Myung Dong Kal Guk Su

They are closed! Too bad. Never even got to try it.

I guess because we’re in the Artesia/​Bellflower/​Cerritos area, a little place like Myung Dong Kal Guk Su can actually survive! I’m sure that would be the opposite if it was situated in K-​town. I’m not a Kal Guk Su connoisseur but I know my noodles. The noodles here were way too overcooked! It kind of defeats the purpose of hand cut noodles when they’re not bouncy and chewy. I’ll hold my judgement on the broth since I’m not a Korean and neither am I an expert of Kal Guk Su, but I definitely enjoyed my past experiences elsewhere

I’m a bit biased since i’ve tried myeongdong kal guk su in Korea and this is just good but not fantastic. The broth is about the same except there’s less stuff in this broth.
The dumplings are really delicious though and the signature garlickly kimchi tastes almost as good as the ones I’ve tried before.

Perhaps the best Korean noodle house around and home to the tastiest, most well prepared bowl of Kal Guksu (knife cut noodle soup) and mandu (steamed dumplings) money can buy! The spicy, garlicky kimchi here is also fantastic!
This particular location is a family favorite because of its proximity to home but also for their stellar service.
If you prefer a spicy dish, try their Jjol-​myeon. It is a mixed, spicy noodle dish similar in taste to Bibim-​naengmyeon.
Note — please reference my August 5^th review of its sister location in Anaheim

Small sister or brother to the one in LA (Wilshire Blvd). Thanks to Unilocal,I am able to find a Kal Guk Su restaurant in the Lakewood/​Cerritos area. This location is a bit smaller but definitely less crowded.
Pretty much the same here as the one on Wilshire. You’re going to M.D.K.G.S. for their Korean noodles or dumplings and nothing more. They have a limited menu (maybe 10 items or less) and NO KOREAN BBQ.
Same rules apply… order more FREE noodle refills if you need in store. Super galicky kimchi (be forewarned). And simple and casual dining. The waitress asked us if we’ve been to the restaurant before just to take sure we knew what was up (I think just to be nice). I was there with a round eye so she might of been thinking we were looking for banchans and bulgogi or something.
Service was good, food was quick and good, plenty of parking. Credit cards ok. Just be careful if you take anything togo, your ride will smell like garlic and Asian food! LOL!

Wow, I thought it would be tough to find good kal gooksoo outside of K-​town or Garden Grove, but I was super surprised by this place. The noodles taste fresh and are the soft and chewy kind. The broth is made with real ingredients, not just the short-​cut MSG stuff, and they really hit the comfort spot with other great Korean comfort food dishes. I was fortunate enough to enjoy my dinner there with a coworker who happens to know the owner, therefore I got to try all kinds of tasty dishes. First, the kal gooksoo is very comfort food-​ish – it will give any chicken soup you know of a run for its money. I tried the bibimgooksoo as well – very nice and spicy – refreshing. One of their best dishes is their dongcheemee gooksoo (cold white radish broth with noodles) which is perfectly sweet and salty and tart, served with chlorella noodles which makes it truly unique. Chlorella noodles are green and healthy (hope they have less carbs, too!). I also tried the kong gook soo liquid, which is clearly made from fresh ingredients. It’s not really for Korean cuisine beginners, but great for those who love the cold bean noodle soup. I hear they will be adding seafood kal gooksoo (great for me), and meat (great for others). Definitely give it a try if you are in the Cerritos area and want great Korean cooking.

I was surprised how limited the menu was. It seemed like there was about 10 items on the menu. I wish I had read some of the other reviews before coming here. Since they also have ‘Korean Restaurant’ as part of their sign, I expected some standards available. My wife and I gave it a try, found it pretty blah.
I found the waitress annoying, seeming to think I wouldn’t be able to handle spicy dishes. I’ve been to Korea three times, I’m not unaware of their food. I ate about a ¹⁄₃ of my mediocre dish out of politeness. I was bothered by her patronizing comments about how it can be tough for Americans to eat. I wanted to tell her it was hard for me to eat, because it sucked, not from its heat (not very hot by the way). Made me angry since I only ate it to be polite and then to have someone be patronizing about it, difficult to hold my tongue.

