The one nice thing about staying home for a bit longer than usual is that I can branch out from my usual food haunts and try new places. I was pleasantly surprised when my mom suggested this place and really enjoyed myself. I've always said that Korean has been an under appreciated Asian cuisine. It's especially hard to find when you venture out of larger cities and into the suburbs. But there is a fairly large Asian community in MD, so it was a bit surprising that there haven't been more Korean places around.
This place is hard to find - it's on a random side street in Rockville so if you don't know to look for it, you would never find it. When you walk in, it's got a very authentic feel to it. The decor is traditional and the waitstaff are all older gentle Korean women. The menu consists of mostly tofu soups and a few other traditional Korean dishes like bibimbap, bulgogi and scallion pancakes but there isn't any Korean BBQ on this menu. They have a pretty good combo deal of a small tofu soup and then a main entree for around $20. I got a spicy tofu soup with mushroom and the bibimbap, my mom got it with fried mackerel and Mike got the bulgogi.
The tofu soup was sinus cleanse-ingly fantastic. It wasn't a numbing burn but a slow nostril clearing burn so definitely go if you've got a stuffy nose. It was served with a nice heaping of silky tofu and shiitake mushrooms and a raw egg cracked on top. Amazing. This was the perfect cold winter dish and I actually wished that I had gotten a large tofu soup and forgone the entree. My bibimbap was good as well - served in a hot sizzling stone bowl with all the usual suspects of ingredients but I was a bit disappointed that there was no meat in this one. It was a totally solid bibimbap but it couldn't really compare to the tofu soup. I had a few bites of my mom's fish - it's a typical mackerel which has a strong fish taste and lots of bones but if you can get past it, it's a tasty dish.
As I looked around, it was comforting to see the place full of Koreans - it just lent to the authenticity of the place. This was a very pleasant surprise in a part of Rockville that is kind of destitute. Although I've never been to Korea before, the decor kind of transport you to a place that you would find in Korea. I would definitely come back especially if it's cold outside and I'm looking for something cozy and warm. Total bill: ~$72 for 3 people with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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