This place really reminds me of home! The food is comforting, flavorful, and just hits the spot. Highly recommend the larger pot of budae jjigae--perfect for sharing and packed with all the essentials. The bossam is super tender and comes with all the right Banchan. On top of that, the service was warm and attentive--everyone made us feel so welcome. Great spot for a cozy, satisfying meal! Recommended items: Budae Jigae Bossam Haemul pajeon Additional Bonus: Gejang! They have both the soy sauce and spicy version read more

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They are known for their buddae jjigae and they are a family run business! Service is amazing and super kind and the food is always exceptional! read more

동생과 함께 재육복음과 닭도리탕을 먹었다 너무 맛있게 먹고 밑반찬이 아주 맜있었다 깍두기 와 김치는 정말 최고 다 맛집 최고 입니다 다음에 오면 고등어 조림에다 김치를 넣어 먹을 계획이다 쎈터빌 에 이런 맛집 이 있는것에 감사한다

Came here for the first time and was so shocked that they served gaejang (raw crab) because besides from Korea, it's usually difficult to find a place that will serve this. I was very impressed and with the high cost of crabs, naturally it was too $27.99 per portion but I do think the portions were generous. I would say it was equal to about 5-6 crabs? We also ordered the guk bap (soup/rice) and it was so flavorful! They do offer some toppings you can add if you want to make it saltier, spicier or more peppery. The service was ok, there was noone up front when we initially got there. Someone eventually walked in and waited on us but honestly, it was hard to tell who was a worker and who were customers. Inside they have about 10ish tables but not suitable for large parties if that is what you're looking for. It is located within a strip shopping center so it's most ideal for a quick lunch situation. read more

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Ok, I almost want to keep this a secret but if you're in the mood for soy sauce marinated crabs, this beats driving to Annandale for it. You step in and feel like you've been transported to the back alley of some 90's Korean establishment but fret not, just grab a menu and point to what you want. Want to share a bubbling pork next stew for two? Want the most beautifully presented tender, moist, pork bossam? Would you rather skip the good stuff and get that piping bowl of white rice ready for the soy sauce crabby goodness? I was never a crab top rice mixer but all the Koreans will tell you, it's the best part! Wash it down with some of Korea's water after hours, our good friend soju and I promise you'll have a grand old time. Service and decor isn't what you came for, the food is. read more

When you go for a joyride and wind up in Centreville looking for Korean marinated crabs ("ge-jun"), now you have a place to go! Hwangbooja is a tiny little hole in the wall that serves up authentic marinated crabs. The big decision, do you get the soy-marinated, or the spicy-marinated? I went with the Spicy Crabs and the did NOT disappoint at all. Soft, well-marinated, and spicy enough but not too crazy to overpower the sweetness of the crabmeat, I downed those crabs in minutes. If you've never had Korean marinated crabs, stop by Hwangbooja and give it a try - you'll be glad you did! read more

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CENTREVILLE, VA 10/21/18 DINNER +The soybean soup that came with the grilled mackerel was okay. Lots of vegetables, but could've used a little more tofu. +The prices are fairly reasonable compared to other Korean restaurants in the area. -The mackerel was burnt black. -The pork "haejang" soup was extra, super salty. -The water cups were dirty AF. -Customer service was 'bleh,' since it looked like there is one cook and one server. If you're looking for a quick Korean meal, it might be better to go next door to Siroo. read more

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Food is inedible but the reason I am giving 1 star is because they ripped my 75 year old father off by writing in a 40% tip. P.S. The food is gross. read more

First of all, their service was great! The servers cared about each and every customer. They came out with a smile and were really nice! Also, their food is high quality! You HAVE to try their soup! Better than ALL Korean Restaurants I mean it, literally. Definitely coming back! read more

I remember when I last came i had such a bad experience... but in my most recent encounters, I've been loving everything I got. It's really a hole in the wall restaurant that tastes like grannie's cooking. Will continue to come back. read more

The 1sr time trying this in VA. It's definitely recommended to come and try this raw crabs

I go here for one thing....( Dakdori tang)! They do a fantastic job making the spicy chicken soup. It is the only place in the area that I can find that makes it. It is very spicy and flavorful comfort food. The restaurant is in a small strip mall and is nothing exciting, but the service is good. read more

