Jason C.
Yelp
As much as I wanted to give 4 stars, I went with 2 star and it had to do with the service, the cook and the whole process from the time I went it to the time when I left after my meal.
This place is located in/around industrial area, got lost, so had to do a U turn and finally found the place, parked and walked in. As much as I liked to be welcomed by Korean food smell, it looks like their ventilation systems needs some work. The older lady that managed the front never greeted me, just asked me how many in my party, I said 1 in English and was told to wait 20 minutes.
As I sat in the old couch, I noticed something odd in how they operated... the place was 3/4 full, plenty of open tables, so was bit lost as to why I was asked to wait 20 minutes but whatever. After few minutes, a couple came in and they were told it'd be 30 minutes. But, 2 minutes after the couple came in, two large groups walked in and they were seated right away, okay I started to get mad. Then I realized why they were seated right away, they either knew the owners or made reservation, ok whatever!
As I sat there, I observed and this is what I noticed in how they operated the restaurant.
1. Customers are seated, menu given, hot tea/water brought out.
2. The waitress does not check back with the customer for 10 minutes, during this time, they are bringing food for other tables.
3. After 10 minutes, they go back to the table, take the order, then instead of heading to the kitchen with the order, they walk around the dining room, check on the tables, then like 5 minutes later, they enter the kitchen.
4. You get your food, then ask for a bill when you are done eating, it takes them 5 to 10 minutes to get you a bill. Then even if you drop your credit card on the bill, they leave the bill and your credit card on the table and walk away. They come back about 5 minutes later, take your bill and your credit card, process the bill and come back.
The above is how they managed all the tables. I also realized why they told me and the couple to wait. Rather than seating us, they waited until few tables cleared up, cleaned up the table, then seated us. The whole process seems outdated, but looks like it works for them, but unfortunately, I didn't feel welcomed at all from the moment I walked into the restaurant. After being seated, the younger waitress brought me cold ice water, then the older waitress brought me water, surprised there was water on the table, she walked away...
I already knew what I wanted, so when the younger waitress came back, I ordered the following in Korean.
- Jjajangmyung
- Spicy Squid Bokkum
The order was written down, then few minutes later she came back and I was told the cook did not have time to cook jjajangmyung, gave me a menu and walked away. I didn't see her for 5 minutes, but by this time, she brought my spicy squid and banchans. I said, can you give me jobchae instead of Jjajangmyun and was told the cook was making the jjajangmyung and took away the menu. I was so baffled by the whole experience, I was taken back.
Bachans - they were decent, nothing special, expected to be a lot better, but acceptable.
Spicy Squid - bit salty, but goes very well if you eat it with rice. It seems they stir-fry the item for few minutes as the onions were still undercooked.
I would recommend this dish.
Jjajangmyung - surprisingly this dish was good. I would definitely order this dish again, the fact that the cook made this in less than 5 minutes and it was this good, I was surprised.
The food was good and definitely I would revisit if I'm in town again. However, the service, the attitude of the cook and the whole process threw me off!! This is not how you run a restaurant, but if it works for them, by all means continue, but seriously they need to revamp their front room operations. To those two ladies working the front, I wish them well, I know they are working hard, but they need help, I hope the owners (or the family that runs it) really think about hiring another person to work the front.