Top Korean Restaurant in San Gabriel
Young Dong Tofu House
927 E Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
Young Dong is a solid standard Korean Tofu joint, overall a 3.5. Its a good Korean Tofu place to eat at if you are in the neighborhood, but not worth traveling across town for. The restaurant is located near San Gabriel and Las Tunas in the same shopping center as 168 Market, Sam Woo, and ORiley Auto Parts. The environment is casual, loud, family-oriented, and no frills. Service is meh. The food came out within a reasonable time and they are friendly but indifferent. You will have to flag down someone for a refill of water or banchan. The restaurant is small-to-moderately sized and gets jammed packed. Even on a Friday night at about 10PM, there were only a few tables open. Seating is also cramped if you dont snag a booth. Some of the tables are essentially the dreaded community seating. In general, the food is tasty, prepared well, and good value.Spicy pork + Tofu: $18.99 and BBQ beef + Tofu: $18.99:The meat comes out on the standard sizzling plates and had good flavor. The meat, however, wasnt the best of quality but satisfying nonetheless. The banchan had good variety and was pungent and tasty. The kimchee and pancake were standouts in particular.
TK92 Korean BBQ
250 W Valley Blvd ste p, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
In this town there are plenty of Korean BBQ restaurants. But here at San Gabriel Valley we have our own special place know as: TK92 Korean BBQ. They offer excellent service, a variety of traditional Korean cuisine all with a hint of cool-retro ambiance.
Bonchon San Gabriel
710 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
I think Im a fried chicken expert... Bon Chon had excellent flavor and pretty good texture. We also have the kimchi fried rice which I personally enjoyed but would say its pretty standard to most Korean restaurants. Their chicken doesnt have as much better as other Korean fried chicken places Ive been to, but it definitely has the right texture that you would expect from Korean Fried Chicken. I also enjoyed the service level.
Sun Nong Dan
927 E Las Tunas Dr STE J, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
A new find of good Korean restaurant for us. Although this place has been here with the same name, this newly opened with new renovation seemed to be a new restaurant. Even the menu seemed to be different.Sun Nong Dan is a famous restaurant in Korean town and many of the Youtube food Vlogger had paid patronage to the restaurant.Now, this newly opened restaurant became an instant hit with the SGV locals. Sun Nong Dan is a perfect place to enjoy meaty Korean dishes. If you’re alone or with a small company, enjoy their Korean soup entrees like Galbi Tang(beef short rib soup) or Sul Lung Tang(ox bone soup).Sun Nong Dan is most famous for its Galbi Jjim, which is adequate for a big group of 3-4 people and more. We came this on a rainy and cold day. It was a perfect recipe to keep us warm up.Sun Nong Dan’s name came from a name of a place in South Korea. Sun Nong Dan, located in Seoul, South Korea, is originally a historical site known to have been an altar in the Chosun Dynasty. The King of the dynasty had used the altar to bring good luck to a good year of harvest.After worshiping the agriculture god, the kingdom would hold a big festival where they boil the farming cow into a hot soup to feed all the participants from the ritual. Some say that this soup was originally called Sun Nong Tang then later modified to Sul Lung Tang, which is the name of an ox bone soup we normally call these days.That’s what we ordered for our lunch, the oxtail and beef brisket soup. With many hours of cooking, the oxtail soup was so flavorful and tasty. One order was big enough to feed three of us.Besides the soup dishes, another famous dish is Galbi Jjim. Here at Sun Nong Dan, this dish is a modern version of this traditional dish with a contemporary twist. It is a big, heavy combination of beef, rice cakes, green onions, potatoes, carrots, kimchi and cheese. We also had this dish but couldn’t finish it. We had it packed up to take home. If you want to experience Korean cuisine, Galbi Jjim would provide everything that’s Korean food for you.Prices are reasonable. For a family of 3, expect to fork out $60 for the meal. If you want your individual soup, you can order ala carts for under $20.People are very nice here. The service here is definitely a big improvement from the Korean restaurant next door.
