[Gyeonggi/Yangpyeong] Okcheon Naengmyeon Hwanghae Restaurant – The original famous restaurant for Okcheon Naengmyeon filled with the aroma of garlic

Located in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do Okcheon Naengmyeon Hwanghae Restaurant
Compared to its fame, if you search for it
It is a place notorious for having unusually low ratings and reviews that are polarized.

You can roughly guess the reason once you taste it.
Unfamiliar pork broth, strong garlic aroma, and thick noodles like jjolmyeon.
With these three things coming all at once, it seems people are unable to contain their astonishment at the unfamiliar taste.
On top of that, the high price.

To start with the conclusion, in my opinion
It is a shop worth visiting.

A blue sign structure stands out from the road.
A “Naengmyeon” sculpture perched on the building’s rooftop indicates the restaurant’s location even from a distance.
The place I visited is Branch No. 2, which is close to the station.

The parking lot is spacious, so it is not difficult to get there by car.
If you are traveling on foot, you can get there in 10 minutes on foot after getting off at 'Ashin' Station.

Information regarding business hours and days off is posted separately on the glass door at the entrance.
We take orders from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and are closed every Wednesday.
It says that if a public holiday falls on a Wednesday, the next day is a day off.

The interior is much wider and larger than expected.
It has an industrial atmosphere with exposed pipes on a black ceiling, and,
The window seat gets plenty of sunlight because of the floor-to-ceiling glass.
Even though I avoided the weekday lunch hour, the tables were quite full.

The menu is simple. Mul-naengmyeon and Bibim-naengmyeon are 14,000 won each.
You can order half portions of meatballs and sliced pork, but even with a half portion, it costs 14,000 won, so it is by no means cheap.
There is no extra-large portion.

It is said that the name Hwanghae Sikdang came from the fact that it was opened by displaced people who settled there.
It was 1952, a time before the war had even ended, and refugees from Hwanghae Province in the North
Settling here in Okcheon-myeon by applying the cold noodle recipe from my hometown
It created the current branch known as Okcheon Naengmyeon.
Unlike Pyongyang Naengmyeon, which usually uses beef or pheasant broth
Okcheon Naengmyeon is unique in that it uses pork broth.

Orders are placed via a tablet kiosk.
I requested that the cucumbers be omitted from the cold noodle soup, and with the spicy mixed noodles and half a plate of meatballs included, it cost 44,000 won.
The price includes one drink.

The meatballs came out first.
It is shaped like a thick donggeurangtteok, packed with pork and containing almost no vegetables.
It was savory and had a nice chewy texture when dipped in soy sauce,
It is a bit disappointing that it feels like pre-made food was heated up rather than freshly fried.

A QR code sign was set up indicating that Wanja had also started delivery sales.
It seems that quite a few customers travel from far away to look for the meatballs at this place.

Mul-naengmyeon feels unfamiliar from the first bite.
The noodles, made by mixing buckwheat with sweet potato starch, are thick and springy like jjolmyeon,
The pork broth is savory, with a quite strong garlic aroma.
It is a completely different kind of flavor from the beef or pheasant broth cold noodles I usually encounter.

The unfamiliar yet unique taste is a real wake-up call.
Regardless of whether the cold noodles suit your taste or not, the unique flavor of this place is appealing.
I think this alone makes it a shop well worth visiting.

In particular, you must eat the cold noodles as they are, without adding anything, to truly appreciate the value of this restaurant's noodles.
I also tried adding vinegar and mustard at the last minute.
The moment you add seasoning, the unique character of Okcheon Naengmyeon instantly fades, and the taste becomes ordinary.
Even if it seems unfamiliar, I recommend trying a few bites of the original taste first.

Bibim naengmyeon is definitely not my taste.
When the distinctive texture of the thick noodles met the sweet and spicy sauce, it felt like their unique character was actually diluted.
I think it's even more so because I don't prefer bibim naengmyeon to begin with.

The price is definitely expensive.
Considering the region of Yangpyeong, this price range is not easily understood.
However, it is also an undeniable fact that there is no suitable alternative home.

If I had to choose the most impressive restaurant I visited in Yangpyeong, it would be this place.
Regardless of whether it tasted good or not, it was because I could clearly feel the unique character of Okcheon Naengmyeon.
Opinions will still be divided. Nevertheless, it is definitely a place you will think about again.
I really enjoyed the meal 🙂