Koo's Sweet Rice Pancake Ho-tteok Cart – Delicious Ho Dduk (Korean Sweet Pancake) in Koreatown

[Lau]

**For full post and pics**: http://www.lauhound.com/2012/01/koos-...

This is a very short post on a cart that only serves one thing, which is a Korean sweet pancake that is called ho dduk. The cart is located outside of the California Supermarket on Beverly between Western and Normandy. It’s a tiny cart that has a Latino woman making the ho dduk. I think this used to be at the other location of California Supermarket, but luckily I checked online for the address before I went there otherwise I would’ve gone to the old location.

Korean Sweet Pancake (Ho Dduk): This is a pancake that is made up of wheat flour, tapioca starch, corn flour and rice flour. The pancake is filled with a mixture that is made up of brown sugar and cinnamon (traditionally I believe it’s supposed to have chopped peanuts in it as well, but I don’t think it has any here). The pancake is cooked on a griddle with some oil. The outside is hot and a bit crispy, but the inside is gooey. It’s got a great sweet cinnamon-y flavor. I really like ho dduk, so this was great for me. The one thing is that I’m not sure they cook them fresh to order anymore. The lady gave me one that I believe had just been made as it was very hot and fresh tasting, but I saw a lot of pre-cooked ones. Many years ago when I first started going here they used to cook them fresh to order and they are obviously best when cooked freshly. 8.5/10

Overall, this place is very satisfying for me. I definitely think it’s worth checking out.

[junglekitte]

I liked it a LOT the first time I went here. Hot off the griddle and scorching with the sugar mixture oozing out! Yum! But the following two times I went, they had some pre-made they barely reheated and handed to me. It wasn't nearly as tasty as a fresh one, but somehow I still gobbled it down. :)

[Lau]

yah i remember going to the old location and they used to cook all of them fresh and they are so good when they're fresh and unfortunately as i noted they now seem to have some of them premade although the day i went i got one that was very fresh so it was great

[TonyC]

This is such a hit and miss, and borders a rip off.

For $1, I'd much rather have the Taiwanese imagawayaki carts in front of various SGV supermarkets. Rosemead Super Store always has the same guy, and he always sells them with a variety of stuffing.

[Lau]

i mean honestly you're talking about $1, you can barely buy a candy bar or soda for $1, so i think its hard to say its "rip off"

i love imagawayaki, but it's a completely different pastry than a ho dduk so i don't think they are really comparable.

Btw i haven't been in a while, but if you like imagawayaki, i used to really like the ones at mitsuru cafe in downtown LA jtown (always freshly made). they also have pretty decent home made manju as well, they're not going to look as pretty as the ones you get in most manju stores, but the ohagi is very good
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mitsuru-cafe-...

[nlk]

I have few fonder (is that a word) memories than visiting korea during a bitter cold December and looking on every corner for a cart or stand that sold those. I didn't have to look far in Seoul. In la, on the other hand, they r fairly hard to come by. But alas, u can buy a box of the mix in most k town markets. Some of the boxes even have directions in english. They r actually quite easy and a he m of a lot of fun to make, and even this idiot-in-a-kitchen was able to make them taste better than the ones u can buy here on the street.

[Lau]

i've actually got a box of the mix sitting on my counter right now, i'm curious to see how they turn out

have u tried the ones at koo's?

[nlk]

I haven't tried them there. I'll try to make it over there at some point. Thanks for your write up.

[Lau]

yah if you get them fresh they're definitely good

i had an experience having a not fresh one recently when i was back in CA in garden grove at a different truck there and it made a huge difference, it was kind of whatever. the freshness is definitely key

[nlk]

you had asked me if i had them at koo's. I had it a few times at the old location, but not since they moved. I do plan to try it out, although making them at home was so much fun and tasted even better, although it may not have been the least sticky/messy thing in the world...

[Lau]

yah this was the first time id had them in a few years (i'd only been to the old location previously)