Don Dae Gam

I’m very very sad. This place is no longer here. They closed down.

THIN SLICED PORK BELLY!
And excellent banchan.
Service was okay– attentive at times, very good with helping you cook, then they’d vanish for a bit (uhh hi guys, where’s our beer we just ordered?), then come back. Rest of the food was ok to pretty good, ‘cept for the skimpy beef tongue portion.
But damn, the thin sliced pork belly is GOOOOD!

I am in love, my heart is set. 3 reasons why Don Dae Gam beats multiple KBBQ places in Ktown.
1. Good quality pork, all slightly seasoned thus sauce-​dousing is not necessary
2. Raw spicy crab
3. Great service, you basically don’t have to cook
DDG doesn’t have an All-​You-​Can-​Eat option and while DDG is related to Park’s BBQ, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Great quality meat in set combos.
Their pork neck is the most popular cut, and it’s very good! It’s not your typical cut of pork, where you would expect a bite because a pig’s neck is full of muscle. But it remains soft and it’s seasoned just right.
We also ordered the black pork belly, which is what I really came for because pork belly is the main attraction for pork-​style KBBQ. I appreciated the thick slabs and it was also well-​seasoned. DDG has long strips of kimchi, made for grilling so the two can happily coincide on the grill. Super effin fantastic
And of course, I love spicy raw crab. The raw crab is in a soft shell and it’s marinated in a spicy and sweet mixture. I really enjoyed the contrast from switching from a hot piece of pork to gnawing on a silky, cold piece of crab. This would be, without a doubt, one of my favorite food pairings, ha…
I went through 2 bowls of the crab by myself, don’t be shy to ask for seconds –_​_​_​–
The key to having a successful porkgasm is to be careful not to overcook your meat. Keep an eye on the grill and since the servers are almost too attentive (I had to tell the server dude to slow down), be sure to pop the pieces in your mouth on time.
I’m counting on you to do this right…

tip: waiter cooks for you.
pork neck was sublime, it’s what people come here for. other meats like the pork belly, short rib were so so, nothing special. and thank goodness no frozen meat was laid out. not as many banchan dishes (around 4) but that’s okay.

This spot is at the top of my KBBQ charts on every level. And with good reason. They seem to have everything figured out. You get seated immediately, the service is synaptic, and the food.
The food. THE FOOD.
Is great. Atypical and delicious banchan: leeks, octopus, and a whole bunch of other goodies.
I’m more into the brisket than the pork. I know this place is known for pork but I tend to break with tradition. Relevant example: I order Bi Bim Bap at Beverly Soontofu. Anyway, the brisket is flavorful and wonderfully textured, and you cook if on a grill that looks like something like Lorn Humunculus’ helmet from The Road Warrior over wood charcoal. Decadent.
Anyway, white people, stop eating at that place where you are cooking meat on what is basically a frying pan over flame and step up to some real flavor. Tell ‘em I sent you.

Move over pork belly cause you have officially been dethroned in my book. I would have never imagined myself to be a Pork Toro, or pork neck, kind of guy. The one thing I’ve always held against pork belly was the fat. It’s just too creamy (soft fat) for me, even if you cook it thoroughly, I can still taste it. That’s not the case with the neck. The cut is ridiculously good. It absorbs flavor well, has a nice consistency and tastes just bombizzle. It was so good, I totally forgot to take pictures. Man, now that I know about it, I’ll be sure look for it on future Korean bbq escapades.
Recommendation: Pork Toro (Neck)

Don Dae Gam, the more casual sister restaurant to Park’s, was amazing!
For the 4 of us, we ordered the set menu option #3, which was $ 84.99 for 3 types of pork and 1 type of beef, and beer or soju (although we opted for soda instead). We ordered the pork neck, black pork belly, seasoned pork belly, and beef brisket, all of which I highly recommend. the banchan selection was top notch as well.
The servers cook the meat for you on the tabletop grill, which personally I like because it gives me more time to eat! Overall, I was super impressed with the service. We didn’t even need to ask for more banchan or salad — they brought it out upon seeing that we were running low. And the smaller, open layout of the restaurant means that it is easy to flag down a server, although you can use the call button if you prefer.
I really want to go back because the more I think about our experience at DDG, the more I think it might be one of the best KBBQ places in LA!

