I got the beef soft tofu soup. To be honest, it was perfect. The color, flavor, stone pot,…read moreeverything was great. I remember once I had soft tofu soap at this place in Bellevue where the soup was orange color. So glad to get some super authentic soondubu!

The go-to spot for a massive Korean feast! If you're in…read moreSeattle and craving a proper Korean hansang (full table spread), this is the place. I always consider trying somewhere new, but I keep coming back here whenever I want that perfect mix of side dishes, grilled fish, and meat. I highly recommend the Family Combo. For around $89, you get an incredible spread: about 8 different banchan (side dishes), grilled fish, spicy squid stir-fry, bulgogi (or spicy pork), marinated crab, and soybean paste stew. Even though I cook Korean food at home, it's a lot of work to prep this many dishes at once--this is exactly where I go when I want that "home-cooked" variety without the kitchen stress. The restaurant feels cleaner than before, and the service has gotten much friendlier. While many people come for the BBQ, the Family Combo is the hidden gem. It easily fed three of us with leftovers! At roughly $30 per person, it's unbeatable value in the Seattle area.

My friends and I stopped by Danji Korean Cuisine for dinner and I was honestly blown away by the…read morequality of the food here. As visitors from the Bay Area where there are a bunch of Korean restaurants, I can confidently say the food here is far better than your average Bay Area Korean restaurant. Between the four of us, we ordered a 12 half-and-half piece wing set, a seafood pancake, a tofu soup, and a beef bibimbap. Although food takes a long time to come out of the kitchen, the food is worth the wait! The seafood pancake was some of the best seafood pancake that I've had. The pancake had generous amounts of seafood in it and the crispiness could not be beat. Although the bibimbap comes in a large stone pot and is sizzling hot coming out of the kitchen, you unfortunately aren't able to extract any burnt rice from the bottom. Perhaps a little bit more oil is needed to achieve this? Despite this, it's still a really nicely constructed bibimbap bowl with a solid variety of vegetables. The chicken wings are crispy on the exterior and juicy on the interior. The wings are on the larger size, so once you get past the thin layer of crispy skin on the outside, I recommend dipping the wing back into the leftover sauce on the plate for more flavor. Last but not least, the tofu soup had a deep kimchi flavor, and was very mild in terms of spiciness. I thought the rice cakes included in the bowl were cooked perfectly and had a nice bounce to them. Overall, if you're looking for Korean food in this part of town, I don't think Danji Korean Cuisine can be beat.

Danji is a great Korean option on the east side but the prices definitely suggest east side. If…read moreyou're willing to drive a little further away, you can get equally good or better Korean for less. I ordered the stone pot bibimbap. The display was beautiful but the rice didn't crisp up against the stone pot the way I expected, and that may have been because of how it was plated. I also ordered the six piece mixed fried chicken - the chicken was super hot, freshly fried and flavorful. I can definitely see why they advertise the chicken on the door. It's not my favorite Korean place but I'll definitely come back here if in the area.

Coming from outside of the Lakewood, Washington area, it's easy to become overwhelmed with the…read morechoices of Korean cuisine in the area. If you had grown up in this part of Pierce County, you are familiar with the enormous changes. However, this is one restaurant that has stayed with the times. Locals know, this is the place to start with, an original - Ho Soon Yi. Where the place can easily be swallowed up by the hustle and bustle of businesses on a very busy city street, this casual sit-down Korean restaurant has the everyday favorites you are familiar with. Where many Korean American establishments focus on the BBQ aspect, Ho Soon Yi focuses and masters other parts Korean cuisine. Specifically the soups!! And they are tasty!! Definitely the tofu soups are there, but there are appetizers, fried rice, and the traditional small side dishes are also served. My friend and I ordered the savory seafood pancake as the appetizer. As for soups, I ordered the Pork Tofu Soup and it was great! Definitely satisfying, and I didn't miss the BBQ one bit. Yes, the do have kalbi and bulgogi (beef, pork and seafood) but that is for another time. There are definitely plenty dishes to try. And all are tasty. You won't be disappointed. Come see an original before seeing the others. See Ho Soon Yi... soon!

Came here for lunch and got the chicken bibimbop. When it came out it was sizzling and looked…read moredelicious!! Turns out it was the most lackluster bowl of sautéed veggies and burnt rice. There was nooooo flavor! It desperately needed salt, MSG, soy sauce literally anything to add flavor. The super hot bowl crisped up the rice which was a fun texture but made it stick to my teeth real bad bc it got too crispy. Some parts started to burn bc the pot was so hot. The chicken was non-existent. There were a ton of beansprouts and pickled veggies which costs next to nothing however they charge $20 for this dish. My friend got shrimp fried rice and also had to add seasoning when she got home. For the prices, I'm shocked at how bland and boring the food is. The service was quick and they get packed during lunch hours.

