If you’re looking for the best kongguksu in Seoul, look no further. Jinju House, or Jinjujip (진주집) is home to one of the best soybean noodles in Korea. The restaurant in Yeouido attracts long queues and has been featured on local television multiple times.
Best Kongguksu in Seoul
Getting to Jinju House might be a bit of a challenge, as it’s located in the basement of a building, in a neighbourhood that’s filled with similar-looking buildings no less. However, the trick is to follow the crowd as most of them are probably heading to Jinjujip.
The restaurant occupies quite a few units, so there’s plenty of seating to go around. Don’t worry about the queues as they move quite fast.
Menu at Jinju House Yeouido
The menu here is short and sweet, offering a total of 4 items.
- Chicken Kalguksu (12,000won)
- Bibimguksu (12,000won)
- Cold Soybean Noodles (15,000won)
- Dumplings (12,000won)
So of course, we ordered one of each item.
Before the food was served, they placed a plate of kimchi on the table, and this was their only banchan. It resembled the kimchi that gets served together with bossam, with its crunchy texture. This kimchi holds up on its own though, really flavourful and delicious.
Chicken Kalguksu
Perhaps the most ordinary item out of the entire menu was the Chicken Kalguksu. There wasn’t much to this bowl of noodles. It was nicely cooked, and the broth was okay and comforting, but it just didn’t scream special.
Bibimguksu
When the bibim guksu and kongguksu get served, the staff offers to cut it up for you, but you can also request for scissors and do it yourself.
The bibimguksu was one of our favourite dishes here, topped with lots of pickled radish and cucumbers. The spiciness is not overpowering, balanced out with a nice sourness that makes it palatable and refreshing.
Kongguksu
The star of the show here was their Kongguksu. We were quite shocked with the appearance of the dish, as it usually comes decorated with cucumbers at least. However, Jinjujip’s version is just noodles and soybean broth.
Maybe broth isn’t the correct word, as it looked more like a paste – similar to the almond/peanut paste bowls you find at dessert shops.
They can confidently just serve the dish this way because of one thing – the taste. Usually, even the best soybean noodles have a certain unpleasant smell to them, but this did not have a pinch of it.
It almost felt like a bowl of peanut butter that was less cloying and heavy, which made each slurp so easy. Before we knew it, we cleared the entire bowl.
You can further season it with salt or sugar to your liking – but it tastes great on its own. Sugar isn’t available on the table, so you do have to request it from the staff.
We also highly recommend pairing it with the kimchi they serve!
Dumplings
The dumplings come in a nice size, and it tasted similar to the ones found in the chicken kalguksu. There’s not much to rave about them, but we thought the skin-to-meat ratio was well executed. Taste-wise, they were slightly peppery, so they fare well with a dip of soy sauce.
Restaurant in Yeouido
It’s amazing how a restaurant can attract such a huge crowd with just 4 dishes in Yeouido. If you’ve never tried Kongguksu, Jinjujip is a great place to try it – but be warned, you’ll never be able to go back to other versions of the popular Korean summer food.
Jinju House (진주집)
B1, 33 Gukjegeumeum-ro 6-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
서울 영등포구 국제금융로6길 33 지하 1층
Mon-Fri, 10am-8pm, Sat, 10am-7pm, Closed on Sundays
Nearest Subway: Yeouido Station (Line 5/9), Exit 5
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*This was an independent review by MiddleClass
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