Best Samgyetang (Korean ginseng chicken soup) in Koreatown?

[ravi_queens]

Does anyone have a rec for a place in Koreatown that specializes / serves up good samgyetang (Korean ginseng chicken soup).

It's supposed to be cold-friendly. Just what the doctor ordered.

[Cheeryvisage]

Good question. I'd be interested to know too.

[Simon]

Me too. I love samgyetang, but have never found a good version outside of Seoul. I tried the samgyetang at that semi-hidden 2nd floor K-town place (forgot name) that specializes in noodle/chicken dishes, but found their samgyetang to be very weak (greasy, and lacking an intense ginseng punch). Interested to hear more suggestions.

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Arirang
32 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001

[Peter Cuce]

Not in Manhattan, but Joe DiStefano just wrote about one in Queens on his World's Fare blog: http://www.ediblecommunities.com/quee...

[Polecat]

And I had a good version at Tang, out on Northern Blvd near Francis Lewis. Best since my last bowl in Korea. They are actually an off-shoot of the Gam Mee Ok (sp?) on 32nd, so you might want to give them a go. Different menu though, me thinks.
P

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Gahm Mi Oak
43 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001

[Kurtis]

Give Cho Dang Gol a try, and the weather certainly calls for it! We usually make our own, and so I haven't tried their version, but the restaurant and their menu is one of more unique Korean place in K-town including their house-made tofu, ssam platter, and traditional casseroles called jungol.

http://www.chodanggolny.com/

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Cho Dang Gol
55 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001

[ravi_queens]

I ended up trying out Arirang last night. It was on the 3rd floor of your typical K-town building, and its specialty is samgyetang and noodle dishes (as Simon mentioned). Definitely satisfying samgyetang and enough to feed two people (1 bowl = $18.99) if you order something else (e.g., kimchi pancake). I did think it was a bit on the mild side. Is the real stuff supposed to taste this way? Thick, savory broth with a whole chicken whose meat is so tender that it falls off the bone. The black sesame, ginseng, gluttinous rice, boiled dates and red mushrooms were nice touches. I wanted more of a gingery/ginseng kick though. Don't know if this is just the gringo in me talking.

And maybe it was all psychological but I really did feel great afterwards. Restorative meal.
I will try out Joe DiStefano's rec though to make a comparison.

I will say that the service at Arirang was super nice. And the proprietress herself came out to greet everyone at the end of the meal. I appreciated this personal touch.

Thanks!

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Arirang
32 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001

[Simon]

Nice review. The staff were very friendly the time i went there too. Maybe i'll give it another try.

[Kurtis]

I've been to both of their locations, and one in K-town to have their whole chicken shabu. The food in K-town is I think overall better, but their kimchi - raddish and cabbage versions - in both of their location is what keeps me from returning. It's pretty awful, and there's something quite off-putting about it IIRC which was about a year ago. Hopefully things have improved?

[diprey11]

And I thought I was the only one who preferred samyetang at their Manhattan branch to Flushing. :-)

Unfortunately, their kimchi banchan is quite weak (in fact I believe that all kimchi offerings in the K-town are weak), but I feel their kimchi soup base is quite satisfactory.