Milbit Chogye Guksu: Cold Noodles by the Han River
33 degrees Celsius. And terrible fine dust. It feels like I only go out on days when they tell you to avoid outdoor activities. Not realizing it was one of those days, I brought my bike out, wandered around with nowhere to go, and decided to pedal as hard as I could all the way to Misari (just outside Seoul). I figured by the time I arrived, my body would be completely drained of hydration, putting me in the perfect physical state(?) for some chogye guksu (chilled chicken noodle soup). So began my game of self-torture. There's a branch at COEX, but I insisted on eating at the main location!!
After riding for about an hour and a half, I reached Misari. The air quality was so bad that Lotte World Tower looked blurry in the distance. My throat and nose dried up quickly, and I started getting phlegm. All I could think about was quickly wiping my mouth and nose and gulping down some cold broth. In this physical state, I felt like I could eat absolutely any cold-broth-based food, whether it tasted good or not.
Not long after ordering, our two bowls came out quickly. Visually, it looked incredibly delicious. And it didn't just look good—after shoving two or three chopsticks' worth into my mouth, I felt alive again. I had expected a super sour, nose-clearing flavor, but it was surprisingly ordinary, which threw me off a bit. If you grab some white kimchi, radish, chicken breast, and noodles all in one chopstick and stuff it in your mouth, you cool down fast. It's a great option on a summer day when you're sick of naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles).
After eating more than half and gulping down the broth a few times, I got thirsty. The vinegar and mustard kick was weaker than I imagined, and the sweetness was way too strong. I have a cheap palate, so I usually don't even notice sweetness that well, but the noodles were sweet, the kimchi was sweet—everything was sweet. I was exhausted from the bike ride, so I drank a whole bottle of water when I arrived, and then emptied another bottle while eating the noodles. The sign says they boil fruits into their special sauce, so maybe that's why? Or did they add sugar or saccharin? Whatever it is, it's so sweet that it feels burdensome to pick up the bowl and drink the broth.
I never expected to think that the chogye guksu my mom makes at home tastes better. Still, it's worth trying at least once if you're passing by Misari in the summer. A lot of celebrities have visited, and it's famous enough to run a franchise, so maybe I'm just being picky.
