Mhat Korean Restaurant

Not in KTown but damn good. I would even venture to say better dak galbi than Mapo on Olympic.

It is Strip Mall Faboulous at Crescent and Moody in La Palma. For those unfamiliar with this area, the areas of Cerritos/Artesia and into La Palma in Orange County has a pretty good Korean and Chinese population. So you can expect some good Korean in this vicinity. I actually grew up in this area.


You can’t miss same plaza as 7-11


They do have the classics but really you come here for the dak galbi.

The big difference between here and Mapo, is at Mapo you see the whole cooking process at tableside. Here at Mhat the chicken is already cooked but is heated up at tableside with perilla leaves.


Banchan was very good. The other big difference is Mapo’s doesn’t really serve up banchan like this. I loved eating all of it here.


And here it is, the dak galbi! I added cheese which was extra. There is also sweet potatoes, carrots, and rice cakes in there. Those rice cakes soak up that delicious sauce. Chicken pieces were all dark meat and tasty.


Seafood pancake. Great crust on this thing!


Then they take your leftovers from the dak galbi and turn it into fried rice!

Free Thrifty Ice Cream too!

Service was very nice, some damn good cooking out of this kitchen powered by Korean Aunties!

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Largest Possible +1

I actually did up a map of Korean south of the 105 and mentioned Mhat here:

I know, I know, it says Orange County but probably mostly North OC/Cerritos area.

So glad someone else tried the dak galbi at Mhat. The lady who runs this place was the former ajeumma/chef/owner at Jang Soo Jang (not to be confused with Jang Soo Sushi Bar up on Bloomfield), a pretty darn good Korean restaurant that closed down a few years back.

I didn’t live in this area but I did go to high school at Los Alamitos and would come up here often as a kid (piano lessons, water polo, tae kwon do, usual 1st gen tiger mom litany of extra-curriculars) so I’m pretty familiar with the surrounding restaurant scene, which is pretty darn good as you mentioned.

The bulnak jeongol (bulgogi and octopus casserole) is also off the chain; for some reason I’m oddly a fan of the surf-and-turf jeongols, maybe I’m just a chewy octopus guy…

I don’t know if you’ve tried ChilPo Haemultang off just off Pioneer and the 91 up in Artesia, but that place is also amazing.

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Since you mentioned Mapo can you tell me what to eat there ?

Mapo on Olympic x St Andrews only serves dak galbi

oh right! now i remember… need to go