Hyun Poong Gom Tang

This is the place I always end up with my mom whenever we are wanting something comfy, something we know, something that will never fail us. kimchi soup.
My mom likes it with fish (that are canned). I don’t mind the addition, it adds a little extra saltiness and umpf to the soup which is just so satisfying. It comes out and you should wait a little bit before digging in so it gets to boil together and the kimchi gets a little softer and the fishies really marinated with the soup. All in all it is a home style dish, the same as you remember and exactly what you want.
The real star of the meal, the stand out dish to me was the mung bean pancake. This is a dish I like and order often. their recipe might be the best I’ve ever tried. Extra, ultra crispy around the edges, well seasoned so you barely needed any soy sauce and a nice texture, not granular.
It was way too much food for two people and I ended up taking the rest to go and they were nice enough to throw in a free side of rice.
Sometimes it’s the low down food like this that just hits the spot

I’ve been here twice to try their gomtang. The first time, it was so delicious! I literally drank every drop of soup. The meat was tender, just the way I like it. The broth was refreshing.
Fast forward a couple years and I find myself at this place again. I was expecting the same deliciousness. Sadly, it fell short of my expectations. The flavor was just mediocre. I did not drink every drop of soup this time…
Maybe I’ll give it four stars if I ever try this place again and experience something like my first time.

recent discovery, and now a regular. Food has satisfied whether I like young or older people, and to my surprise for a very Korean venue, service was great. I mentioned the server lady was awesome on the way out to the boss, and he said she is his daughter. I totally fell for it, because she was good enough to have been!

Just like home cooked Korean dishes. Delicious food and great service. You can’t go wrong with anything because everything on the menu is so good. as others mentioned this is a hidden gem in K town. Must visit if you are seeking real Korean food

Frequent visit for real Korean food.

We thought about maintaining our business in this restaurant but that all changed because the kitchen worker named Eum Kyong Ae was a terrifying person. She held no respect towards other workers and customers alike. This person made my stomach turn when I saw how terrible she treated her workers there. I never felt so much hostility in a Korean restaurant before because all of the other restaurants I’ve been to had treated their workers and customers with respect which is highly important in Korean culture. I give Eum Kyong Ae an F for her service and her rotten attitude towards her workers. I do not recommend anyone doing business here.

This is one of those places you would never look at twice. Definitely a hidden gem in Ktown, and super easy to miss.
That being said, the food here is pretty spot on! All the side dishes taste like they should and the kimchi/​ggakdogi was ripe and delicious.
I always order a small bossam, it’s big enough for two hungry people or to share with a couple friends along with other dishes. The soups here are good, but don’t expect to be blown out of the water. I mainly come for the bossam.
Free parking and next to Yellow House Café (different lot).

Great authentic Korean food. Great for families or to meet up for drinks and share korean dishes that are very tasty with
beer, soju, makgali, etc.

Amazing gopchang jjigae.
A little surprised since it was full of grapas :)
But knew why people come here to eat after trying
the stew. It is so good~~ didn’t try anything else here, but by far it was the best gopchang stew i have tried for a long time.

Hyun Poong Gom Tang is my hidden gem. I will admit that I have held off on this review for a very long time because I’m selfish and enjoying coming without having to wait for a table. When I want Korean comfort food, this is my go-​to place. I’m not Korean, but I imagine that all the stews, kimchi, and dumplings are just like the ones my Gramms would make. There are also combo deals where you can get beer or soju at a discounted price if you get certain dishes, such as the bossam (steamed pork you eat like a wraps and the kimchi chiggae.
If you’re not afraid of heat, get their spice dishes! My favorite dish is the spicy kalbijjim (spicy braised short ribs) – the beef is super tender and not too fatty, and if you’re a carbivore like me, the sauce is thick and spicy to eat bowl-​fulls of saucy rice.
Service is also attentive and kind, banchan is also very homey, and they serve most of their dishes atop chafing gels so that the meal stays hot the entire time!
Just a random tip when you come at night, the security guard scolds if you park head in or enter the wrong way – one way in, one way out.

Kamjatang is good and bossam is ok. Portions are large and prices are reasonable. Service is a bit slow and they are sort of curious when you don’t order soju but overall good place: D

I always come here when I’m down in LA to visit my sisters. Great place. Awesome staff, really good broth (especially on a cold night.) the man who owns the place is super friendly, gave me free sodas on multiple occasions. My go to hidden gem in LA :)

Hole in the wall. Located next to Yellow House Café!
I was craving Gamjatang and came here to try it. It was pretty good but not as good as Ham Ji Park. But I will definitely come back for Dak Doritang, and other things because the food is pretty appetizing.
Their side dishes only consisted of 2 kinds of kimchi and steamed egg. I really liked it. Marinated perfectly.

Must try their spicy chicken stew with onions, carrots, and potatoes!!! The BF and I stopped by for early dinner. I must say that the service sucked because we felt neglected since we first sat down and up until we left. Considering how empty the restaurant was and there was only ONE waitress working, it took her about 20 minutes every time to come over to our table to take our order/​ask her for side dishes/​pay. Other than the poor service, the food was great, which is why I’m giving this place 4 stars. The chicken stew was not too spicy, somewhat sweet, and the meat just fell right off the bone. They put just the right amount of veggies, spices, and LOTS OF MEAT! Side dishes were simple: kimchi, broccoli with red pepper paste, bean sprouts, and spicy radishes (really good!!) We’d like to go back to try their popular oxtail soup and other entrees!

