Moon C
Google
**If you are looking for authentic Korean food, I strongly do NOT recommend this restaurant.
2-3years ago, we came here and had an amazing experience — the food was delicious and the service was so warm and kind that I left a heartfelt, detailed review.
Recently, I missed that sense of comfort and decided to make a special drive to come back. Unfortunately, this visit was a complete disappointment and completely changed my impression of this place.
The menu had changed significantly, so I asked the owner for a recommendation. Instead of helping, he responded with a cold, dismissive tone, saying “Just order whatever you want,” as if we were bothering him and needed to hurry up. We were so taken aback that we awkwardly rushed to choose something while feeling very uncomfortable.
As I wasn’t feeling well, I was debating whether to order samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) or grilled chicken. While we were still deciding, the owner overheard our conversation and suddenly said, “So you want that one?” and started writing the order down without confirming. We had to stop him and explain what we actually wanted, which was extremely awkward.
While waiting for our food, we were served the side dishes and chopsticks. For a Korean restaurant charging $25–$30 per dish (we spent 100$) , I was shocked to see disposable wooden chopsticks — the kind typically used for takeout.
• Kimchi: It had a musty, off flavor and tasted nothing like authentic Korean kimchi.
• The only edible side dish was the cucumber.
• The tomato and cilantro salad — I can’t eat cilantro, and they didn’t even ask if it was okay. This dish, pictured, is something I’ve never seen on a proper Korean table.
During our meal, we overheard the owner saying things like, “No Chinese customers today. I wish more Chinese people would come, even for pickup.”
At that moment, I realized that the side dishes seemed to have been catered to a completely different palate — not authentic Korean cuisine.
When my samgyetang arrived, it was another disappointment.
Traditionally, samgyetang includes ginseng, jujube, and glutinous rice.
This version contained only a small amount of glutinous rice mixed with quinoa ? — no ginseng, no jujube.
Even worse, the chicken itself was shockingly tiny, almost like it came from a baby chick.
As shown in the photo, the drumstick was literally smaller than my finger.
I’ve had young chicken soup before, but I’ve never seen one this undersized and underwhelming.
Other dishes were equally disappointing:
• The pajeon (green onion pancake) was so greasy that it looked like it was sitting in a pool of oil, as seen in the photo.
• The grilled pork belly was unbearably salty — it tasted as though it had been soaked in salt. Even after eating an entire bowl of rice, the saltiness was overwhelming.
We were so hungry that we forced ourselves to eat, focusing only on filling our stomachs. But on the way home, we felt bloated and unwell from how salty and greasy everything was. This will definitely be our last visit.
The fond memories we had of this place are now completely replaced by this terrible experience. I just hope people don’t think this is what traditional Korean food is supposed to be.
It is truly disappointing that a place with the beautiful Korean name “Jangdokdae” (traditional Korean clay pot) is serving food and service like this.