A long day filled with walking and snapping each other’s photos in Nami Island led our tummies to great hunger. We didn’t have enough time to sit properly and eat, only snacks on the road boosted our body’s energy. As soon as we arrived back to our town in Seoul, our immediate agenda was to find a restaurant that will catch our eye. What matters at that time of restaurant search was convenience and quality savory food. And an authentic Korean restaurant was a strong factor for me. Thus, we found Samdae Bulgogi Noodles.

It was late at night, so I don’t remember where exactly was Samdae Bulgogi Noodles. All I know, it was on the way to Unicorn Hotel.

The one-page menu made ordering easy for us. We were tired and hungry; we just wanted to eat good Korean food. Some main dishes are served with bulgogi, for as low as ₩5,900. Luckily, my companions are all into bulgogi. Yay! At this point, we just can’t wait for the food to be served!!

Dumplings (₩4,000) Rate: 4/5

Dumplings came in first, the only appetizer to choose from the menu. Similar to Chinese style, Korean Dumplings are filled with meat and shredded greens. Dipped in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar and chili, we thought of it as a decent and reasonably priced starter.

The raw Bulgogi meat came in next, where our frying skills were required. For a little exercise, O and I had fun tossing thin slices of bulgogi meat on our table’s grill pan and stove. My fear of spitting oil was quite obvious in the photo though. Hehe.

We centered our focus on our plate as soon as the Bulgogi was ready to munch. Already marinated, the flavors came out easily as we chewed up on its tender meat.

I think they gave us a generous amount of Bulgogi meat, enough to share with mom, Reine and O.

Extremely spicy! The soup of Spicy Beef Noodles gently slid down to our throat and brought intense heat. It was pretty good though. That’s where the rice comes in, to balance out the strong amount of spiciness on the soup.

I don’t remember if the four of us were successful to finish this bowl. I only remember myself giving up after getting my fair share of soup. Haha! I’m not regretting. It’s still worth the experience.

I almost forgot, we also ordered Spicy Mixed Buckwheat Noodle. Emphasizing on the word “spicy,” the heat in my throat continued, but not as much as the soup of Spicy Beef Noodles. Just to clarify, I love spicy dishes. There are just instances when the spice level exceeds my tolerance, I have to give up.

Koreans love buckwheat noodles or “soba” in general, soft and juicy texture, slimed over with its semi-thick spicy sauce. Served chilled, there was a strong resemblance to Japanese cold soba, only its sauce makes a huge difference. When I mixed all ingredients evenly, the spiciness was not too evident anymore.

The place doesn’t strive to look fancy or attractive from the outside. It remains to be real, simple and authentic, while giving the customers the right kind of service. The only problem was the language barrier. Their servers were struggling to converse in English. Fortunately, they could understand and speak basic Mandarin with O. 🙂

Each table has its own trash bin and stove for cooking fresh bulgogi.

 All in all, our family was completely satisfied with the food. Besides, that was all we needed before heading back to our hotel.

What do you think of Samdae Bulgogi Noodles?

 Share with me your thoughts! 🙂