OK this 5 star is for one of the food in the menu. Their raw soy marinated blue crabs!!! Hands down probably takes the place of number one or two of raw soy marinated crabs in my life. You have to understand that the menu that this restaurant puts down is ment as "an joo" AKA korean drinking food. But their food is soo good that you don't need to drink. :) So... if you like raw crabs come here. As for the rest of the menu... I would place them in the 3,.5 to 4 star category. read more

Just walk out.. not worth your money or time. Worst service I've experienced! They told us to eat within ten min and leave, and then came back saying we exceeded 10 mins so we should pay a fine. They even rejected customers because the waiter was too busy drinking with his friends and felt too lazy to accept any more ppl. Seriously there are so many other better local businesses to support and food here isn't that special anyways. Please don't ruin your mood by going here. read more

Ordered Bossam and Budaejjigae. Are they aware what they are selling? The food has gone bad and we had to throw them away...

Place is alright for mid-size groups. My friend and I ordered two Don-Katsus but they forgot to tell us that their sauce ran out as soon as our food came out. read more

The place is a little restaurant in a shopping center. There's nothing really special. Just a decent Korean restaurant. Food was good, not bad at all. Definitely satisfied my korean cravings. I ordered from their lunch menu and it was around $7. Decent size to fill up the stomach. read more

Hwangbooja Korean Restaurant - Average tasting Bulgogi - Korean Near Me - Centreville, Virginia

I had a party of 3 for dinner ordering large seafood soup. Although the food was alright and full of crabs, the service was just absolutely crap! I came in during their dinner time and the employees started drinking on the job and eating dinner. Do you know what happens when they do that...the service goes to hell. no water refills, no more sides, asking for napkins becomes a hassle because I am bothering them when they are eating. They are not attentive and I felt like leaving as quickly as possible. .. read more

Apparently they have a good reputation for having one of the best dak dori tang (spicy chicken stew?). It was sweet and spicy, the way grandma used to make! =) The server is the owner, he doesn't smile much, but he's actually very nice. At least for us, he was accomodating. AND my little sis likes chicken feet so we had one of those. I'm not a fan... Feels like I'm sucking on baby toes haha very super spicy! Try it if you dare! read more

Hwangbooja Korean Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Centreville, Virginia

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Walked in with my daughter and husband, no one greeted us just stared. Than finally I had to say table for 3 and the guy waved for us to sit at a table. The woman walked over to our table so grumpy and the first thing she says is "what are you looking for". I said we know what we want. She said "what do you want". I told her a soup and asked if it had meat in it and she "no. You can go next door". She basically asked us to leave. I asked her "so you have no soup with meat?" And she said "no we dont". We walked out of there. read more

Great korean restaurant! Another gem in centreville for authentic korean food; really puts the korean shikdang (restaurant) vibe. Typically come here to order budaejjigae, bossam and some soju. Be cautioned that it gets pretty packed during prime dinner time and they dont stay open late (think 10) read more

We're Korean , and were looking for something different, and glad we found this place. Perfect portions. Bo Ssam (pictured) is really nice. Everybody enjoyed our lunch! read more

Hwangbooja Korean Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Centreville, Virginia

Always here for budaejjigae. It has a clean taste comparred to those served in other korean restaurants in the area. It always gives a warm huge to my soul after a long stressful day at work. Don't go there for service go for food. read more

Hwang's Tofu is a small Korean restaurant that specializes in Tofu Soup (sundubu). They also serve a wide variety of other Korean dishes such as bulgogi and bibimbap. The restaurant is clean, the waitresses are really attentive and my bibimbap was *really* good! If you're going as a group, you may want to consider going a little after lunch so that you can get a table to fit everyone. Prices are possibly a little higher than what you would pay in Annandale, and they also have a weekday lunch special. Next door is a Korean Karaoke place, so if you're going in the evening, consider combining the two places :-). read more

We had budae jjigae from here first time and I had to throw out almost everything because of that weird stinky odor from spam and ham. Hopefully nobody in my family gets sick out of it. Never again. read more

