Ode to LA K-Town

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
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K-town has you covered at 4am after going out and it has you covered at 7am if you’re nursing a hangover.

Planned to go to this restaurant for some seafood jjampong.

https://m.yelp.com/biz_photos/yangji-gamjatang-los-angeles-2?select=Fc1J5-c2f17YJu1OyY9D2A

Noticed that the one next to it was packed at 830 am (literally all 12 tables taken, sign up sheet up already) and called an audible.

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No pork neck stew here and also no English name for me to Yelp but they do have beef neck stews. This one is suite 7. The other is suite 6.

Soup is absurdly good. Really flavorful . Filled with simmered cabbage and topped with chives. So good I can’t imagine it being much better than this good.

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I got the one in the bottom left corner, the beef neck with dried cabbage.

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What are some of your Ktown favorites? Extra points if it’s not the board default answer for that particular specialty. Extra points x 2 if it’s a spot with minimal to no English.

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next time, gam ja tang/gamjatang if you want the spicy pork neck soup and the best place IMO is ham ji park.

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ma dang gook soo for knife cut cold noodles, either reg/spicy

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or buckwheat w/soy milk

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the $8 hwe dup bap (spicy sashim salad) lunch special at hwal uh kwang jang

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non korean in k-town: biriyani kabob house.

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For the record it’s Sun Nong Dan. Seems to be the reigning hot spot for sul lung tang right now.

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Thanks!

24-7 also.

https://m.yelp.com/biz/sun-nong-dan-los-angeles

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I gather it got a big boost from David Chang…

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Ah, was that one of the places he went to? Didn’t notice that and that explains things.

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He went twice - that should keep the lines there 24/7 for the rest of the decade

From Twitter

davidchangSun Nong Dan
FOLLOWING
**So good...had to go back again**
3,765 likes
1w
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Really? We needed a New York Chef to tell us that K-town is a cultural treasure to native Angelenos?!

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Enough of that NYC vs LA stuff @J_L :wink:

None of the FTC/CH crew reported on this spot so maybe we do?

I will say a lot of the patrons were middle aged Korean speaking families and even elderly Korean couples so I’m not sure Chang’s twitter feed is enough to explain the popularity.

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Sun Nong Dan is actually famous for their spicy kalbi jim. If you go for dinner time, I’d say 8 out of 10 tables will have ordered it.

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it’s Korean dishwater posing as $11 soup, what’s there to report on?

Also, this thread is useless without the latest/greatest pochang macha, norangbang&hostess bars. Cuz without those, you might as well follow David Chang’s IG

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We hear about every single opening and closing of a random dumpling place in SGV but nothing on one of the most popular restaurants in K-town right now?

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you mean this thread? If so I disagree.
Or this thread? If so I agree.

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as i mentioned before, david chang also dropped $100 at kang kang in alhambra and loved that as well. outside of the SJB, the only thing to recommend kang kang is price point.

http://luckypeach.com/lunching-at-kang-kang-food-court/

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NPR had a story on two cookbook authors who were inspired by, among other things, LA’s Koreatown.

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Sun Nong Dan has had a wait for quite awhile. Non korean patrons have definitely increased though. Used to frequent Young Dong but now always go to Sun Nong Dan.

It is more expensive though. Their jangachi, kimchi, and kkakdugi are much better though as well as the broth.

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i’d be more influenced by the fact that david chang is… korean, but either way, some angelenos won’t venture into k-town for various reasons that you and i may not agree with, but it is what it is.

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that center is quite the spot sun nong dan and hangari. between those 2 spots, it keeps that parking lot a zoo pretty much at all times.

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Damn David Chang why you gotta blow up my spot!

I love Sun Nong Dong especially because its 24/7. If you want pork neck stew just go next door to Yanji Gamjatang I think I spelled it right but you get the idea.

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So how about Korean BBQ these days?
Is anyone cooking over charcoal anymore? I imagine Soot Bull Jeep still is but their meat quality was never that great.