A Ri Rang Tofu House
529 E Valley Blvd #128, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
Originally wanted to go to Jazz Cat, but the line was incredibly long - we headed over to A Ri Rang Tofu House instead: warm food, good banchan, no wait definitely made for a pretty good meal.Service isnt the greatest here as the workers all seem super busy and barely have a second to pause by the table as you request for more banchan. But we were immediately seated and able to order within a few minutes, which meant that food came out of the kitchen in about 10-15 minutes. Not bad at all!All my friends and I ordered the combination tofu soup except for one friend who got the chicken broth instead. We also had an order of galbi ribs to share. Banchan was pretty impressive - I really like seaweed, so I was super happy that A Ri Rang served an unlimited amount of the tangy seaweed sidedish. They also had kimchi, broccoli, beansprouts, potato, tofu, and pickled spicy cucumbers. And of course the salad. All of the side dishes really got our stomachs ready for the tofu soup and galbi.Combination beef and seafood soup was not too bad. Each of my friends ordered a different spiciness level (I had mild, one had medium, another ordered hot). I preferred my mild the most as I could really taste the soup flavor. With the spicy soups, I really couldnt taste much of the soup - overall, not too bad. I think Young Dong gives a bit more seafood and other ingredients in their soup, but I liked the overall flavor enough. Cant complain.As for the galbi - it was a bit on the smaller side considering the price. I think we were only given like 5-6 pieces, which really isnt worth the price point. The taste of the meat was good! But the portion size is pretty lacking.My friends chicken broth was a winner. Very natural - perfect if youre feeling under the weather, want something warm, or want something healthy. Had the entire chicken in the broth as well as lots of green onions, ginger, and other ingredients. Tasted perfect on a chilly night.Located in Sunny Plaza - parking isnt too tough to find.tl;dr - Overall, Im glad I got to try A Ri Rang. Its a pretty decent tofu house, but I think I prefer Young Dong to this. Side dishes were good, and they do give you rice in a stone pot - I really like digging into the sides of the pot for the crunchy rice. Would come back again if I was in the area.
Yuk Dae Jang San Gabriel
704 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
This is a Korean restaurant, but you have to ask for a bowl of rice as the servers here wont offer it until you ask for it. This was the only Korean restaurant that Ive been in Cali that didnt serve your order of soup with rice - I mean the fact that I have to even mention this is an atrocity itself. Its unheard of.Our parents (Korean) were dumbfounded by this. The 3-stars isnt just for this lack of rice with our orders, but the food itself was very average. Not sure if it was because they were so busy, but all four of us were starving when we sat down so youd think anything tastes good at this point. We all left wanting something more, something else.
Ko Hyang Tofu House
140 W Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
Korean restaurant by Chinese.Not traditional Korean food
Gamjatop
416 E Las Tunas Dr ste e, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
A foodie coworker recommended this hidden gem Korean restaurant. I went right after work.No. 23 Soondae Hot Pot: Traditional Korean blood sausage in spicy broth with various ingredients. It starts white, turns red as it cooks. Perfect when just done - flavorful but intact. You can add seasoning to heavier taste.No. 14 Gamjatang: Generous portion with four large pork bone and half a big potato. Meat is very tender and flavorful. Big enough for two to share.This new spot in San Gabriel is tucked away in an alley. Great Soondae, but the Gamjatang really impressed me. Living nearby, I can catch their Weekday lunch special sometimes:10% off soups for dine-in (11am-2:30pm) Tuesday to Friday.
MANDUYO
264 S Mission Dr M, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
It was my first time visiting and have heard about Blossom Market Hall through social media. My partner and I shared a beef galbi & Tteokalbi and both were delicious! I also do appreciate their packaging and how they pack your food. Many seating areas, indoor and outdoors. I can imagine this place can get pretty busy during lunch hours and occasionally dinner hours. Finding parking on the street was a breeze but thats because we came on a Wednesday night. Definitely a cool place to meet with friends or just to hang out while having a bite to eat. Will definitely be coming back to Manduyo.