Gwanghwamun Mijin

Seventy-odd years of cold noodles, six minutes' walk from Chinatown MRT. On a hot day that is the whole argument.

Gwanghwamun Mijin is the answer to a 2pm Telok Ayer lunch hour: cold buckwheat noodles from a Seoul shop that has been making them since 1954 and has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand there since 2018. Order the signature set or the Singapore-only salmon noodles and you are on safe ground. The compromise is that the rest of the menu is optional rather than essential, so keep it simple. Book ahead, and check before you plan a Sunday, because Sunday hours aren't listed.

Its first overseas outlet opened at Far East Square in August 2025, about six minutes' walk from Chinatown MRT, and it seats more than 80 across indoor and outdoor tables. That is a lot of seats for a noodle shop, and handy for a team lunch that has grown since the invitation went out.

The dish is simple and built for the weather. The signature set brings chilled buckwheat noodles with a kettle of broth made from dried seafood boiled overnight, plus grated daikon, wasabi, spring onion and crisp laver to add as you go. Both the noodles and the broth are flown in from Korea. The kettle is the clever part: you pour as you need, so the bowl is as strong or as mild as you want it, and nobody else gets a vote.

There is a Singapore-only twist too: perilla buckwheat noodles with marinated salmon, exclusive to this branch and our order for a second visit. Bossam, sliced pork belly wrapped in cabbage with ssamjang and fermented shrimp sauce, and a buckwheat kimchi pancake round out the table if there are more of you. There is also a bibim version of the noodles for anyone who wants theirs dressed rather than dipped.

Our advice is to stay close to the noodles and dumplings. The noodles are what this shop has made since 1954, and they are the reason to come; the side dishes are pleasant company rather than the main event. It is not halal-certified.

How to do it well: go at lunch on a sweltering weekday, book, and order the signature set for yourself. Pour the broth a little at a time and add the daikon and wasabi gradually rather than all at once. If two of you are sharing, add the salmon noodles and the pancake rather than a second signature set, and you will have covered the menu's best case in one sitting.

Good to know Booking ahead is recommended. It is about six minutes' walk from Chinatown MRT, and not halal-certified. Check opening days before a Sunday visit.

Gwanghwamun Mijin | 47 Pekin Street, #01-01 Far East Square, Singapore 048779 | Nearest MRT: Chinatown, Telok Ayer