Young Dong Restaurant

I love sul long tang.
I ate at a really famous place a few blocks over a few years back and got food poisoning, and it took me a while to get back on the sul long tang wagon.
Then I found Young Dong.
The broth is great, the service is fast, and even when you order the food to go, it tastes great.
My favorite thing about this place?
I’m not a fan of rice (I know, I know… yes, I’m Korean… gasp and shake your head all you want), but I love noodles. The ladies here are more than happy to substitute an extra serving of noodles for the rice.
The broth is always clean and has a deep flavor to it… the ultimate comfort food.

You know the foods going to be good when your server is a middle-​aged woman who only speaks Korean. Cozy atmosphere, really tasty soup with lots of meat, and great kimchee!

is probably the most fake tasting here. The broth is clear water and you can see oil floating from the meat. Tasteless broth. Might as well just eat water and rice. So disappointed! Real authentic broth is milky and white color because the broth has been boiled for several hours from the ox bone. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Tried it because it was the only restaurant open at night where I was. Biggest mistake ever

This is my second favorite place for sullungtang, but only because of personal style.
For «clear broth» Young Dong really is the best and I do love it but the reason for four stars instead of five is because they are not very consistent…
–Broth: AMAZING. It’s clean yet deep and has a lot of flavors. It it not your typical murky sullungtang but still taste delicious! I even like their cleaner-​broth without the fat for the extra light taste without missing out on the flavor
–Meat: I like their meat quality in the soup and Young Dong definitely gives you plenty of meat
–Kimchi: it is always hit or miss… sometimes it’s okay, but I’ve had some horrible kimchi at times…
–Green onions: their green onions are definitely drier compared to some other places and I experienced some really bad green onions here where it tasted like soap that almost ruined my broth… which is the reason why I can only give four starts at top…
–I do like the jalapeño soy sauce which goes really well with the meat!
Service is decent even though tables can be less than clean at times.
But thank goodness for free parking lot!

Very clear, clean soup. Best I’ve had in K-​town. They do not put in artificial fake ingredients (like Han Bat) to make the soup look milky. And yes, I know that the traditional recipe calls for boiling soup bones for 2 – 3 days to extract the fat, etc. It’s just that Han Bat does not do that, they take the shortcut of adding in the
Portion a wee bit small but still worth it for a healthier soup. Also, their kkakdugi is more fermented than other places. Careful for first-​timers, the little tea kettle that you think has yooksoo actually has kimchi juice to add as a condiment to your soup. I’ve never seen this in a restaurant before but I’ve done that plenty of times on my own, so I guess it isn’t the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.
Will be back.

This is one of a few places in ktown where I go for comfort food, so if you’re looking for something fancy, this ain’t it. The specialty at Young Dong is seollungtang, which is basically a slow cooked, beef broth soup. Seollungtang has always been something I’ve eaten when I feel under the weather or hungover, and some may find it bland, but I love it. It’s super simple, a place I don’t mind eating alone, and can leave with a full stomach after about $ 10.
They have a few differentiated types of seollungtang, but I just stick with the #3 which is the beef brisket. Other versions include things like tripe, intestine and other cow parts I’d rather not have in my soup. This place comes a close second for me after Han Bat, one of the differences being that they give you this soy-​based dipping sauce for your beef that comes with soaked jalapeños. They have a clear broth compared to Han Bat’s milky broth, it’s said that true milky broth speaks to a seollungtang’s quality but I enjoy both kinds. Oh and one last difference, Young Dong closes at 11 pm where Han bat closes at 10, which was my deciding factor tonight.

This joint is my boyfriends favorite sullungtang place, mostly because this place has clear broth rather than the normal milky looking broth. Their food is good, banchan (kimchi) is good, and service is normal Korean joint service. This location is a bit small, maybe about 9 tables or so. They also have another location in Buena Park, which I’m more familiar with. The Buena Park location is very large and spacious, very clean and well maintained (probably bc it’s a little newer), and the servers are friendly. But the LA location was a bit dirty and we found a bug in our soup the last time we were here. I love this restaurant as everything is on point, but it’s so dirty and I really can’t stand dirty food establishments. Regardless, I’m sure I’ll be revisiting soon because my boyfriend is STILL fan after all that. But if I had a choice and had to dine at Young Dong, I would definitley visit the BP location.