I am insane about this place. I can’t stop raving about it. One of my buddies is on his way to try it right now, just to shut me up. One of the best Korean pork bbq places ever, with great service, and a nice clean ambiance. If I could give it 10 stars I would.
Look for the pig on the sign wiggling its behind at you, coaxing you to come in.
First off, the pork here is a level above anywhere else. It’s so tender, tasty, and melts in your mouth that its like the kobe beef of pork. You can choose from pork neck to ribs to belly, and every cut will be remarkable.
The restaurant is clean, modern looking, but is on the small side, and most of the tables are circular metallic which seat about 4 – 5 people. Park via valet in the tiny lot. Service is awesome, courteous, 4 – 5 guys all working together to keep refilling our banchan, and cooking our food. Some of them speak English very well.
The meal starts off with two different kinds of salad. My wife could not stop raving about the soy wasabi dressing on one of them. The ban chan is 5 stars with spicy raw crab, and julienned potato salad among the other usual dishes which were delicious. I would recommend getting a combo meal as they come with steamed egg and soy bean paste soup.
Here’s what we had:
— seasoned pork belly: amazing flavor, something between a miso and a galbi marinade. Jaw droppingly good.
— spicy pork rib: interesting because it doesn’t come on the bone. It has a much more spicy flavor than the ribs you’d get at Ham Ji Park, but just as tasty if not more. Easy E loved them.
— dduk bok ki: more like a hybrid kim chee jigae which has thinly sliced rice cakes and the sweetness of traditional dduk bok ki. It was really really good. My wife thought it was the best she ever had, and she stopped raving about the salad to start gushing about this.
— deji bo ssam: we agreed it might be the best we’ve ever had. The pork was melt in your mouth tender and warm, and the cabbage was crispy and cold unlike the traditional soft cabbage. The kim chee had a nice sweet and crunchy taste. My brother and dad always get this dish wherever they go and they loved it.
— pork neck: had a nice pork belly flavor but more meaty with much less fat. Tastes great with the 4 different dipping sauces at each table.
— unseasoned rib eye: good, but not special.
This place really surprised my whole family with how great it was. The next day, my wife ate some leftovers and she threw away the scraps. I came home to find them in the trash and I fell to my knees in despair. She had to physically restrain me from eating them. That’s how good this place is.

Quality-​wise, the best pork I’ve ever had!
We came here on a Fri night, since Palsaik was SO packed and we didn’t feel like waiting an hour for some meat. DonDaeGam is just a little bit south on Western, and there was no wait when we decided to check it out.
We got the middle combo with 3 different kinds of pork, and we got the pork neck, black boar pork belly, and spicy pork. I gotta say their black samgyupsal was DA BOMB! it was the best I’ve ever had at a kbbq place. The meat was SO good!
As for their banchan, it had gae-​jang (aka spicy raw crab) and I love, love that stuff! It’s actually pretty rare for a Korean restaurant to give that as a banchan nowadays so definitely +1 star just for having that.
The only downside for me is their décor. It’s like they were going for the Korean café vibe with dim lighting and modern artwork, but it’s a little weird downing soju and eating sizzling pork belly in that kind of atmosphere. It just doesn’t vibe, imo.
Overall, recommend!

I’ve had the chance to visit two sister restaurants of Park’s BBQ this weekend, Don Dae Gam and LaOn. Both coexist in the same plaza on Western and Pico.
If Park’s BBQ is known for their kkot sal and specializes in cow meat, Don Dae Gam is known for pork BBQ including pork neck and samgyupsal. The combo #1 comes with two choices for pork BBQ plus one soju or beer, for 44.99. There are higher priced combos for more selection of pork meat, but for us two, combo #1 was more than enough. I absolutely loved their pork neck, though it may sound unappealing to those who’ve never tried. We also got the heukdweji samgyupsal (black pig pork belly) and it also didn’t disappoint.
Other than their top quality meat, what sets Dondaegam apart from other KBBQ restaurant is their atmosphere. It’s similar to Palsaik Samgyupsal restaurant, with modern and chic interior décor perfect for a casual date night or with family. It’s not your typical run-​down looking restaurant you’d expect at a pork samgyupsal restaurant. Highly recommended!

