Yetnal Guksi (옛날국시) is a Korean restaurant specialising in noodle dishes and various other dishes like acorn jelly with rice (묵밥 = mukbap) and soft bean curd seafood stew (해물순두부찌개 = haemul soondubu jjigae). Oddly enough, I like them not for their those dishes, but for their mini gimbaps. I learned about them when one of my co-workers brought some of their gimbaps and shared some with me. I discovered that I really liked their gimbap, so I had to find the place myself. Luckily, my co-workers description of it being behind Itaewon McDonald’s was enough for me to find the place. It is located two alleys behind McDonald’s.
When I first visited them, they were in a super tiny place that made me feel very claustrophobic. Thankfully, they moved to a larger place, which is still in the same alley, but on the other side. The new place is less cramped and has way more seats. Their menu remained the same, but they also added their banchans for sale on the menu. That’s a good thing because along with their gimbaps, I also love their moomalangyi (무말랭이), which is dried radishes marinated in spicy sauce. That thing is addicting.
Their gimbaps are also addicting. For 6,000 won, you get ten small rolls. They sell two kinds: spicy and non-spicy. I enjoy both of them. The spicy one is full of fish cakes and chopped up anchovies mixed with hot peppers. That thing is really spicy, even for me, but because it’s so spicy, I keep on eating them! Even my mum and aunt enjoyed it, and they, too, find them to be addicting. If you have low tolerance to spicy food, then I don’t recommend this. Instead, try the non-spicy one! This one is stuffed with dried squid and tuna mixed with mayonnaise. This is the one I get if I am not in the mood to deal with the high spice level. I like squid and tuna, so this is a good one for me.
This place is really a Korean noodle house, but I haven’t tried any of their noodles. I hope to do so in the future, but their gimbaps are way more appealing than the guksus. Every time I go there, I order their gimbaps without any hesitation!
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Business Info
02-798-7997
20-1, Noksapyeong-Daero 32-Gil, Yongsan-Gu, Seoul, Korea
서울특별시 용산구 녹사평대로32길 20-1
Go out of exit 3 of Noksapyeong Station and follow the curving sidewalk in front of you. When you reach the crosswalk, go across to front of Skinfood. From there, go down the right. You’ll pass a really tiny alley on your left, and then you’ll come upon a bigger alley pass it. Go down that alley for 100 metres, and Yetnal Guksi will be on your right.
6,000 ~ 10,000+ won budget per person