It's a Sunday, so it's time to try a new Korean restaurant. My goal is to try at least two new restaurants each week. Today I went to Hwang's Tofu. I had a pretty heavy meal yesterday so I thought I'd try something lighter, like Soon-Doo-Boo. Hwang's Tofu is easy to miss. It's in a small strip mall across Pickwick Square. I thought I'd order a Soon-Doo-Boo, but my dining sidekick saw something that made him scream in joy... Boon-Dae-Ji-Gae. The literal translation is "Army Stew." It was a popular dish after the Korean War, since it was basically tossing whatever food scraps you had in a pot, along with spam, which the US Army would give out. The end result is something like Kimchi Ji-Gae, but with spam. It tastes a LOT better than it sounds. It's hard to find in the US because it's not a standard Korean dish, and it's considered low-class. In the Bay Area, I only found one restaurant that ever served it. We went in to a small but cozy restaurant. It looks like your standard Korean restaurant, right down to the heavily varnished wooden tables. The first thing we ordered was Haemul-Pajun. I love this appetizer, especially when it's chock-full of seafood. But Hwang's Tofu's leaves much to be desired. For starters, they use carrots in the recipe. I'm not sure how this ties in with the seafood aspect. Secondly, there's almost no seafood in it. Barely any shrimp, almost squid at all. way too many green onions. Don't order it. It's terrible. But the Boon-Dae-Ji-Gae made up for it. It comes in this boiling wok-like bowl, on top of a gas stove. Imagine a steaming stew, bubbling with spices. It has sliced duk, gobs of spam, chunks of ground beef, boiled kimchi, vermicelli noodles, green onions, generous amounts of tofu and more. Mix it up with a small bowl of rice cooked with beans and you have an incredibly unhealthy feast fit for Gods. One order is easily enough for two people. It would be enough for three if they ordered appetizers. The Boon-Dae-Ji-Gae was very very good. Spicy, sour, and steaming hot. Forget the Soon-doo-boo. Order this instead. You can get Soon-doo-boo anywhere. Boon-Dae-Ji-Gae is much harder. Oh and the Ban-chan was very good too. I loved their kimchi. It's sour and spicy just as I like it. They also bring out fishcakes, which I love, and the bean sprouts too. This place is great. I can't wait to go back for some Soon-doo-boo next time. Their lunch menu looks great too $5.95 for Bulgogi can't be bad. I'd give it 5 stars if their appetizers didn't suck. read more

It's rare that I give more than 4 starts but this places gets 4.5 stars.. Hwang deserves it because it really makes good simple real Korean comfort food. I have never seen any place in DC metro or even NY offering 'Bbun-dae-gi' on the menu. I wouldn't eat it now (even if I ate these ugly things a lot when i was REALLY young like 4-5 yr old..) but it's great to see this on the menu to bring out some of my old memory.. I won't explain what it is.. so ask your korean friends about it or google it:) Other dishes like dak-ddong-jib (using odd parts of chicken) are also unique. When I saw this place by luck (it's small and located at the end of a small shopping center), and I was intrigued to check it out because of the name of the place. It's called 'Hwang's Bu-dae-jji-gae' in Korean. The name of the restaurant gave me impression that it specializes in one down-to-earth korean comfort-food that you would share with your friends along with some drinks in very casual setting (very popular dish for share in college people or any group of people-hang out). I was just with one friend for lunch on saturday so we ordered grilled fish and bean-paste soup. Both were very tasty. Side dishes were simple but again very tasty and I was satisfied. If this place was a bit closer to DC, I would visit more often but it's a little hike for me to go there too often since I live in DC.. BUT I know that I will go back there again to try either Bu-dae-jji-gae (seems to be the specialty of the Hwang's) or Kam-ja-tang (pork-potato-stew, which is another very comfort/down-to-earth blue-color class-food, but EXTREMELY Tasty), even if I rarely eat meats:) If you want to try some real-home-cooking Korean meal, try this place. read more

1. Extremely poor service 2. Overpriced menu 3. Their staple dish, budae soup, as well as a couple of other dishes are actually pretty good but everything else will make you wanna scream for a refund. Simply one of the worst Korean restaurants in NoVA if not the worst. Enough said. read more

