but caught the implication of the question and immediately lied(?) with, “Of course, I love it!” Hearing that, she was apparently very pleased and exclaimed, “Pass!”

Pyongyang naengmyeon fans have such pride in being the authentic camp that they even seem to feel a sense of camaraderie with one another, haha. When people first encounter it, the flavor can be so extremely restrained that they say, “It doesn't taste like anything.” But once you get drawn in by the subtle meatiness and savory buckwheat flavor, they say it has the kind of addictive quality that suddenly pops into your mind one day.

I still do not fully know the true appeal of Pyongyang naengmyeon, but a Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurant has opened on the streets of Hongdae—such welcome news for young fans of it, right? 😍

A satisfying clear gomtang without any heaviness

The clear gomtang was not greasy at all, and its clean meatiness and savoriness lingered gently in the mouth. It would make a thoroughly satisfying lunch. With the cubed radish kimchi and kimchi, I polished off a bowl in no time.

A hearty lunch, all wrapped up!!! Oh, and the review event gives you a free drink. Visit when you want Korean food somewhere with a lovely atmosphere, clear and piping-hot gomtang, a craving for Pyongyang naengmyeon, or a filling lunch in Hongdae~~~♡