A hidden gem. I pass by here quite often and finally decided to try it today. This is not your average Korean restaurant. It’s one of those old ajushi spots. Where men like your dad come to drink and eat with his friends.
Their specialty is oxtail soup (gom tang) but I didn’t get that. They even sell it frozen. 1pk for $ 6 and 2pks for $ 10. I got one to-​go after my meal.
The kimchi jjim which is similar to kimchi stew was good. You can order with pork, mackerel or mackerel pike. It is two servings for $ 19.99.
Also ordered the small Bossam (pork which you wrap in cabbage). This was also quite good. It seemed pretty fresh and I liked the white pickled cabbage.
Definitely coming back to try more things.
The banchan was minimal. only had kimchi, radish kimchi and sautéed slivers of potato.

A down to earth, hole in the wall place for comfort food. Especially the gamja tang (Pork backbone in a spicy stew with potato and sesame leaf). Very good. The greens are very delicious, and it just goes so well with Soju. Not a hip place, and you will not see young people here, because the food here reminds people of the peasant era and down to earth food like buckwheat pancake and internal organ soup, etc.
A great place for simple food with soju and a reasonable price. And this place close early, because it is essentially a breakfast joint and the customers are mostly «older» people who prefers the «early bird» special.
This place is not really «fun» or «happening», but if you need some real food with soju, or you are running out of money from your last paycheck, this is the place to go.
We need places like these, kind of like going home to your parent and down to earth. You come here when you are depressed, want to get back to reality, reload some fiber and get healthy, or just want to get some real food that reminds you of the WWII era.

This is not a family friendly restaurant given the number of soju combos available. Expect a clientele of rowdy korean men in golf attire and sickly people who crawled out of bed in their jammies seeking comfort food. Gom tang (ox tail soup) hit the spot, and the base was smooth like butter. The gopchang mandoo jungol (small intestine and dumpling stew?) sounds horrifying but was good with a spicy kick. The samgaetang (ginseng chicken soup) was soothing.

I got in late to LAX and was looking for a place to eat… while driving to ktown, we decided to stop here… we called and were told they will close at 11pm. We got there at 10:30pm, and the waitress wasn’t too happy to see us… we asked if it was too late to order and eat… and the waitress said, «Are ou drinking?», we said no and told her that we would just be eating… she bluntly stated, «as long as you don’t order alcohol, then it should be fine… you should be able to eat in 20 minutes».
We sat down and were debating of going to some place else, but we were tired and decided to rush our dinner. We went with Kalbi Nakgi Jeongul. It took less then 10 minutes to get our food and yes, we had 20 minutes to eat our dinner.
I’ve been to other restaurants 30 or 15 minutes prior to them closing and they still welcomed me in and was able to enjoy the meal without being rushed… thus, I can only give this place 2 stars. Even when she placed the order, she told the person behind the counter, ‘I’m sorry”… who does that in front of the customers?
As for banchan, we got kimchi, radish kimchi and stir fried Potato. The radish was good, kimchi was okay and potato… after adding salt and pepper, it was decent. The main dish was good and I would definitely get this again… but having being rushed out of there at 11pm, we left there with bad taste in our mouth.
So be warned, don’t go there 30 or even 40 minutes before they close.

Found this place by accident as I was zigzagging through small streets to avoid traffic. Must have passed by it a thousand times.
Blink and you will miss it.
I didn’t expect much so I was pleasantly surprised by the food and the wonderful service. They had all the different types of soups, stews, and junggols.
We opted for the sullongtang which consisted of beef, tendon, and some tripe. The soup is somewhat creamy and the meat was cut into chunks, not slices like other places. We also ordered the $ 4.99 cabbage and galbi soup special. The flavor was nice with hits of soybean paste but it was mostly cabbage soup and a lonely piece of galbi floating around. Whaddy expect for that price, right?
They offer 3 different types of banchan. The Radish one is excellent.
Oh, and the service here isn’t too bad. They seem really nice and give you hefty refills.
3.5 stars!

So this week I was craving gomtang after getting my fix of kal guksu. I wasn’t that familiar with the gomtang joints in the area and was scoping some places, but my Korean friends ended up accompanying me on my journey to fulfill this craving and suggested this place.
It’s a little hole in the wall near Yellow Café on 3^rd and Oxford. The exterior makes it seem a little unsuspecting and the décor may not be the flashy, new, modern style of other Korean establishments, but the food speaks for itself.
The gomtang was delicious and hit the spot. The serving size was adequate and left me full, but not bloated. The broth was that nice milky white with the green onions already floating and the beef pieces waiting to be discovered beneath the surface. I didn’t need to add much salt for there to be flavor… I even had a few bites before adding some salt. The beef was really tender and tasted even better with the sauce provided. Also, the rice was not the typical white rice, but a healthier variety with darker grains. But no gomtang is complete with good kimchi. So yummy… we couldn’t stop eating the kimchi before the gomtang came. There was radish and napa kimchi, but my favorite was the white napa that you eat with this spicy bean paste sauce. Sorry for the lack of Korean terminology… still working on that.
I finished my whole bowl of gomtang including the broth and wanting more. Definitely coming back to try the other items on the menu and soju. This place isn’t strictly gomtang either, so there are other variety of dishes for non-​lovers of gomtang. Although, you might become a gomtang lover after eating here. ^_^