I don’t always come to LA, but when I do, I have to stop by Young Dong Restaurant for their seolleongtang.
Oh how I miss you.
This place is great for breakfast and lunch and dinner and late night and early morning.
The broth is clear — flavorful — everything was perfect.
I think I can eat this everyday. Now I always recommend people to come here when they visit LA.

Clean place with clear sulungtang & parking lot.
That’s a very good sign in Ktown.
It was my first time.
My friends asked waitress a to go bowl before the meal, so I did the same.
Extremely clear soup with some thin sliced well cooked meat came in a huge bowl.
We definitely needed a to go bowl.
It was good.
Actually I was surprised the soup was not cream color.

This is my favorite sulungtang place in koreatown. Their soups have a nice and flavorful broth that just hits the spot. Especially on a chilly day when you want warm soup. Each soup comes with thin noodles that you need to eat first bc they are usually soft and get soggy quick.
My favorite is…
BEEF wNO FAT STEW — the broth is clear and flavorful without all the excess beef fat.
BEEF BOTTOM BRISKET STEW — has a slightly more fattier broth but still light and flavorful.
SPICY BEEF SOUP wVEGETABLES — this one has a spicy kick and is great for hangovers. In Korean it’s called hangover soup.

My husband loves really tasty foods. I like more «plain» food. In other words, I don’t like my food too spicy, too sweet, too salty, too sweet or too sour. I like it «plain». So, the first time he went here with coworkers for lunch, he thought of me. And, he’s right. Tonight he took me for my first time here. It’s nothing very special, but something very comforting.
It wasn’t busy for a Thursday evening. We ordered immediately upon getting seated. The pickled sides and broth were delicious. You can put whatever condiments and however much of it to your desire. You can add on noodles and rice at no cost. Food came fast and parking is available. Will return when I crave a simple delicious quick meal!

OK. We came here by accident, but the food wasn’t really good enough to make up for it. I thought my soup was good, but not spicy at all. It was a little annoying though how it was described as beef and vegetable and the veg was just bean sprouts with one wedge of potato. My boyfriend got a noodle soup and said it was bland. I wouldn’t mind going here again, but would definitely not make an event out of it.
Parking lot is a huge plus. Service isn’t really «great» but it’s on par with like every small ethnic restaurant I’ve been to. Cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi were good.

Please don’t come here. This is my fave restaurant in Koreatown. If you want your sul-​lung-​tang, go to Han Bat with the other million people so you don’t crowd my favorite restaurant. Shoo. Go away.
Nothing good here except for everything, especially my fave gi-​reum bbae-​gi sul-​lung-​tang (beef soup with –most– fat removed). If you’re not used to typical Korean service (i.e. no smiling, no major greetings, lots of frowning, visible impatience from waitress when you take longer than 5 seconds to order, feeling rushed, no checking in on you after the food is given), this is not your place, and you will more than likely leave feeling upset and hurt.
Boo-​hoo.
Wah-​wah.
Go cry about it to your mommy.
But, if you’re used to typical Korean service and you’re just looking for something good to eat, this is your place. I really like how they don’t put milk into their soups (like a lot of other places…) to give the effect that they *cooked* it for a long period of time (Hey, let’s be real: ain’t no one got time for that in LA).

Its this place or han bat shul
They own the beef rice soup game in los angeles. This place is different in that the broth is «cleaner» than Han Bat Shul. I prefer the broth at Han Bat Shul though.
At Young Dong The pickles are better in that they are more fermented.
Yong Dong also gives you garlic paste and a few other condiments to add into your stone bowl.
My girlfriend prefers Young Dong. Im a Han Bat Shul Guy. But i love them both. This review is to shed light on the qualities of each. They are both good.
For the newbies. FYI you can always ask for more noodles, rice, kim chi or radish.

I think this place is a hidden gem. It’s an authentic Korean restaurant.
I enjoyed trying the light healthy Korean breakfast for the first time. I didn’t know what I was ordering so I looked around multiple tables to check out what «sul lung tang» is. They looked at me back, so I looked back at them and smiled, just like this: DDDD.
They’ll get you a jar of kimichi. What could go wrong with a far of kimichi for all of you kimchi lovers out there. :D They’ll also give you a bowl onions, a salt shaker, and you’ll have to ask for the spice if the kimchi isn’t enough.
They have their own parking lot so it’s nice.
Would I come here again? YES

I had passed by Young Dong a dozen times but it wasn’t until our attempt to eat at another place didn’t quite pan out that I hit it up with a group of friends. There isn’t much ambience but the food makes up for it. You can choose the kind of beef you want in your soup — we went with chadol (brisket). While the broth isn’t as milky as other sullungtangs I’ve tried, the flavor is there. You will need to add salt. Also add heaps of green onions.
Their kimchi is delicious! They provide scissors so you can cut it up into bite sized pieces.
For around $ 10, this is definitely a great deal!

