Ingle Korean Steakhouse

Ingle Korean Steakhouse is located in the heart of Tysons Corner and offers the finest selection of beef with a bold Korean flavor and seafood centric prix-fixe menu priced at $75 per person. Closest Metro is Greensboro. 

Mandu

Mandu serves homestyle Korean cuisine in downtown Washington, DC from renown chef Danny Lee and his mother, Yesoon.  Closest Metro is Gallery Place-Chinatown.

CHIKO

CHIKO is the first restaurant from The Fried Rice Collective. Chefs Danny Lee and Scott Drewno pair modern cooking techniques with traditional Chinese and Korean flavors, while Drew Kim provides his passion for hospitality ensuring a unique dining experience. Closest Metro is Eastern Market.

Kogiya Korean BBQ

Kogiya Korean BBQ located in Annandale, VA offers traditional Korean dishes in a vibrant modern dining experience.  A young, energetic team is trained to be service-oriented and masters of the grill of quality ingredients like well-marbled short ribs and tender pork belly. Keith and I met up with my parents for lunch here.  My Mom was apprehensious at first, because she is pretty 'old school' when it comes to Korean food, and was pleasantly surprised to see so many young kids packed around the stainless steel bbq tables.  Luckily, she had called ahead so we did not have to wait long.

Ketchung!

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In this advanced food era is it possible to invent a new condiment? Ketchung! laughs at this silly question and goes for it with their new spin on sweet and sour sauce.  Created by husband and wife team, Helen and David, the name evokes a mix between ketchup and the Korean fermented chili paste gochujang, but the flavor is more mild than I expected.

Kang Chon

For a belated Father's Day meal, Keith and I went out to lunch with my parents to Kang Chon in Centreville, VA.  My mother had been to this restaurant a few times before with friends, and highly recommended it.  They are known for offering fresh classic Korean food with some Chinese items in generous portions and modest prices.

O Jung Sam Mi

For our last lunch in Seoul, Korea we ventured out to southern part of the city to the ritzy Gangnam district (yes - that Gangnam, sexy lady!) as we had reservations at an organic restaurant called O Jung Sam Mi.  The chef/owner has several advanced degrees in organic medicine and is quite renown in the Korean food industry for her healthier approaches to traditional Korean cuisine.  The lunch special served is bibimbap. Not just regular bibimbap - but all out fancy, eaten from brass serve ware, with the highest quality organic ingredients, and full blown Gangnam-style.

Woo Mi Jae

About 45 minutes south of downtown Seoul, Korea is Yongin.  We took a detour there to visit the Korean Folk Village and afterwards had another nice traditional dinner at Woo Mi Jae. Again you take off your shoes before entering and we were escorted to a private room with low tables where you sit on the floor.

Ssambabgip

On our second full day of site-seeing in Seoul, Korea we went to the Insadong area for a little souvenir shopping.  There are many shops and vendors here and we decided to have lunch at a casual restaurant called Ssambabgip.  It is sort of tucked away in an alley offshoot from the main street.  They had a lunch special of ssanbabjungsik - which is a full spread of meat with rice, banchan, and various greens as well as other soups and dishes.

Jaella-Do

For our second dinner in Seoul, Korea we ate at another traditional restaurant (shoes off and sit on the floor please!) called Jaella-Do. The cuisine here is inspired by the Southeastern part of Korea with lots of seafood and more curious fermented delicacies.

Ho Dong Oak

Ho Dong Oak in the Gaedon area of Seoul, Korea is a casual restaurant that serves naengmyun, a traditional cold buckwheat noodle dish served in a large stainless bowl with a tangy iced broth, julienned cucumbers, slices of Korean pear, and either a boiled egg or slices of cold boiled beef or both. Spicy mustard sauce and vinegar are often added before consumption. Traditionally, the long noodles would be eaten without cutting, as they symbolized longevity of life and good health, but servers at restaurants usually ask if the noodles should be cut prior to eating, and use scissors to cut the noodles.

Si Wha Dam (시화담)

Serving up works of art disguised as food, Si Wha Dam provides a sensory experience unlike any other in Korea. The restaurant’s name translates to "poetry, painting and conversation", and this theme influences everything, from the restaurant's interior design (cabinets filled with antiques, wooden tables, abundant natural light) to the poetic menus and the individual dishes, which seem to be 3D renderings of scenes from nature. With two locations in Seoul, Korea - one in the Itaewon area and the other in Insadong - "there are things here that you can only see at a museum," says owner Oh Chung.

At Home: Bul Go Gi

Another classic grilled Korean beef dish is Bul Go Gi (Grilled Marinated Beef).  This dish is often found on Asian food trucks and is becoming more and more popular with restaurants wanting to put their own modern spin on it. Check out my mother's traditional recipe listed below on What Micky Eats...At Home.

Lighthouse Tofu

A few months ago, a reader wrote to me and suggested I check out Lighthouse Tofu.  With a couple locations in the DMV area, I chose the Annandale spot for lunch.  Known for cheap eats casual version of traditional Korean food, the Lighthouse Tofu is popular for spicy tofu soups and bbq grilled meats.  The place was packed with local Korean-Americans mostly but we were seated at a table right away.

BonChon Chicken

BonChon Chicken is growing in the US and offers cooked-to-order fried chicken – made with the highest quality ingredients and hand-brushed, piece-by-piece, with addicting savory, secret sauces. Originally from Korea, there are a few locations in the DMV area.  I recently went to the one in Fairfax for lunch, but another nearby location is in Annandale.

At Home: Chap Chae

Another classic Korean dish made by my mother is Chap Chae (Glass Noodles).  This mild noodle dish is loaded with meat and veggies and is the perfect accompaniment to grilled meat and rice, or great to eat on its own.   My mom usually makes a meatless version for me.  These "glass noodles" are made from sweet potatoes and are really unique.  Check out Sunny's recipe in this next installment of What Micky Eats...At Home.

At Home: Seafood Pancake

This next installment of What Micky Eats...At Home features one of my mother's traditional recipes.  My mother, Sunny, brought these recipes with her from Korea in 1977.  They are some family favorites that she has made over the years.  Here, I share the Hae Mul Pa Jun (Seafood Pancake).  I often ate a vegetable version of the pancake when I was a young child. It is a nice savory twist on the traditional pancake.

At Home: Kalbi

The absolute favorite Korean dish that my mother, Sunny, makes for Keith is her Kalbi (Marinated Short Ribs).  These Korean-style grilled meats are also a favorite of my father and uncles, and she remembers making it for them when she first married my father.  They say you "win a man's heart through his stomach", or something like that, right?  Well it worked for my Dad and Keith - haha! Check out her recipe on What Micky Eats...At Home.

Shilla Bakery

Shilla Bakery provides fresh and gourmet pastries, bread, cakes, cookies, bubble tea drinks and other goodies. There are several locations of this casual Korean bakery and cafe in the DMV area. I first visited the one in Annandale (aka Koreatown) with my mother.

Honey Pig

With locations in Annandale and Centreville, VA and Ellicott City, MD, Honey Pig is open 24 hours a day and offers affordable, quality food for people from all different walks of life. Known for its fun, vibrant mixing bowl of all ages and cultures, people can come together to enjoy the finest Korean BBQ in a friendly, techno-beat atmosphere.