Jun Won Dak IG @junwon_la
Korean restaurant · Koreatown ·
Korean comfort food, galbi-jjim, samgyetang, generous portions
Korean comfort food, galbi-jjim, samgyetang, generous portions
"Jeff Jun and his mother, Jung Ye Jun, have managed to morph their beloved restaurant, Jun Won, into a mostly take-out spot in Koreatown serving just their most popular dishes. Named “dak” for chicken, the tiny eatery serves spicy braised daktoritang in a massive serving big enough for the family to share. The other chicken specialty here, samgyetang, is a comforting soup of ginseng chicken, fragrant with garlic, jujubes, and ginseng that will knock out a cold, flu, or even a hangover with ease. Jun Won’s excellent braised black cod (eundaegu jorim) and galbi jjim are also phenomenal, flavored like a proper Korean mother’s meal, and portioned enough to share. Order in advance by calling Jun Won Dak. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Southern California/Southwest" - Rebecca Roland
"Koreatown’s longtime mom-and-son restaurant Jun Won Dak is serving up some of the city’s best samgyetang, a comforting cold-weather soup of ginseng chicken. The dakdoritang — a hearty, spicy stew with chicken and vegetables — is another standout. The restaurant also offers longtime favorites that aren’t focused on poultry, including galbi-jjim and eundaegu jorim (spicy braised black cod)." - Matthew Kang
"I love that this literal one-table place knows what it does best and sticks to the classics: the pared-down menu features only four dishes, led by two chicken preparations — a comforting, brothy samgyetang that’s extra satisfying as the weather cools and a daktoritang, a spicy braised chicken with a sticky sweet soy base and plenty of softened vegetables. The menu also includes one of the best galbijjim in town and a terrific eundaegu joorim (spicy braised black cod). The owner, Jung Ye Jun, feels like that sweet older Korean imo everyone wishes cooked for them, and the restaurant means a lot to me personally — it was one of my dad’s favorite Korean places in LA — so my advice is to order everything and enjoy the leftovers for the week." - Eater Staff
"Koreatown’s longtime mom-and-pop (in this case, mom-and-son) restaurant Jun Won has reopened as a takeout-only spot serving some of the city’s best samgyetang, a comforting cold weather soup of ginseng chicken. Jun Won Dak also serves some longtime favorites, like galbijjim and eundaegu joorim (spicy braised black cod) to enjoy at home." - Matthew Kang
"Watching Jeff Jun and his septuagenarian mother, Jung Ye Jun, work a tiny one-table restaurant along Third Street, I was struck by how much history and resilience this spot carries: it’s their third location after earlier runs on Eighth Street and Western Avenue, and after pandemic closures they reopened in a takeout-first space with just a single four-top and a VIP table. They now focus on four homestyle dishes—eundaegu jorim, galbi-jjim, daktoritang, and their signature samgyetang, an herbaceous, almost medicinal chicken soup—with Jung Ye still doing much of the cooking while Jeff manages everything else and appreciates the low overhead." - Matthew Kang