Recently I had a chance to go to a mountain near Daegu, South Korea, called Palgongsan.
Situated in a quiet area, the mountain features stunning landscapes and an excellent cable car to help you get to a decent elevation so that you can enjoy the view without all the hassle of walking up steep hills and rocks, which is very good when the weather is hot.
The mountain is indeed wonderful, and I really liked the cool resting areas…
As well as the peaks that I could see when I reached the station at the top of the cable car.
After enjoying the stunning mountain scenery, I was feeling hungry. Lucky for me, there is a restaurant, Solmaru, together with the cable car station, and they had what was, for me, a very unique and visually fascinating dish.
This dish, which is immortalized in a sculpture overlooking the mountain, is called the Flying Buckwheat Noodles!
Being high up on a mountain, the restaurant, Solmaru, offers some really stunning views of the surrounding region, including being able to see all the way to the city of Daegu.
Of course, besides the amazing things to see, there is also the wonderful food to try!
Solmaru, if we look at the menu, offers coffee and other refreshing beverages including watermelon juice, and some other food items like Korean-style pancakes and acorn jelly salad.
In the end, I decided to try the Flying Buckwheat Noodles, and my friend decided to get the Snow Flower Cheese Pork Cutlet (Donggas).
While waiting for the dishes to arrive, I relaxed in the cool breeze flowing through the restaurant and enjoyed the solitude as we were the only people there besides the staff.
After a short wait, the food was ready, and I went to pick it up as well as getting the cutlery.
Well, I have to say, that the food was visually amazing!
The Flying Buckwheat Noodles actually look like they are floating in mid-air thanks to an unusual method of holding the noodles, with a specially designed wooden serving dish, where the chopsticks are resting on a wooden stand.
The Snow Flower Cheese Pork Cutlet was also very visually impressive and was liberally coated with sauce and cheese.
After enjoying the wonderful appearances of the dishes, it was time to try them.
The Flying Buckwheat Noodles take a little time to prepare. There is a special cold broth that you put in a bowl. The broth includes onion powder, spring onions, soy sauce, and some fish broth.
There is also a wasabi sauce to amp up the flavor of the dish.
I prepared the little bowl, putting in some noodles, the cold broth, and the wasabi sauce.
The noodles were firm, and had a special taste that I really enjoy, something I only notice with buckwheat noodles. They were not chewy but were very refreshing when mixed with the cold broth. The wasabi sauce also made for a nice taste, adding some quick but not long-lasting burning sensations!
The side dishes that came with the Flying Buckwheat Noodles were also very good. Lots of pickled vegetables including radishes, kimchi, and peppers provided some wonderful contrast with the noodles.
I also had a chance to try my friend’s Snow Flower Cheese Pork Cutlet. This came with some really nice roasted vegetables including pumpkin, mushrooms, and zucchini, and had rice, a cabbage salad, and some kimchi.
The best thing was the roasted mushrooms. I got to try one, and they were really good!
The Snow Flower Cheese Pork Cutlet itself was also very tasty. The cheese was well melted and stretched wonderfully, and the outside was nice and crispy, with tender pork inside.
My friend did say that the Snow Flower Cheese Pork Cutlet was delicious, but very filling, and the massive amount of sauce smothered over top did make it very rich.
I really enjoyed my time at Solmaru, at the apex of the Palgongsan Cable Car. The view was incredible, the air was fresh and clean, and the food was tasty. There was also the outstanding way that the food looked, and it was both special and fun. If you have a chance, definitely take the trip to enjoy both the mountain and the food.
