[Food] Jangkalguksu (장칼국수, Chopped noodle in spicy paste soup)

[Food]

[Food] Jangkalguksu (장칼국수, Chopped noodle in spicy paste soup)

Korea is in spring and beautiful flowers are blossoming everywhere. Numerous cherry-blossom trees are waving their pink palms under the golden rays of the unique blue sky. I decided to go to Jumunjin which is a small port town in the north of Gangneung city near the town of Yangyang.

I took a bus to Jumunjin with my good friend 'Hong'. The city is famous for squid and the filming site of Korean dramas. Jumunjin's warm and cool breeze had some saltiness to it.

Jumunjin isn't a town alive with the energy of the youth, but of busy grandmas and visiting tourists (like myself and Hong) breathing life into it. When I was a staff sergeant regularly visiting a military hospital near Jumunjin for the well-being of my fellow soldiers, the town was my playground where I enjoyed unique Korean gourmet during a short lunchbreak.

Today, I'll be visiting a Jangkalguksu restaurant that has been my frequent visiting place since my 'army-time' with Hong.

The only alley to the restaurant, behind old buildings.

You enter Jumunjin market and have to find a little billboard on the way to the heart of the market. Then you can find the way to get to the restaurant.

The restaurant looks like a normal Korean home, but it is a restaurant for people like Hong and I who eagerly want to gulp a bowl of Jangkalguksu. It was 3 o'clock (already one hour past the usual Korean lunchtime) but there was still a lady there finishing her dish.

Hong and I ordered 2 Jangkalguksu before we even sat (LOL) and waited for our happy moment to come. Soon, the female owner kicked the door of the room open with two dishes of Jangkalguksu, a dish of kimchi and kkakduki (radish kimchi) and a bottle of water in her hands, like a superhero who come out of nowhere to kick some ass.

I would say this kimchi is one of the best in Korea

I have never met anyone who says the jangkalguksu in this restaurant isn't 'the best'. If you are not fond of noodles, spicy or Korean food, I'm so sorry that you can't taste this fantastic dish.

The proof of its taste

After a happy time with Jangkalguksu, we walked for some time on our way to a bus stop back home. The spring sky, cherry-blossoms, river and winds...and deep-fried sticky bread with sweet white-bean paste in my hand.

It was sweet and fantastic. That's all I can say for now.

Bon Appétit!