Introducing a delicious buckwheat noodle dumplings restaurant at Doraemi Market in Wonju

Wonju in Gangwon-do is a place truly devoted to dumplings. They say Wonju's kimchi dumplings originated after the Korean War, when people made them using leftover napa cabbage from Doraemi Market—Wonju's first wholesale produce market—just to fill their hungry stomachs. That's why Doraemi Market is said to be a historic place that has preserved the tradition of Wonju's kimchi dumplings. There's a wide variety of dumpling dishes here, even including "kal-mandu," where dumplings are mixed into kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup). Besides this place, you can easily find hand-made dumplings at the nearby markets too. I grew up eating kimchi dumplings so often as a kid that I got sick of them. But after becoming an adult and moving away from my hometown, you wouldn't believe how much I ended up missing those dumplings..

There are more seats if you go inside. There's air conditioning, so it's cooler and not as hot as you'd think~ Since it was later in the day, past lunchtime, there weren't too many customers, but... you can see the older folks enjoying a bowl each despite the heat, haha. Even after we went in, customers kept coming in.

This is a restaurant that has appeared on TV several times. There are quite a few famous restaurants around here that have been on broadcasts~~

My mom loves kalguksu, but I prefer mandu (dumplings) over kalguksu. So here, I ordered kal-mandu, which lets me enjoy a bit of both^^

It has buckwheat noodles, buckwheat kimchi dumplings, and ongsimi (rice balls) and tteokguk rice cakes in it, so you get to taste a nice variety! I'm really curious how they make the broth~~~ hehe

These are kimchi dumplings packed full of filling. Honestly, I tend to prefer dumplings with kimchi over ones with meat — the flavor is so clean and refreshing~ hehe

This one has ongsimi (chewy rice dumplings) in it too, and it also has meat in it, hehe. Taste is a matter of personal preference, so please keep that in mind..hehe. Actually, I like kimchi mandu (dumplings) more, lol.

It even includes rice cakes for tteokguk, so I get to try a nice variety of flavors — I really love it~~

There was so much food that I left some, but my mom ate every last bit, haha. I've been to a few dumpling places with wheat flour noodles before, but I prefer buckwheat, so this is the only place I go to. For those of you who like wheat flour, they also sell regular kalguksu and dumplings here. There are plenty of other restaurants around, so you can just pick whichever you like.

Why buckwheat is good Buckwheat contains many lipolytic enzymes, so it is effective against high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and constipation, and it is a pesticide-free, pollution-free crop.(Rural Development Administration) Buckwheat strengthens the intestines and stomach, boosts vitality, clears the mind, and removes putrid matter from the five internal organs.(Bencao Shiliao) Buckwheat clears stagnation, stops neuralgia, and stops diarrhea.(Compendium of Materia Medica) Wonju Dumpling Festival Oh! I heard they're holding a dumpling festival in Wonju at the end of October. There wasn't anything like that when I was little, so I'd love to go down there later to match the festival dates... hehehe I looked it up and it turns out last year was only the 2nd time they held it... no wonder I didn't know about it... lol

구 도심으로 그리 큰 곳은 아니지만 주변에 시장들이 모여있는 곳이고... 강원 감영도 도보로 이용 가능하니까 겸사겸사 이용해보셔도 좋을거 같아요.. 위치 [네이버 지도] 원주도래미시장 강원 원주시 중앙시장길 35-4 https://naver.me/GwEupnPQ