Kyung Ju

This is the only Korean restaurant in this strip mall. I wanted Korean in a sit-​down location (other than in H-​mart), so I popped in. I got fried mandoo (it said «deep fried» on the menu but thankfully, they were pan fried as I like them), a small portion of six for $ 7. I also got soup, a spicy cod and tofu soup. The soup was really a seafood soup with cod, squid, clam, shrimp, veggies and tofu. It cost $ 12. I got a variety of banchan and found them to be acceptable (probably from straight across the parking lot at H-​mart).
I enjoyed my afternoon snack while watching the woes of Mr. Kim, chairman of a kimchi factory, being surpassed by his son, while wanting to give his mistress’s son his last name, while his wife left him in rage, while his long lost daughter enjoyed becoming so rich that changing her own bedsheets was now a novelty… on a Korean soap opera. Ah, daytime TV!

We both ordered soups, one with dumplings and rice cake and the other with pork ribs and egg. The broth was bland and boring. Service unattentive, TV distracting, and a few insects wanting a taste of my banchan. It was lacking overall and I probably won’t come here again.

So I went here a few months ago to get my fiancé to eat Korean food. I’ve been with him 4 years and we’ve never been to a Korean restaurant? Shame on me. I went here as it was on the same shopping stripmall as H-​Mart, and the menu had a photos. Photos are important to Americans who have no idea what to expect from Korean cuisine.
As soon as we stepped in and looked at the prices, we almost left. How much for a bowl of stew?!? We ended up sitting anyway because once I’m in, I’m in, there’s no turning back. He ordered the seafood stew, I ordered noodles. I was pleasantly surprised about the portions. HUGE. I asked for a doggie bag, and the lady said that my noodles are gross as leftovers and I should just finish it. Wow, I understood that in Korean? Yay me. Okay ahjumma, I will just be a fat@ss and finish because you told me to and it’s polite to listen to your elders. And it’s not because I’m a fat@ss.
Fiancé was pleasantly surprised at how good his seafood stew was. He finished off his bowl and we both left 2 pounds heavier.
Yes, I’ll go back. The food was good, the owners were nice people, and it’s right there next to H-​Mart.

3.5 stars! I’m thinking that maybe I was Korean in another life, seeing as to how I have such a penchant for Korean food– barbecue, soups, you name it. A place like Kyung Ju is a bit more cozy and quiet (definitely a contrast from the Korean places I’ve been to in Annandale) but the food is just as good.
I was at H Mart when I felt the hunger pangs for some kimchi and fried mandu. Luckily, this place is just a few doors down so I stopped off for a quick bite. It was a bit disarming that it was so empty in there (my bf and I were the only ones dining). Either way, we were tended to a bit quicker than normal and got our food rather quickly. We had more banchan (with refills!!!) than you could shake a chopstick at. Tasty. I’ve tried the bulgogi on one trip and the bibimbap on another. The bulgogi has a bit more of a pepper-​y flavor than say, Honey Pig’s bulgogi, and was a bit dried out. Despite that, not too bad. It was also cooked in their kitchen, and not table-​side, as I’ve had at other Korean joints. Another time, I had the bibimpap– it wasn’t served in a hot, clay pot, but rather a plastic bowl. No bother though, it was still delicious and fresh as I’ve had elsewhere.
Added bonus, they usually have Korean soaps playing on the TV. If not Korean soaps, Korean gameshows! The service is great and our server (I’ve had the same one every time I go) is super sweet, attentive and gracious!

Had lunch here and was pleasantly surprised. It is a hole in the wall Formica kinda of place, in an unlovely part of Merrifield. But the food was very good. Every pan chan tasted fresh and clean, the different kim chi were good, and they served myul chee (anchovies) which seems rare around here.
The dolsot bi bimbap got a thumbs up from the Mrs., who really liked the type of gochujang (red pepper paste) they provided. The egg came out fried which was unexpected, but fine. I had squid w/​vegetables and spicy chili sauce with rice, ojinjeo deo bap, for all of $ 6.99, which earned the fourth star, for two reasons: first, the squid wasn’t rubbery, which it so often is, and second, it wasn’t so hot that it lost all flavor. Maybe they took it easy on us (we’re clearly not Korean) but two thumbs up for putting flavor over heat.
The woman who served us was incredibly nice, too. It certainly helps to know your way around a Korean menu, but everything had an English description beneath it. No pictures, though.
Lunch specials range from $ 7 to $ 11 or so, full dinner plates go as high as $ 20+, but you could get out of here for less than $ 10 /​person with a bowl of pork + black bean noodles in sauce, and be happy.