Awesome noodle soup but selection is limited. Off memory there was a total of 6 dishes to choose from. The three appetizers very flavorful and very yummy. Facility is very clean. Could have gotten 5 stars but lack selection.

MmmMmm I love their ‘kal guk su’…the noodles are a nice soft, slightly chewy texture. The broth is bland (it’s supposed to be) but that’s why their kimchi is bursting with so much flavor! It is extra spicy and garlicky so that it can work with the ingredients of the soup. So delicious on a chilly day. Make sure to bring some gum or mints after loading up on the kimchi!
I’ve also tried their dumplings. They’re just alright. I’d say the noodle soup is definitely the star of this restaurant. The intereior also has some nice touches with traditional Korean decorations and wooden furniture. It just feels very relaxing and homey.

Came here on a cold sprinkling night with a few friends of mine. If you don’t know what Kal Guk Su is, it is basically hot korean noodles (apparently the noodles are hand sliced or something like that).
Honestly, I love having Kal Guk Su on cold days because of the fact that it is so filling and also so warming. The noodles are not too thin and have a good soft texture. Along with that, the broth comes along with some various vegetables and a little bit of cut up beef. yum yum. and of course u cant forget to eat this thing without kimchi. so good :)
the only complaint i would have about this place is that i think the kimchi here has too much garlic. my friends and i had to go get dessert afterwards to get that garlic taste out of our mouth.
otherwise though, this place is great :)

Love this place because it’s the closest place to us when we want kalgooksu and it’s pretty decent tasting.
I do think that the one on Euclid is a little better tasting than this place. However, the Euclid one is always packed with people. This place… you will never wait.
Don’t you dare come here to get something other than the kalgooksu!
I wish they had more banchan… hence the 4 stars.

The place was packed when we were there for lunch today.
We couldn’t park. Next to Myung dong is Del Taco, we couldn’t park there either. We parked at Ralph’s.Ok. Parking is solved.
There are 2 kinds of noodles in Asia, or 3 kinds including fired.
Thick noodle with soy sauce based a bit sweet is called Japanese udong, Korean noodle called kuk su is sometimes spicy with lots of stuffs in the soup. If you like kinda clean not so much meaty taste go for udong.
If you like soup style noodle go for Korean kuk su.
This place serves regular kal kuk su, spicy kuk su, mandu and a few other stuffs. As banchan you get very red fresh kimchee, no spice white kimchee, that’s all. Red kimhee is not that spicy as it looked.
Overall Myung dong is a quick kuk su place next to Del Taco in Lakewood.

Quiet place with pretty cozy setting. Wooden interior makes things more peaceful in my opinion. I have been here three times with my dad and the foods have been great. Every time we went we ordered different kind of food. First was the kal-​guk-​su, the Korean hot beef noodle. It tasted great and if you add on the kimchi to the top of it, it tastes much better. Oh. and a warning is that it’s really hot… You don’t want to burn your tongue :)
Second time We tried the Hanchi-​hwe guk su, which is basically like marinated raw fish (am I wording it right?) with noodle and whatnots. Very filling. The mandu (dumpling) is also great, but it alone isn’t filling so should be ordered as like a side menu (if you have a big appetite, or mostly guys).
The kong guk su, the bean soup noodle… was phenomenal. My dad was like «Have you ever tried a kong guk su with such soupy (yes the „great“ kong guk su should be like soupy. not all watery)» I have tried it before too, but this one was really good. I am assuming that their noodles aren’t flour-​based, but maybe spinach based, which is a PLUS to the healthy factor (green noodles).
Price on the other half… I don’t know why its a one $. I think it should be more of a 2 $… since with tax and maybe even tip… it will well go over the $ 15 mark.
But I recommend this place. If you are near the area and craving simple Korean food… This is definately the place to go. Or after a hard day’s work and you are meeting your special friend (boy or girl), this is the place for amazing Korean food.

This place is a little smaller than the other two but I think it taste as great or maybe even a little better. Kal gook soo and mando are my favorites but the other dishes are good also. The kimchi has a lot of garlic so if you are a garlic lover you should def give it a try.
Free coffee here which is pretty nice also and the food is all pretty cheap.
The soup is awesome the day after I drink

These are probably the best korean mandus I’ve had ever! They’re stuffed with pork and are absolutely delicious. A Korean version of the Shanghai xiao long baos.
I can’t speak for the other foods because usually when I come here I only eat the dumplings, but my friends love their noodles. As one who can’t take spiciness very well, they look very daunting with the bright red soup (as red as the Unilocal star!).

