Taste of Korea, Taste of All Generations
Neuldanbi
Kalguksu in Incheon has standard ingredients – clams + thick noodles + fresh geotjeori. Many restaurants in Incheon serve it. However, kalguksu may use other ingredients instead of clams. When I tire of clam kalguksu, “Neuldanbi” and its superior anchovy stock always come to mind.
Writer Lee Hyun-joo
Photographer Jang Hyeon-sun
The beautiful entrance of “Neuldanbi” welcomes the guest. After opening the Korean-style sliding door, guests are made comfortable by the greetings of a young female owner.
Neuldanbi is owned by Song Hae-eun (age 31). But don’t judge her traditional Korean food preparation by her age. Her neat foods are inherited from her mom who has run a hanjeongsik (traditional Korean food) restaurant for 30 years in Jongno, Seoul. Most of the dishes at Neuldanbi were created by her mom.
“As a kid, whenever I came home from school soaking wet on a rainy day, my mom made kalgukso with a strong anchovy stock. One bowl of anchovy kalguksu just with potato, without any garnish, deeply relaxed my body. I couldn’t have felt happier.”
Ms. Song is serving ‘memories’ like these to customers who miss their mother’s food. The thin noodles of “Old Kalguksu” may confuse the customers in Incheon, who are used to thick noodles with clam soup.
Noodles are rolled and drawn into a thin shape by hand, and the anchovy stock neutralizes the flour smell. Sour kimchi makes for the perfect side dish. Anchovy stock boiled at medium heat and aged kimchi remind people of old times.
Aukjuk, a curled mallow soup boiled in doenjang soybean paste soup makes for another hot item for mothers, a neat taste and good for your health. Steamed pig feet are popular for employees’ get-togethers in the evening. Neuldanbi has a business motto: prepare only the ingredients needed.
Jeons, or pan-fried vegetables, at Neuldanbi are famous for their large amounts of ingredients – using julienne potatoes jeon instead of mashed potatoes, chives jeon full of chives and less flour, shrimp jeon with plentiful shrimps. Instead of flour, real ingredients are used to preserve the real flavor.
“What makes Neuldanbi so special? The rustic foods. No spicy foods, not too many seasonings. We deliver fresh and natural flavor, savory old style foods without seasonings. We want customers to feel at home and enjoy our food here at Neuldanbi.”
There will be always welcoming rains in Neuldanbi as long as Ms. Song is trying to preserve the old taste of traditional Korean food. She has inherited her mom’s talent instead of falling for Western food such as spaghetti or brunch.
Best Traditional Korean Food, “Neuldanbi”
- 213, Building E, Central Park shopping district 1, 23-3, Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu
- 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Closed Sundays, break time from
3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to prepare food for better service)
- Menu: Old Kalguksu, Od Aukjuk (curled mallow soup), Steamed Pig Feet, Steamed Webfoot Octopus, Bean Sprout Japchae, Fresh Water Shrimp Soup, Steamed Dried Pollack
