Myung Dong Kyoja (MDK Noodles)

"Myung Dong Kyoja, an LA Koreatown import—one our LA buds also like a lot—feels like a food courtyard cafe at a mega-spa. Considering Houston is hot as hell most of the year, MDK’s soothing bowls of handmade cold noodles, made with chlorella and arrowroot, should be your summer obsession. The chewy noodles loaded with spice, funky kimchi, and cold vegetables are filling but not heavy, meaning you won’t have to crawl across lava-hot pavement to your car. What to order: 비빔국수 辣朝鲜冷面 (mixed spicy chlorella noodle)" - chelsea thomas, gianni greene

"Myung Dong Kyoja, an LA Koreatown import— —feels like a food courtyard cafe at a mega-spa. Considering Houston is hot as hell most of the year, MDK’s soothing bowls of handmade cold noodles, made with chlorella and arrowroot, should be your summer obsession. The chewy noodles loaded with spice, funky kimchi, and cold vegetables are filling but not heavy, meaning you won’t have to crawl across lava-hot pavement to your car. While the restaurant is massive, the vibe is more people-who-lunch or a casual quick dinner than big groups. The food is also light enough that grabbing a bite here before a dinner or date you aren’t looking forward to could save you from any hangry mishaps. " - Chelsea Thomas

"Demand for MDK’s dalgona has since slipped to 150 to 200 pieces monthly, says Stacey Shin, who runs MDK Houston." - ByMaggie Hennessy

"Thanks to Squid Game, the brutally enjoyable Netflix series that’s currently fascinating the country, wildly trendy Dalgona candy is now officially a thing at the Houston outpost of MDK Noodles. For those who haven’t seen the series, the Dalgona candy, made from caramelized sugar, features prominently in an episode of Squid Game, a Korean television show that involves contestants competing in a series of children’s games that look deceptively easy, all for a chance at a huge cash prize. Fortunately, though, at MDK, no one has to compete in a terrifying game to get their hands on this airy, crunchy candy. Also called ppopgi, or honeycomb candy, sugar is heated until it’s caramelized and fluffy, then poured out, pressed into a circle, then stamped with a simple shape like a heart. Like in the TV show, Dalgona candy fans are obsessed with carving the shape cleanly out of the circle, even though they don’t actually face certain death if they fail. There are thousands of videos featuring recipes for making your own Dalgona candy on TikTok, but it definitely seems easier to leave dealing with hot, sticky sugar to the professionals. Scope out how MDK Noodle makes Dalgona candy using a process identical to the one used in the show via the restaurant’s Instagram account: Dalgona candy is currently available at MDK Noodle’s location in Asiatown. No word yet on how long the deviously delicious candy will stick around, so fans of the show will definitely want to get their fix sooner rather than later." - Amy McCarthy

"Myung Dong Kyoja, a Korean noodle joint known for its brothy bowls and dumplings, is just about ready to open the doors to its first Houston location. The restaurant will open on May 22 at 9798 Bellaire Boulevard, Suite F, inside the Sterling Square shopping center. Ahead of its arrival, the restaurant has been offering a preview of its dishes for delivery and takeout via apps like DoorDash and GrubHub. A representative for the restaurant tells Eater that the original plan was to open the doors at Myung Dong Kyoja earlier, but like everything else, its debut got held up by the coronavirus pandemic. The chain opened its first restaurant in Los Angeles in 2005, and has since expanded to two California locations. According to Eater LA, it’s one of the city’s essential Korean eateries and a solid destination for kalguksu, a brothy soup packed with knife-cut noodles. Sometimes referred to as MDK Noodles, the restaurant serves an extensive menu of Korean soups, noodle dishes, and pork dumplings. Spicy cold kimchi noodle soup, rice cake and dumpling soup, and knife-cut noodles in spicy chicken broth are on the menu, along with pork dumplings, bulgogi noodle bowls, and a few bibimbap options." - Amy McCarthy