Amazing soups and soondaes! Some of the freshest and softest soondaes I've had in the US. The…read moreGukbap was also very flavorful and full of tender briskets. Kimchis were also super fresh. Really nothing to complain about here besides I wish I'm closer to the restaurant.

To be honest, I was hesitant to try this place because my very first experience with Moobongri…read moreSoondae in Las Vegas was disappointing due to a strong, unpleasant pork smell. However, this location completely changed my mind--it was absolutely delicious! Traditional Blood Sausage (Tojong Soondae):It was incredibly savory and rich, exactly how I like it. They were running a bit low on the traditional ones, so the staff kindly mixed in some sticky rice sausages (Ch찹쌀 Soondae) and pork ears. Even the sticky rice version was surprisingly chewy and tasty! Spicy Soondae Soup (Spicy Sausage Soup):The broth was perfectly spicy, clean, and deeply comforting. It's the ultimate hangover cure! There was zero gamey smell, just pure, hearty flavor. The ambiance is that of a casual, no-frills, traditional Korean eatery. On top of the great food, the service was wonderfully friendly and accommodating. If you're craving authentic, high-quality Korean blood sausage and soup in the US, this is the spot. I'll definitely be back!

Food was Great Customer service was amazing…read more Place was small, but felt like home. I will recommend to friends and family.

Ok, do you like simple Korean food? Do you like to not have to travel to Lakewood or Federal Way…read morefor Korean food? Do you also not like to look at overwhelming menu because the traditional Korean restaurants would have 3-4 pages of menu, which entails food items that typical Americans would not think about eating? Well, I'd say you're in the right place for visiting Iron Pot! Fun fact: the restaurant interior looked like a bar in the former life. I will be frank: I was doubtful about this place at first because I honestly thought the place was gonna be some Americanized Korean restaurant with little portions served and what not. However, I was actually impressed with the whole menu, the service, and the food! My friend and I were seated quickly because we entered right before lunch rush hour. After that, we were given menus and ordered our food shortly. I was caught by surprise when I saw the Banchan dishes were actually decently looking good! Next, my friend ordered Kalbi Beef rice plate, and I had to order the Bibimbap bowl. Everything tasted perfect! We really enjoyed our experience lots. 10/10 will come back to try more dishes.

go-to dinner location whenever my friend and I go downtown! we always feel welcome thanks to the…read morefriendly staff, and the food is delicious as well. it's cozy and warm and I enjoy my time at every visit.

Another visit to Hotstone, another kimchi pancake. Oh, so good!…read more This time around, we added a thoroughly enjoyable dish of spicy pork bulgogi and a big bowl of steaming kimchi tofu soup. Since it was cold and rainy outside, the soup really hit the spot. The spicy pork was delicious, as always. And the banchan was plentiful and tasty. Mmmm! The best part of our visit was our server. She told us it was one of her first times on the job, and she was understandably nervous, but she did a great job! I really love this place.

This is definitely the best seolleontang in Washington! Better than the other…read more I got the combo and bf got the tendon one. The portions are huge and I loved the side dishes! The star of the show for me was the spicy green sauce they give you on the side. It was so addicting and something you don't usually get when getting seolleontang.

Came in early for some rice and soup. Ordering is easy as there's a tablet at every table. It not…read moreonly makes ordering easy but there is a visual for the items which is nice. There was also a real menu next to the tablet as well. The soup was piping hot! With an order of the soup you get kimchi and fermented octopus which goes great with the hot rice. We didn't get the bowl of green onions as a condiment with the soup. But maybe it was something we had to ask for? We also ordered the pan friend kimchi mandoo. It had a nice crunch and the filling was plentiful. If you have leftover, they do charge for boxes.