Service was friendly. When we got there, there were no tables left except the one the owners were sitting at. They quickly saw us, got up and ushered us to sit down so we didnt have to wait at all. We had their specialty which was the boondae chigae (shared the smaller size among 3 ppl for $28). This spicy Korean stew sure satisfied my cravings for kimchee and spam! According to my other Korean friend though, she said it tasted like it wasn't cooked long enough, not as tasty or thick as boondae chigae should be. Don't forget to ask for water, they tend to forget to refill your glasses and you'll need it to cool off the spiciness. As for the soondubu (or soon tofu), it really dissapointed. Usually you get a full menu of the many different ingredients you can have the tofu with, or the level of spiciness, or a couple eggs on the side to crack into the boiling hot tofu, or even the "boiling" of the hot tofu. But NOOO, they don't offer that. Its also pricier than anywhere I've seen. Ours didn't have anything really in it except one shrimphead. oh well, I do love Korean food and I'll probably be back here to try the OTHER items on their menu and they actually were nice people... read more

I am a HUGE fan of boo dae jji gae (military base stew - awkward translation, but it stems from the time in post-war Korea where stew was made out of meats and leftovers from US army bases). I'm always on the search to find a place that can outshine my favorite place (Ga Bo Ja in Annandale) in the Centreville area. This restaurant is located in a small strip mall off of Route 29. It only seats 15-20 people max and is specifically geared towards Koreans. It had a sign outside in bold letters for boo dae jji gae, so since that is their expertise, I expected it to knock my socks off. I was sorely mistaken... First off, the service was horrible. We came at an awkward time (5pm), so there was only one other table. The waitress took our order and then sat down to watch tv and chat with two other employees. The side dishes were just typical ban chan that you would eat at a Korean home - bean sprouts, kimchi, fish cakes, etc.). When the actual stew came out, I noticed something very important was missing. Ramen noodles! I have never been to a place where they charge extra for ramen noodles in military base stew. It's just a given - it's supposed to be included! The soup was very bland, they didn't add a bunch of different meats, mainly just hot dogs and ham - no meatballs, no sausage, no pork belly, etc.). I was very disappointed since they clearly advertised boo dae jji gae as being their speciality. Not to mention that this stew is a little spicy and they never came around for refills once. Nor did they come and check up on the table to see how we were doing. If you're looking for a boo dae jji gae experience in the area, I would check out Ham Ji Bahk or even Nulbom Pocha in the shopping center where H Mart is. Their soups are both pretty good. If you get it from Nulbom, make sure to ask them to leave out the cheese. That makes it a little too creamy in my opinion. Another place besides my favorite place in Annandale (Ga Bo Ja) is Ara Fusion Restaurant and Bar. Theirs is pretty decent as well. I may be a little biased in my review since I haven't checked out their other food items, but I don't think I will be coming back just because of the service and quality of the one thing that I did try. Maybe their other menu items are better than the army stew, but I'm not willing to find out. read more

Gejang was great. Little pricey but worth it! 5/5 for this dish. The photo is two orders.

I left this place utterly disgusted - never have I had such terrible service and bad food in the same place. I had their dwenjang-jjigeh(bean curd stew) and it was very watered down with scraps of some kind of seafood and undercooked vegetables. Side dishes were minimal and the waiters never checked on me the whole time - in fact they were just sitting down watching tv(no other customers in the restaurant). This place was probably the first restaurant where I left no tip behind. It's been a couple months now since I've been here so I really do hope they've gotten their acts together. As for the boo-deh-jjigae, my friends who've tried it were not impressed by it. I recommend tossuk-jib in Annandale for the best boo-deh-jjigae in town. read more

A well-known joint for Korean BooDaeJiGae, which is a hodge-podge stew that's very popular amongst older Korean generations. A closer look at what it is (http://korean-cuisine.blogspot.com/2008/10/boo-dae-jigae-base-soup.html). They serve other foods, but why bother? We ordered the BDJG without looking the menu. 12 or us went and ordered 3 pots. I do believe two would've been enough for all 12 of us. Maybe two pots and couple appetizers would've been better. I didn't think it was anything special or exceptional. I didn't like how they didn't include ramen noodles and it was an add-on item. Big mistake. I understand nobody would enjoy BDJG without ramen but it should definitely be included in the BDJG, not as an additional charge. The pot itself is extremely easy to make but may take some time to gather all the items, thus why people may come out and enjoy this. I will probably come back in future, but will try to make it myself at home and save $$. The service wasn't great either, which made my dining experience bit worse. read more