My review: 4-​star worthy.
Reason: It’s pretty good, but nothing to blast yourself about.
I tried the Spicy Seafood Noodles. Pretty spicy and tasty.
Only up to 4 stars. You’ll see. hahah
But like Ryan M., I agree that they only give you two side dishes because that’s practically all you need.
I think it’s best for lunch.
This is the only Kal Gook Soo place in Cerritos, hence the 4 stars.

This was my very first encounter with an alternative Korean Cuisine offering other than Soondubu and Various KBBQ. Myung Dong Kal Guk Su, is also in the same plaza as The Donut Palace. Go here for a very appetizing and filling meal for brunch.
–Banchan; 2 side Dishes consisting of:
–Kimchi (Lettuce)
–Pickled Radish
Kal Guk Su; consists of: Pork Mandu (Dumplings), a mound of pork, on top of somewhat sizeable flour noodles (think of the dumplings, shredded into strips). With a mixed broth in concoction of various vegetables: mushrooms, cucumbers, and onions. The soup was warm and the broth was tasty (probably because of the supplement of the pork dumplings). Everything else was simply excess in providing more «health» and volume to the meal. If you get sick of Won Ton Soup, then this is another alternative to try out at least once.
The Banchan was very simple, the kimchi was really spicy but salty (usually the norm in most Korean places I’ve tried have more of tangy and sour after taste due to fermentation). The pickled cabbage (or whatever it was) actually tasted a lot better than their kimchi, so I was nibbling on that stuff like Peter Cottontail for a cool minute. Service was average, considering I was the only customer at 10AM on a Saturday Morning, and they were busy preparing for a 40 person reservation after my departure. Overall, it cost me about $ 11.00 plus tax and tip.
For any place to set the norm in terms of specialty in whatever culture I try. It’s more generous or rather my lack of knowledge of it that I place this «Kal Guk Su» as the standard. But if I find something better, hopefully Myung Dong will be prepared for a rebuttal in the near future. Otherwise, a good detour I took nevertheless now back onto physical training and job hunting, cheers!

For those of you who do not know what Kal Guk Su is, it’s basically Korean noodle soup. It is delicious, warm, and very filling. My mom and I have been here twice now and both times were very satisfying. The place is very small and quiet, a perfect place to relax and sip your noodles. Myung Dong is also the only place I know that serves REALLY GOOD Kong Guk su, which is basically cold bean noodle soup. Now I know what you’re thinking, that sounds disgusting, but it really isn’t! It’s one of the most delicious things ever (and healthy too!). The soup is made of crushed beans and it is served cold with cucumbers and green wheat noodles (not glass noodles). If this sounds at all appealing to you I definitely recommend this place!
The service is great, the food is great, but the variety is only so-​so. 3 stars, but I definitely want to go back.

They have really good mandu (dumplings) here, and I get it to go. It comes 10 to a package. It is unlike the typical Korean mandu. The shape is more like the Chinese sho-​ron pau (sp?). Taste is a cross between a Korean mandu and a Japanese gyoza. If you get it to go, you get a plastic container with 10 of them inside … so it looks bought or pre-​made. But anyway, it’s really good, and I usually finish half of them by the time I get home … without any sauce. It’s that good to me.
Since it looks pre-​packaged, I tried asking if it is sold anywhere in South Orange County, but I was unable to effectively communicate my question.
If you like Japanese gyoza, I think you will like these dumplings (mandu). I have never had their kal guk su, so can’t comment on that.

I had the Korean Style Teriyaki chicken and loved it. I also tried some of thier rice, noodles and a soup. I am not sure what the soup was, it was good. I came late night but the service was still good, it was not cheap but the food was of high quality and servings were more than ample. Parking was ok, seating good and atmosphere was too. I have been a bigger fan of Korean bbq more than Korean food itself, but one day I will learn to eat Kimchi and some other items. I plan to come back one day and try more things.