I will preface this review by saying I have NEVER tried Korean food before and today was my first time.
After a long shopping trip at H Mart, I needed to grab lunch and Kyung Ju was in the same plaza. Though I never tried Korean food before, I was up for the challenge of trying something new.
The waitress was very helpful. I told her I never had Korean food before, but that I would like to try something mild with beef. I also wanted to sample some authentic Korean flavors, especially kimchi, which I had heard a lot about. The waitress did her best to help guide me to the right choice and surprised me with five small plates of side selections, including kimchi. I am not sure if I was supposed to get these plates with my meal or if they were specially selected for me. In any event, I enjoyed tasting each one and putting them in my soup.
Oh, the soup! I ordered rice cake and dumplings in beef broth. I am a huge texture nut, so the rice cake was right up my alley. But the dumplings’ filling was a little strange tasting to me. I could not tell if it was the quality of the beef inside or if there were other ingredients I wasn’t accustomed to.
I also enjoyed the playfulness of the layers of the soup. I didn’t even know there were rice noodles and large slivers of steamed beef in the soup until about half way through my meal! It was fun to discover them.
Overall, the dish was warm and filling. Despite my apprehensions, I am open to trying Korean food again, because of this restaurant.

I love hole in the wall restaurants. This one was in a random strip mall, which made it particularly curious.
Our waiter was very friendly, and introduced my parents and me to a number of different Korean sample dishes, even adding extra food here and there as we taste tested everything.
Sure, the language barrier was there between us, but it was not a huge problem because the waiter was very patient and made sure to understand our orders through words, pictures and gesturing. When the food came out, we indeed got exactly what we wanted.
My bibimbap was delicious – it reminded me of the bibimbap I used to have back at my favorite Korean restaurant at home. To top it off, we got to try a shot of Korean alcohol at the end of the meal, which went down smoothly.
I wish this place were close to where I live, because I’d definitely eat here again! Great people, great (and quick!) service and a fun experience.

I usually enjoy Korean food, so I was happy to come across Kyung Ju, but I left very disappointed.
The service wasn’t *bad*, per se, it was more like non-​existent due to the language barrier. Though my friend and the waitress were trying really hard to communicate with one another, they never came close to grasping what each other were saying. This was just when he was ordering, so we didn’t dare try to communicate the need for separate checks.
I got dumpling soup with some sort of mystery meat in it. It wasn’t very hot or fresh tasting, and I wasn’t able to eat more than half of it. The hot sauce was embarrassingly weak. I had to go to another restaurant afterward, because I was still hungry.
I wish this place were better, because the location is really convenient, and service is pretty fast, but sadly, I won’t be back.

My wife had her mind set on the fresh pork bellies, but the guy told us they didn’t have it on the menu. Perplexed, my wife insisted that we had it last time we were here. The person even went back to verify that they indeed did not have it on the menu. That’s when we found out this restaurant is under new management since about a month ago. Everything pretty much looks the same though.
This place is still okay but our experience seemed to suffer from all the kinks in transition. Although the staff was super nice, service just wasn’t up to par. Things were forgotten or mistakes were made, such as accidentally giving us the wrong check. Just little things that ebbed away little by little at the experience. We will probably be back here. It’ll be interesting to see if they will iron out the kinks. Really nice people though.

I walked in hoping to expect a hole in the wall Korean place with cheap prices but it looked more like a mini-​restaurant meant for groups. The older couple running the store had been reading a paper but when I came in the women stood up right away and sat me down while smiling. After speaking a little Korean, she seemed a little less nervous. (I’m still learning so don’t think I’m fluent). You could tell she didn’t speak a lot of English but she was very nice. She was from Seoul and has been in the U.S. for five years. I ordered Soodoobu JIggae (Tofu soup) and while I waited she brought me glorious banchan (side dishes). They were all so good that I ended up devouring them. I loved the seaweed salad! It will be ingrained in my memory as happiness filling my belly. Then came the jiggae which was bigger than I had expected but it does explain the cost. For one person, I was not able to devour it all. It had bits of tofu (I prefer chunks), bits of shrimp and bits of squid which I have not had in it before. It was very spicy the way I like it but it was still good. I was pleased.
The funny thing is they had on Animal Planet for the majority of the time I was there then all of a sudden before I left they changed it to the Korean news. I found this quite humorous. There was no one else in there except me. While I ate they both sat and read a newspaper. When I was ready to go I called the lady over, «Yogiyo!» and she automatically knew I wanted to take the rest home. (SCORE!!! I LOVE LEFTOVERS!) When she came back with the food in a plastic container, she gave me a little Korean yogurt to go. I thought that was so sweet!
I am DEFINITELY returning! This time with friends!

i visited this place a couple of times… once got galbitang to go. once ate soon dooboo dining in. both times the food was ok — average. price was high for a hole in the wall in a deteriorating shopping strip. so then i take my wife there since it’s close to my house and the soon dooboo was ordered. it came very bland and it was nothing close to what i had the previous time — a defect. so i tell the cook/​owner and she just took it to dump a bunch of hot pepper flakes in there and said here you go. after one bite i determined it to be inedible and put it aside.
later on i get the bill and see that she charged me for it. i asked are you going to charge me for it? she said yes. i said oh. ok then. paid and left.
on my way out i overhear another customer who seemed to be a friend of the owner asking what happened. and the owner make some sort of snide remark saying they were the ones that wanted the dish redone.
just drive a few miles to go to annandale instead of going here. or just go to the bad to mediocre food court at hmart.