Wisdom dictates that quality is better than quantity, but if you can have both then you’ve got there isn’t much more you can ask for. On a recent visit to Don Dae Gam (DDG) I was able to experience both the quality of their delicious porky meat and the abundance and variety of their banchan, which is by far the best in the business.
The best way to do things at DDG is to order one of their set menu items which include an insane selection of banchan, your choice of meat, steamed egg, soybean paste soup, and soju or beer to wash it all down. Prices vary for each combo depending on the number of cuts you would like to order, but if you’re looking for a full experience then there is no better way to go than combo # 3. For $ 84.99 it includes all the fixn’s mentioned above plus 3 cuts of their delicious swine and 1 type of beef.
As it turns out, choosing which cuts of meat to order is quite difficult task as they have an amazing selection to choose from, but after weighing our options we decided on the pork neck (house specialty), black pork belly, seasoned pork short rib, and my all time favorite cut chadol or brisket for all you roundeyes LOL!
Each cut was served separately and expertly cooked by our wait staff. Of course you are free to man the grill but be warned that they come over to make sure you’re not setting yourself on fire or even worse burning the meat. I won’t go into painstaking detail but lets just say that this place is on par with Parks (surprise surprise as it is their sister restaurant).
The banchan is also pretty damn good if not the BEST I’VE EVER HAD and they definitely keep it coming like they’re trying to give it away. There honestly wasn’t a time when our little white plates were empty which is always a good thing in my book. My favorites include the cabbage salad, sauteed spinach, mushrooms, and the spicy raw crab (best of the bunch).
Overall I would say that this place is as good as Parks, if not better. The vibe is more modern and less sophisticated, but the food is fucking amazing! I also love the fact that there was no wait at 7pm on a Friday night, cause we got straight to bidness…
#porkgasm #foodboner #porcineperfection

I chose this restaurant simply based on a review that stated it is not as packed as Park’s. So thank you, Unilocal’r! We arrived one evening on a weekend and indeed, we did not have to wait. My party of three ordered a combo that included the pork neck, kimchi pancake and kimchi soup.
Other than the pork neck being absolutely delicious with less fat than the regular samgyupsal, the jjigae and the kimchi pancake stole the show. I really really liked the jjigae’s soup base.
Service is decent, our waiter in particular looked subdued, but it was fine. We left happy and full. I do love that this spot has late hours too!

Don Dae Gam (DDG) is Park’s sister restaurant. Park’s specializes in the moo moo (American Wagyu and Kobe KBBQ) but DDG specializes in the oink oink («prime» pork).
The cherry on top? DDG generally doesn’t have a wait (you can easily wait 30 minutes+ at Park’s).
Helpful hint: the meat dishes are structured so that they’re approximately ¾ of a full order. That being said, the minimum order to use the grill is 3 dishes.
Here’s what to get:
Pork neck: much more appetizing than it sounds — imagine bacon but much leaner and with just as much flavor. Still not convinced? Imagine, center-​cut bacon but softer.
Black pig «uncured, unsalted» bacon: it’s like «sam ghet sal» but a tad more flavorful.
Flower-​cut beef (short ribs): Just as buttery and flavorful as the ones served at Park’s.
Soju: Order «Like The First Time» Soju (that is the English translation). Interpret that as you may; there is rumor that it’s a tacky sexual innuendo concocted by its producer (to boot, there’s a scantly-​clad woman on the bottle to help attract potential sales). Anyways, its 19% ABV help washes down the fatty pork.
Their spicy version of the Black pig bacon is popular but I’ll pass. The large intestines are incredibly rich in fat and that’s an understatement: it shrinks to about 30% of its original volume! Work out hard, eat large intestines hard? I don’t know, it’s your call.

My favorite place get some delicious pork!!! :D
The main reason? I just looooove their hang-​jung-​sal which is pork neck! It’s not as greasy as samgyupsal and so chewy! Yummmm~
–Valet available at the front
–Choosing from combos is recommended especially if you are eating slightly pricier meat like pork neck!
–I am not a big fan of marinated meat, but their marinated meat is good, especially the marinated pork neck.
–Good variety of banchans that taste good
–Atmosphere here is also clean and eating at the old metal table also makes the dining more exciting.
–You also get dwenjang jjigae & nooreungji at the end to cleanse your palette.
–Friendly service is also a plus!

I went to the 3^rd Korean BBQ Cook-​Off, which was from noon. Don Dae Gam was ready to serve at 12 p.m. whereas the other vendors lagged behind 20 – 30 minutes.
The meat was flavorful. I appreciated that it was prepared for the event.

