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Okryugwan Restaurant 玉流館, a 2-storey building on the left bank of the Taedong River, is one of the landmarks in North Korea.
This is the lighting inside the dining room. It gives me an impression that it is much more grand and gorgeous than The Peninsular in Hong Kong, in view of the economic situation in the North Korea.
Naengmyeon (cold noodle) is served in brass vessel. This is the size of 200 grams. It is in fact quite large in portion.
Buckwheat noodle 蕎麥麵 is al dente . The broth is very mild, not salty nor too sweet, but pure and clean. Overall comment is "delicious".
Chicken Meat Stuffed with Bean Paste.
Green Bean Cake is commonly available in North Korean cuisine. In the middle, there is a small piece of pork. This cake is not oily.
Okryugwan Restaurant
玉流館 (옥류관)
Central District, Pyongyang, North Korea.
朝鮮平壤市中区
Tel: -
Opening Hours: Daily
Style: North Korean
Average spending: RMB100
Date: September 2008
Website: -
Remarks:
1) Okryugwan Restaurant, a 2-storeys building on the left bank of the Taedong River , is one of the landmarks in North Korea . It started to operate in 1960, with a total area of 5,800 square meters, and can serve 2,000 diners at the same time. Okryugwan Restaurant is the most famous / important eatery in North Korea , and is often used as a place for the reception of foreign dignitaries and heads of state.
2) Okryugwan Restaurant reportedly serves an average of 20,000 bowls of naengmyeon (cold noodle) a day in brass vessel. The brass supposedly keeps the soup cold and retains the texture of the noodles. Brassware is one of the Korean traditional dishes and apparently it keeps cold food cold and warm food warm.
3) You won't be able to fully appreciate the taste of cold noodle if you are in a hurry. The noodle should be enjoyed in a leisure.
We are lucky to have a try of naengmyeon (cold noodle) in Pyongyang . It is learnt that Okryugwan Restaurant (OR) is a very famous restaurant. It would surely be a sorry if we have not tried in OR. Since OR is too famous, it is a must to book in advance.
Apart from some visitors to Pyongyang, like us, most diners are local citizens or North Korean officials. Their dressing gives us an impression they should be citizens with 'better' background.
Besides the cold noodle (200 grams), we also order other side dishes. It is about RMB100 (yes, in RMB or Euro) per head, this is surely a very high expenditure for the locals. Buckwheat noodle (蕎麥麵) in soup is served in brass vessel of diameter about 25cm . Food stuffs are served on top of noodle. Though it is served in cold, the noodle is very al dente. This is what we have not expected beforehand. The broth is very mild, not salty nor too sweet, but pure and clean (North Korean food is generally known to have a purer and clearer taste than South Korean food).
Lunch or dinner in Okryugwan Restaurant is not included in the itinerary of most travel tours. It is needed to request and make reservation in advance. It becomes a very crucial meal in this trip to North Korea . It is a must to try if you visit Pyongyang next time.
Service: 3.5/5
Food: 4/5
Environment: 4/5
Variety: 3/5
Hygiene: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
To know more about North Korea , you should click the following links. A program called ‘Don't tell my mother that I am in North Korea ’ was shot by National Geographic.
Grand People's Study House (The National Libruary 人民大學習堂)
It is a magnificent building in traditional style situated on the Namsan Hill in the city center. Its name means it is a big library for the entire people. The 10-storeys house occupies a total floor area of about 10 hectars with the height of 63.56m. It has 20 reading rooms and 21 lecture rooms accommodating 10,000 persons a day.
In my experience, there are always such splendid lighting in government buildings.
This is viewed from the second floor.
The beautiful young guide can communicate in English. If the lecture room is full, they would use this room to accommodate more students.
They are quiet in the study, as Big and Small Mr. Kim are always with them.
Computer usage is quite common in the North Korea, they can only access to intranet, but not internet. This is of course for easy control of the people.
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