If you’re curious about the spicy cold noodle dish, take my advice and SKIP it! It’s like a field green salad with a spicy vinegarette with some soba type noodles on the bottom. Lackluster, bland, and you will just ask yourself — why did i order this?
So what’s good here? ALL THE SOUPS!
My favorite are two. First the Spicy Beef & vegetable hits the spot. It’s perfectly seasoned and is filled with soybean sprouts and pieces of beef brisket. Perfect with just a bowl of rice!
My other favorite is the brisket sullongtang. They offer a soup with no fat, but who wants that? I like my sullongtang to be a little fatty and this one is that a little fatty but just enough. There is plenty of beef and the soup is a bit milky.
They also offer pitchers of kimchi liquid that you can pour into your soup for extra flavor. Think of it has pretty old-​skool Korean, things that ajushees do =)
The kimchee, radish kimchee, and pickled jalapenos are all decent. They also offer you fresh garlic upon request, but beware of dragon breath if you’re dining here for lunch.
Parking is available in the back. Very convenient and the servers are very nice! Han Bat is still my #1 but this is a close 2^nd!

My brother in law thought the restaurant name was funny (e.g. young cock). I never paid attention to the name, but I always order the house sul lung tang. It comes with tripe which not everyone loves, but they give you plenty. Add two scoops of chopped garlic, some salt, chilli, and some other goodness and you’re ready to have an inexpensive feast. they give you marinated slice jalapenos with hot mustard (as if the jalapenos are not spicy enough). then they also include simple panchan of kkakdoogi (pickled cubed radish). my two year gets a free bowl of bap gook (rice soup) and my wife puts little pieces of brisket meat in his bowl. we get out of there paying $ 23-​$ 24 ($ 21 includes tax, plus $ 2 – 3 tip).
–1 because the server sometimes reading a newspaper, or does not respond right away.

It’s not the best sulung tang place in Ktown, but it’s definitely the most convenient and I would be so sad and hungry if Young Dong wasn’t around.
They open super late and has the most BOMB kimchi in ktown.
You can purchase extra Kimchi for $ 1 and their sulungtang has clean and rich flavor.
Easy parking in the back but watch out for bad asian drivers!

People are pointing out that the broth here wasn’t «milky», but it doesn’t sway me from still liking it a lot, because it’s just as beefy, hearty and flavorful if you’re comparing it to Han Bat. Young dong especially stands out for their jug of kimchi juice! For your broth :) And their marinated jalapenos with horseradish (which you can ask for without, by the way)!
My grandmother and I went in on a Saturday at around 9am to ample parking, we were seated immediately, placed our order, and the food arrived in under 5 minutes.
What I got:
Suhk-​kuh Sullung Tang (Combination beef brisket drop flank stew). Yum, of course add as much green onions as you’d like, as well as the kimchi juice, dadehki (marinated chili flakes) and dried chili flakes :) It reaaaally hits the spot when you add a lump sum of the dadehki. If you’re a fan of spicy (or super spicy), then it’s not going to cut it, however, the flavor is amazing. I wouldn’t be able to tell you much about what it’s marinated in, except that they’re chili flakes marinated in vinegar, soy sauce and probably sugar, so you can imagine the amount of flavor it’ll add to your sans milky broth. Han Bat is good and all, but not enough to like it more than Young Dong. Young Dong is easier, too. Own parking lot, no wait, fewer people/​crowds with hang overs, and service is 10x quicker than Han Bat. I once ended up waiting far too long for them to bring the kimchi and radish (sullung tang staple!), and by the time they brought it over I was near finishing up. Anyway, back to the food. You get generous chunks of meat and a variety of it, too. They were tender and just really, reaaaaally hit the spot! Mmmm~ For good olé sullung tang, Young Dong is definitely a go-​to.
Oh, they don’t use the clear glass noodles here (called dangmyun), instead the opaque wheat noodles. I prefer the dangmyun, because it’s chewier, but both of them are equally delicious and just as satisfying.
Of the Sullung Tangs, they also have:
— without beef fat
— Beef cheek
— Beef tongue
— Ox knee