Yummy!
This place is delicious Korean food, with the main focus on the different and tasty cuts of pork. I love pork… all of it! So this was especially enjoyable.
The ORDER: #1 with pork neck, spicy pork short rib, and pork belly. Tremendous! I was very intrigued by the crunchiness of the meats, when grilled to perfection. We ordered the Korean pancake and it was crispy deliciousness. Loaded with green onion and octopus. Yum. Also, the sauce they brought out with it was equally delicious! The banchan was also great :)
THE SERVICE: Great! The waiter wasn’t too obnoxious about cooking our meat for us, which really turns me off at most KBBQ places. It was just the right amount of helpfulness :)
OVERALL: any KBBQ that has soy-​soaked jalapenos and garlic, bean paste, and chili paste already on the table is A-​OK in my book!
I def recommend to people who love to stuff themselves with quality meat!
Enjoy!
xo–
andrea

Came across this restaurant after having bad service at Road to Seoul.
Best spicy pork belly in all of LA.
Service was great.

Standard KBBQ that specialize in pork. Nothing unusual or great about the food. I had the pork neck which is something that I have never heard of. It was good. its not an odd cut of meat or anything. If no one told you it was the neck you wouldnt know.
The taste and texture is fine. Nothing outstanding about this place, it is just your typical KBBQ restaurant.

Oink oink. One of the things that I hate is when the logo of a restaurant is a happy version of the animal being eaten. For example, the pig at Honey pig, the chicken at Pollo Campero (even holding a platter with a leg), or even the crab at WJKA all bother me. Isn’t it cruel and unusual to even entertain the idea of having a cute cartoon version of your dinner as the mascot?
Anyway, enough of my rant. I appreciate that Don Dae Gam’s pig logo doesn’t show the pig’s face so it looks a bit more anonymous and I felt less bad eating my dinner.
Quality wise, everything tasted excellent. We ordered #2 — Pork short ribs and #7 — combo of three types of pork belly. The short ribs were so deliciously seasoned (and I’m not even the type of person who likes marinated meat). The slabs of pork belly were pretty standard. The one covered in the orange-​colored spicy-​ish sauce had the same flavor as mutton chuanr (kebabs).
What really stood out for me was the assortment of banchan. I was already full before the meat came out because I ate the banchan too quickly. The beef banchan was so tasty; I would have loved it as an entrée. The rice paper’s quality could have been superior; yes, I am a qualified judge of rice paper.
One thing that annoys me about Ktown is the need to valet everywhere you go. It did make me feel a little sad that the valet at Don Dae Gam only parks your car in the lot where the restaurant is located if it’s a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, or Jaguar. Sadly, my Honda Civic was relegated to the auto body shop’s lot across the street. At least the valet guy at hustled to get my car.
I probably wouldn’t go back because I like my beef. But if you have any friends who don’t eat beef, Don Dae Gam is a good choice.

Winner, Winner, We have a Winner!
This new-​ish bbq piggy joint is absoooolutely divine. It’s under the same ownership as Park’s BBQ on Vermont so you can expect the same topnotch service and amazing food.
No, it’s not AYCE. It’s better. We ordered Combo #1 which included samgyubsal which is sliced so thin it actually rolls up like chadol (brisket). It cooks quickly and delicately up to a light crispy crunch crunch with all the yumminess of bacon. This was our favorite for the meal. Marinated pork ribs were also included and imagine it as galbi, but the meat was much more tender and the marinade was sweet and not too overpowering. Neckmeat was also included and altho it sounds kinda sketchy, it looks like a normal steak. All three meats were good and VERY plentiful. Soju and Daenjang stew completed the meal for $ 39.99. Btw, the daenjang was *OMFG* good!
Trust me, this is alot of food and you get more than what you pay for.
Other highlights:
Awesome Kimchi — long leaves in a platter you cut yourself *YUM YUM*
Banchan: stirfry fish tempura, sweet potato stem stirfry, cucumber & octopus in a sweet tangy marinate, rice wrapper, and an absolutely generous bowl of korean salad. All of it was delicious!
Condiments on the table: Gone are the days when you ask for more paste, hot sauce, or sesame oil. It’s all there so you can eat as much as your stomach desires!
And get this: they have Purse Clips on the wall!!! It’s such a simple gadget but it provides so much convenience to ALL women. Now we don’t have to struggle with holding it while we eat, setting it on the dirty floor, or setting it on another. Girls, you know what I’m talking about!
Shout out to Mr. Jung and Joe our servers. They were awesome and quickly gave us banchan refills without wasting any time!
Quick note: real wood chips are used to cook the meat here. They actually brought out a huge iron pot of it mid-​meal and refilled our grill with the stuff. It’s called Soot Bull in case your interested :)
This place rocks! It’s my new fave BBQ joint and it’s slipped into the my new #1 slot for now. Can’t wait to go back!