In Koreatown, there is this home style sober-up joint called Myung Dong Kyoja. It features dumplings and noodles and is ideal for those late evenings after you’re completely plastered out of your mind and need to recover. Unfortunately I wasn’t intoxicated at all, but it was cold and was in need of something soupy.
This is restaurant #5 on my 2014 LA food expedition.
Note for 2022 migration: this is an old post from my other defunct blog. I remember this was highly rated back when I visited in 2014. The food was definitely very homely, and one of the reasons I really enjoyed LA Korean food. It seems now this restaurant’s been re-branded to simply “MDK”.
Food
Pork dumplings. Because a person in my party was allergic to shrimp, we ordered just the basic pork dumpling. The skin was very thin, but the contents inside tasted just like homely Korean food. There was a little soup in it, similarly to Chinese soup dumplings. I thought these were pretty good, and it did remind me of those nights when I was completely intoxicated after clubbing in Taiwan and needed to sober up.
Beef bulgogi. We also ordered some beef bulgogi to share. It’s decent, though nothing special about it.
Kal-gook-soo (chicken noodle soup). This is their most popular item. The soup was very light and borderline bland. There are some shredded vegetables and a few wontons. The noodles are very soft such that they break apart relatively easy. Even though I prefer noodles chewy, this was OK for me. I did dump a lot of the side kimchi into the broth to add some flavor.
Final Verdict
In the end, the food was reminiscent of Korean home cooking. Although the chicken noodles were bland, I did enjoy them for what they were. The dumplings were also pretty good, and the beef bulgogi is the same as most other places’ beef bulgogi. Prices are fairly cheap, and the food is served really quick.
I would love to come back here again after a night of drinking.
Revisions
- Nov 12, 2022 - Migrated post from other blog.
- Feb 8, 2014 - Initial revision.