Yummy food but oh so pricey! I ordered takeout through the…read morephone for my first visit because I was interested in the lunch specials that were offered. Unfortunately, I was looking at an outdated menu on Yelp, so the spicy tofu soup is no longer on the lunch specials, AND if you want a "lunch special," it needs to be specified when placing the order. I assumed that because it was lunch time, I would be paying the lunch pricing? That wasn't the case when I arrived. Parking seems to only be on the same side as the barber shop (which i think is connected to the restaurant as well?). When I walked in, I didn't really check out the place. Seems like a classic no-frills Korean restaurant. An ajumma (아줌마) appeared at the register after a couple seconds (lol that is the first description that came to mind). I informed her of my phone order and she brought out the food and rang me up for around $55? I was thinking, yikes, that's a steep price for a spicy tofu soup and a lunch special of the galbi and mentioned it to her. She told me that the portion made is not the lunch special and next time, make sure to specify that over the phone if I want the Lunch special or dinner portion. She clarified, while acting out the mannerisms, of customers that would complain about the Lunch special, because they would want a dinner portion instead, so she just places general orders as the dinner portion. (I can already imagine the Karens she must have received for her reaction, which is understandable, but at the time, I was just slightly irritated since I was hoping to pay a cheaper price.) I am assuming after this experience, there is a difference in portion size for the lunch and dinner pricing.. Besides the miscommunication, I can at least say that the food was prepared quickly since it was ready by the time I arrived at the restaurant (about 15 mins after I placed the order?). With the outcast weather, I was craving some soondubu, and Seoul Garden definitely delivered! The tofu portions were generous and the broth was the right amount of spicy where you can taste the flavor but it is not overwhelming. I was not expecting so many complementary sides either! They paired very well with the rice and galbi, which was thoroughly marinated in a delectable glaze. Even though I was initially frustrated that I received the dinner portion, I calmed down after eating the galbi. My son and I actually ended up devouring it.. the food was so good, I totally forgot about the pricing at the moment. Just keep in mind though, this place is not advertised as KBBQ, so you're paying for individual plates/dishes/orders that should already be cooked. I would only recommend this restaurant if there are certain staples you really enjoy (i.e. you're only craving bulgogi but don't want to go out to eat or grill it), because it is arguably just as expensive as KBBQ. But if you're a foodie that can afford it, I'd suggest stopping by to try it out yourself! :)

I'm not impressed…read more Because I got hustled out of the restaurant before closing time and while I was still eating! And I don't mean that the waitress just brought my check quickly, although she did do that, too. She actually asked me to leave, "So I can go home." It was still 35 minutes before closing time when I got back into my car after packing up most of my food. (8:25 pm. They close at 9.) Which packing I did by myself. She didn't help. She hovered there at my table while I worked, immediately grabbing every dish as I emptied it. It made me so nervous that I accidentally knocked the filled to-go-box off the table while reaching for another plate of food. The box fell upside-down, spilling the still very hot food all over my lap and the floor. So I lost half of my food. And got my blouse, pants, and jacket dirty. And the wasted food was somewhat expensive for a simple Mom-and-Pop kind of place. $20 for one item plus extra for the can of Coke. I do get that all those different vegetables prepared in different ways are a lot of work. I wouldn't have minded the price if the service had been decent and if I actually got to eat all of the food. I'm sure she wouldn't have done that to a couple or a group. Probably not to a solo male diner either. And maybe not to an Asian-looking solo diner (I'm Caucasian.) And I gave her a good tip, too. Before she asked me to leave, obviously. I shouldn't have signed the check before I was finished eating. Lesson learned. I was the only customer, on a Saturday night, and the only car in the customer parking lot. That was a little alarming, even more so on a dark night in a rundown part of town. Besides feeling a little unsafe, I questioned why the place was apparently so unpopular. They had no non-alcoholic drinks on the menu except for 4 or 5 basic brands and flavors of canned soda. Served right in the can with only a straw. No glass or ice. No ice in my water glass either. No tea of any kind, not even canned or bottled. She did offer coffee (which I don't like) after asking me to leave. I guess I was supposed to gulp down boiling hot coffee while I packed up my food. No desserts on the menu, either, nor was I offered any. When I later ate the food from the to-go box, there wasn't a single piece of meat in it. There wasn't much to begin with, and it all must have gone onto the floor. Good thing I don't love meat. I'm glad I made a big mess all over the floor under the table. (But I swear I didn't do it on purpose. She certainly deserved that, but I wanted that food!) The food (I had Bibimbap) was very good. I loved all the different kinds and preparations of vegetables, and the crispy rice crust at the bottom of the stone pot. It was bland though, and no salt or soy sauce was on the table. Maybe on request. I didn't ask, because the server didn't seem to speak English very well. The restaurant does have quite a few interesting kinds of soup and fried rice, as well as bulgogi, that I'd also like to try. If I come again, I'd request tea and soy sauce, and bring my own salt packets just in case. And I'd go very early in the evening. And long before dark. But I'll try K-Kitchen (another Korean restaurant nearby) first. I've never written a restaurant review before. But I joined Yelp to post this one. People considering this restaurant need to hear this story. So should the owners and managers of the place. Although I wonder if my waitress might have been the owner. Because what employee would do that? They'd lose their job! I live in a very small town in a very remote area. Going T o an interesting restaurant like this one is a rare and very special treat for me. And my money is as good, and as hard-earned, as anyone else's. I deserved better.