6 November 2022
After a 6 hour direct flight from Singapore, we arrived at sunny Jeju island at about midday. Our taxi driver, Mr. Won, was waiting for us patiently at the arrival hall of Jeju International Airport. He was holding a mobile phone with my name printed on the screen but I recognised him instantly. Mr. Won was the taxi driver who took me and my wife for sightseeing in Jeju when we first visited the island back in 2011.
After 11 years, it felt good to be back in Jeju again. It was also good to see that Mr. Won was doing very well and would be the guide and driver for my party of 4 couples for the next one week. I was tasked to be the overall trip planner and it was reassuring to have a reliable guide and driver to bring us around Jeju in his jumbo taxi.
My travel companions and I enjoying our first meal in Jeju after arrival.
After leaving Jeju International Airport, we headed to Jeju’s Noodle Street or Guksu Geori (국수거리). "Guksu Street" or "Noodle Street" is a popular street filled with noodle shops offering the Gogi Guksu. Gogi Guksu, which loosely translates to Pork Noodle Soup, is a noodle variant that is available only on Jeju Island and not anywhere else in South Korea. In my experience, a bowl of hot noodle like the Gogi Guksu is the ideal comfort food to eat after a long flight.
I told Mr. Won to bring us to a good noodle restaurant and it turned out to be Guksu Mandang (국수마당). This is one of the shops I had shortlisted, along with another popular noodle shop called Samdae Guksu Heogwan which is also located along this street.
Mr Won helped us to get a queue number for a table for 8. Most Korean restaurants don’t accept reservations. We would have to turn up and get a queue ticket.
Looking at the menu outside Guksu Madang while waiting for a table.
Fortunately, we did not have to wait too long. Although English menu was available for international guests, Mr. Won helped us with the orders and we invited him to eat with us as well.
My wife and I ordered a bowl of Gogi Guksu (Black Pork Noodles in Pork Broth) and a bowl of Bibim Guksu (Spicy Cold Noodles) to share. There is also Myeoghi-gogi Guksu (Black Pork Noodles in Anchovy and Pork Broth) but we did not order this.
The pork that came with the Gogi Guksu is thinly sliced pork belly. It came complete with lean meat, some fat and also the rind. I normally do not enjoy eating pork fat. To my pleasant surprise, the pork does not have the usual pork smell. It was delicious, not dry and the fat and rind had a slightly crunchy texture. The slightly milky broth is light, yet favourful.
Bibim Guksu is a cold noodle dish with fresh vegetables and bean sprouts served in a spicy, sweet and tangy gochujang (a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking)sauce. Bibim Guksu is like Bibimbap commonly served in Seoul and mainland Korea but instead of rice, buckwheat noodles is served.
A bowl of finely chopped seaweed is also available on the table for diners to add as extra garnishing.
Bibim Guksu – as served before it is mixed. There are beansprouts, finely chopped seaweed, fresh vegetable and gochujang sauce on the top, covering the buckwheat noodles beneath.
Bibim Guksu after mixing all the ingredients. Bibim Guksu is served cold, with ice cubes in the bowl.
After eating the Gogi Guksu, the Bibim Guksu was a refreshing change.
The restaurant also serves other signature Jeju black pork dishes including the “Dombe Gogi”.
Dombe in Jeju dialect means “cutting board,” and Dombe Gogi is an indigenous dish of Jeju-do Island that is cooked with boiled meat placed as-is on a wooden cutting board. The sliced pork is dipped in coarse salt or vinegar-mixed soy sauce, wrapped in fresh vegetables and eaten with the hands.
I was initially tempted to order the Dombe Gogi (priced at 30,000 KWR for a set) to share amongst the group but after the generous servings of Gogi Guksu and Bibim Guksu, we were too full to eat anything else.
After our hearty meal, we drank coffee from the vending machine located at the entrance to the shop. Here, we discovered that it is common practice for restaurants to offer free coffee to guests who were either waiting to get a table or have finished their meal.
While sipping our hot coffee in the chilly Jeju weather, we saw a dog leashed and unattended outside the restaurant.
Pet dog leashed outside the restaurant while its owner is having a meal inside.
Here we discovered another Jeju fact from Mr. Won - It is safe to leave your precious belongings (including pets) unattended on this island with little or no crime.
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