Dinner in Koreatown

[emi683]

Staying on 32nd and want a great dinner near by - nothing too off the wall... (under $25 a person)

[Paul SL]

I keep returning to Mandoo Bar. Cozy, comfortable place. Chef in the window turns out vast quantities of wonderful dumplings. My fave are the Goon Mandoo, crispy-fried porkalicious little spheres. Just a few, but satisfying, entrees like bibimbop and chop chae. Prices are quite reasonable and some of the servers can even be personable.

Mandoo Bar
2 W 32nd St
New York, NY 10001
[phone]

[thew]

i've been dying to go, yet never do . bad me

[david sprague]

dumplings are fair there....but in terms of food overall? bon chon for chicken. bcd for tofu stews, arirang for soups, kang suh for a variety of things. all on that block. hard to go too too wrong.and hope you enjoy your stay!

[Lau]

i dont really like mandoo bar, their mandoo are not that good and pocha is fun to drink at, but their food is just so so

Here's some of my recs and reviews:
- Arirang: really good kal gook soo (different types of handmade noodle soups)
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/596491
- BCD: the best soon doo bu in ktown (spicy tofu stew
)http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/562377
- Madangsui: best bbq in ktown
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/506275
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/457005
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/491390
- a long review in there from me with basically all the good restaurants in it (the above restaurants are new, so they weren't there when i wrote it
)http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/442795

also would recommend bon chon (which is in the long review)

[thew]

so who makes the best mandoo?

[UES Mayor]

My Mom!

[Lau]

you're not going to like this answer, but in manhattan none of the places make good mandoo (manhattan ktown's selection is very limited from a breadth of good korean food although it is improving), i suspect most of restaurants don't even make them themselves given the really poor quality of their mandoo with mandoo bar being the one known exception, but theirs are not any good

[thew]

it isnt so much that i dont like the answer as that wasn't really one.

[Lau]

well if you want me to be very direct the answer is that none of the places in ktown make decent mandoo whatsoever

just b/c there are korean restaurants in manhattan does not mean that they necessarily make a specific dish well and mandoo in manhattan is terrible...albeit on a relative basis mandoo bar is better

[thew]

i always want people to be direct :) how else will i know what to do with the answers they give me?

[Lau]

btw if you're really interested in mandoo there is a specialist in palisades park, nj that is supposed to be pretty decent although i haven't been there:
http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/nj-dining-a-palisades-park-pictorial/
http://snoh.wordpress.com/2007/06/11/...

[bigjeff]

ya mandoo is just terrible in that area. i do like some duk mandoo guk tho, but that's not really a mandoo-centric dish (and doesn't depend on it). Hyo Dang Gak's fried ones are alright tho!

[Pan]

I'd add Han Bat for hyaemul dolsot bibimbap. Is there another place in Manhattan that you like better for that?

[thew]

bon chon chicken

[kim e]

oh right! i forgot about bon chon. it's awesome chix, but go early...the waits can be horrendous.

[kim e]

i like BCD tofu. it has bbq and other stuff, as well as tofu. it's on 32nd between fifth and sixth, i believe.

[skimsogood]

pocha 32 (15 W 32nd - on the second floor) is the only decent place to go on that row. it's got traditional korean pub grub and the prices are fair. i'd also recommend cho dang gol on 35th between 5th and broadway for "country" korean food. hope this helps!