My Korean Diet

Naengmyeon (naeng myun, naeng-myun): Naengmyun literally means ‘cold noodle’ in Korean, and it’s a very popular summertime delicacy in Korea. Ironically, this cold dish was a traditional wintertime dish in the northern part of Korea.

The noodle is very thin (like angel hair pasta) made of buckwheat (memil naengmyeon), mung bean (nokdu naengmyeon) or kudzu (chik naengmyeon).

It is served in a large bowl with a iced broth, slices of steamed beef, slices of Korean pear, a half slice of an boiled egg, and some vegetables. Mustard can be added by personal choice. Because it comes in a cold broth, it’s called mool naengmyun ( mool means ‘water’ in Korean).

Bibim naengmyeon has a spicy dressing made of gochujang (hot chili paste) on top of noodles and vegetables with little broth.

The noodles tend to be long and sticky, waiters will typically ask before serving if you want the noodles to be cut. It’s always a good idea to ask them to cut enough.

Because the noodle is cold, I find quite a few non-Koreans not liking this dish. But I’ve seen a few non-Koreans to come to like it a lot after they tried it in hot humid summer! That’s why my non-Korean husband goes there with me every once in a while in summer. =)

If I have to choose one place for naengmyeon in Los Angeles, I will pick Chilbo Myunok without any hesitation. As the restaurant name claims, naeng myun is obviously their main dish. I heard their galbi is pretty good, but I haven’t had it there because neng myun is always the menu that I choose whenever I go there. =)

I love both mool nang myun and bibim nang myun, but I haven’t tried bibim nang myun there yet because again, mool naeng myun is the one for me all the time. =)

Please read this page for more information of Naengmyeon.

What it makes their naengmyon so tasty is, I believe, their unique beef broth.

The restaurant is located on the 6th, and during weekends it sometimes blocks traffic on the 6th street because of cars waiting for valet parking. When my husband and I lived in Ardmore and 6th in Korea Town, obviously we walked to the place. If you can’t stand valet parking, it’s relatively easy to find a spot within three blocks.

The restaurant is big, clean and the interior is simple and pretty modern. The place is not definitely one of inexpensive restaurants, but I heard their food (besides naengmyeon) such as Korean BBQ, kalbijjim, other galbi dishes, or tofu soup, is pretty good, too. So it’s probably worth to spend some. The restaurant has a branch in Korea. I’m not sure if this is the main one.

Chilbo Myunok
3680 W 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90020 (213) 387-9292

Nam Dae Moon is a nice little authentic Korean restaurant in the Alexandria Plaza on the 6th and Alexandria.

My husband and I used to go to Nam Dae Moon quite often when we lived in Korea Town. Mainly because we lived two blocks away from the restaurant but also we thought it’s a perfect place for Saturday brunch in a walking distance.

One of the reasons that I like Nam Dae Moon a lot is that they serve seven or eight different tasty banchan (sidedishes) with meals. Kimchi, often two different kinds of kimchi, is always included.

They also serve a free appetite gyeran-jjim (steamed-egg) in a little boiling bowl, which I love! I remember I made gyeran-jjim numerously when I lived in Seoul, but I never made it that soft and good. Well, I should calm down. It’s only an appetizer (or just a side dish in Korea).

My favorite dishes are bulgogi (Korean BBQ), dolsot bibimbap, fish dishes and dweonjang chigae (bean-paste pot stew). Most time I ended up with ordering dolsot bibimbap after changing it several times in my mind.

Their dolsot bibimbap is pretty great, but it’s true there are many Korean restaurant that make good dolsot bibimbap.

They are more well-known with their bulgogi, galbi, or Korean fish dishes among Koreans. Their bulgogi definitely tastes very good. But I heard that having bulgogi for dinner may not be as inexpensive as it would look because the place is rather small and not fancy at all. Their chairs are not that comfortable, either.

But lunch dishes, especially combo menus, are pretty good deals.

(from Google map)

Nam Dae Moon literally means Big South Gate and it refers to Sungnyemun, a 600 year old historic gate in Seoul, South Korea. Sadly, this beautiful wooden architect Sungnyemun was lost by fire in January 2008 and they are restoring it now.