Hwangsaengga Kalguksu Seoul : Michelin Bib Gourmand Dumplings

Hwangsaengga Kalguksu 황생가칼국수 is a Seoul Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant. It is described in the M Guide as having the qualities of  “good quality, good value cooking”. This is a kalguksu and mandu (noodle and dumpling) restaurant which attracts good reviews and long queues. We avoided the latter by going at an off-peak time.

Seoul Michelin Guide Kalguksu and Mandu Restaurant

It was a no-brainer to include Hwangsaengga Kalguksu on our Seoul restaurant shortlist. The only catch was the thing about long queues that many reviews speak about. Even the Seoul Michelin Restaurant Guide has this to say: ” No matter what time of day, always expect to see a line outside this beloved establishment, known for their humble noodle soup and dumplings…”. Fortunately, the restaurant is run by hard working folks and opens throughout the day. “No Break Time” were words that sang to us from the signboard.

This famous noodle and dumplings restaurant in Seoul is in a central location in the historical district. It is walking distance from tourist attractions like Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Bukchon Hanok Village.

As we walked into the restaurant, we could see that they have thoughtfully prepared lots of seats for the long queues that the Seoul Michelin Guide talks about. Imagine these seats being filled up at peak hour.

We went around 4pm on a weekday and there were few diners there. The restaurant has a simple classic restaurant decor with seating on two levels. It reminded us of our recent visit to a Korean restaurant in Singapore: Seoul Noodle Shop in Tanglin Mall.

Hwangsaengga Kalguksu Menu

Here are pictures of some pages from the Hwangsaengga Kalguksu menu. Noodles and mandu are the highlights, in particular the mandu which we saw on all the tables around us. Some meat dishes are also available on the menu.

Being in between meals we were not exactly hungry and would have been content to try just the mandu. But the restaurant requires each diner to order at least one dish each and so we got the jumbo dumpling soup and mandu (each dish KRW 12,000).

Noodles and Dumplings in Seoul

In addition to the dumplings, two pickled vegetable side dishes were served.

The bright red kimchi looked fiery but was not as hot as it looks. In fact it was rather well balanced, making it almost addictive.

The Jumbo Dumpling soup was a bowl of dumplings in a light beef broth. The beef broth was clean tasting with a pleasant beef flavour. Nothing strong or meaty. The dumplings seem to be shaped differently from the ‘dry’ dumplings but both were equally delicious. The dumplings were plump and stuffed with pork and vegetables. I think the magic lies in the balance of ingredients and seasoning. These were easily consumed without the need for any extra sauce or seasoning.

They may perhaps be exactly the same, but the dry dumplings seemed to have a different personality without any soup. It may be because they cool faster and the skin is more springy without being soaked in soup. We thought the flavours were richer in these. We were glad to have tried both versions.

Hwangsaengga Kalguksu 황생가칼국수

There is no English translation of the restaurant name on the signboard. Look out for this signboard. The wall at the end of the road in this picture is the wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Their next door neighbours may be easier to spot: Blue Bottle coffee and Cassina furniture store.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 3
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 

Hwangsaengga Kalguksu
78 Bukchon-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03053, South Korea

Open Everyday : 11am to 9.30pm