This place is okay... I feel like every time I come, the service here gets worse so I don't think I'll be coming here again. The food here is pretty decent, nothing special/amazing. It's very traditional with a lot of spice and flavor. I'm usually pretty good with spicy dishes but I think this place might be a bit too spicy for my taste. Overall, this place is average. read more

I'm writing this review after a few months since we visited the restaurant. Boo-dae-ji-gae for 2 people was in the low $30's from my memory. We can get better meal for the price we paid for their boo-dae-ji-gae. The ingredients are not expensive ingredients. Why are they charging so much? The taste was not outstanding either. Their ban-chan (side dishes) were stale, but not spoiled, indicating low turn over of their food. read more

Hwangbooja Korean Restaurant - Over-priced Boodae Jigae - Korean Near Me - Centreville, Virginia

People are being way to harsh. We ordered the boodaejigae for 20 dollars. Perfect for 2 people. It had sausage, spam, rice cake, japchae noodles, tofu and kimchi. The broth was flavorful and not greasy. Nothing amazing but still good. Took a while for it to come output maybe because 2 other parties walked before us. read more

I came here because I heard their budae jjigae was really good. However, it was one. Of. The. WORST. EXPERIENCE EVER. We ordered budae jjigae, which was okay. Nothing special. The ban chan (side dishes) were ok too. Kind of dry. Service was horrible. We went there at 8pm and it was just our table and another table. The other table was filled with drunk men and the waitresses were sitting there pouring them drinks. They were sitting on their laps and we heard them saying that there were minors (referring to our table... Btw we're close to 30 years old). They were cursing, talking about inappropriate things. I will never come back. Ever. I was planning on taking my parents here to eat, but nope. Definitely not. read more

I went to Hwang's Tofu on 5/23. I am reviewing a restaurant for the first time on Yelp because I want everyone to know about this place. I went to this place based on a word-of-mouth recommendation from a family member. I was asking around to find a place in Northern Virginia that serves seasoned raw crab (gejang) in either soy sauce or spicy seasoning. I was told this place does. Well, I first checked Yelp and saw the reviews weren't stellar. But because I was craving the above menu item so much, I wanted to give it one try. Now I want to go back every chance I get. One thing to note: I had no idea this restaurant existed after having lived in Fairfax county for a long time. Hwang's need to do a better job advertising. Even their name is misleading. They don't sell just tofu. Their Korean name is Hwangbooja Boodae Jjigae. But, while I haven't tried their boodae jjigae yet, that's not all they sell. We ordered: bulgogi, fried mackerel with daenjang jjigae, and spicy raw crabs. Each cost only 9.99. That's comparable to or cheaper than H Mart food court prices. The side dishes (banchan) were plentiful, fresh, and tasty. The three items we ordered all tasted good. The bulgogi is a little different from the taste I'm used to but it wasn't weird or bad. It was just a bit sweeter and had more vegetables in it. Fish and jjigae was typical but good. The crabs were exactly how I remember it tastes when made right. Fresh, chewy and spicy. I did not get sick from it afterwards. So that confirms the freshness. The bathroom is clean. The server (there is only one) appears to be the owner (or the owner's son). He had a laptop on a table where he was playing a video game when he had a chance. But that didn't affect the service. Timely order-taking, service, and refills of water and rice. I love that this place has clean, no-frills interior with good, fresh food and quick service at low prices. I'll go back to try their other menu items soon. read more

I tried this place mainly on the advice of the review of "nat h." earlier, found because even though I've lived and worked in the Fair Lakes / Chantilly area for a couple of years now, I still don't know the area as well as I know DC. If places like this are findable, then that should change. This was a very nice spot; I came late with a friend and we were not disappointed with our visit. As stated in the other review, the service was good and the food was very well-prepared. On the first visit, I was a little cautious, having been recently disappointed on visits to some other Korean restaurants in the area. Not so here. The bulgogi (my safe choice) was excellent; preparation and seasoning were on point, and the service was unbelievably fast. Keep in mind I arrived a bit after the typical lunchtime; it was sometime after 2pm. Still, I will certainly be returning and am confident I'll enjoy my next and future visits to this nice find (that I doubt would have been discovered without yelp and the other reviewer!). read more

They literally reuse kimchi and soup.. I saw the worker reusing kimchi from other tables. Terrible.