Gombo Wang Korean Restaurant

Thought I’d give this place a try bc it’s a convenient stop after shopping at DJ Market. I was with a friend and she advised against it. «Atrocious service. Mediocre food.» But I wanted to give it a go — it’s important to make up your own decisions (and I was hungry).
We walked in and the OWNER of the restaurant wouldn’t even look at me as I walked into the restaurant, but hey… perhaps she was having a bad day, I thought. Nope.
I sat down and she literally threw the menu at us. I wanted to laugh in her face — have some dignity in the business you run and respect all people, your staff and customers.
Past Unilocal reviews also attest to the poor service. Your time is valuable and so is your hard earned money. An owner who treats her customers in such a manner, I imagine, treats her staff just as poorly.
I lost my appetite & didn’t want to waste my time in such an establishment. We out!

Nothing hits the spot in the summer like Korean cold noodles. This is one of, if not the best places to get your fix in Cerritos.
The prices range from ~$ 9-​$ 12, depending on how big/​what kind of add-​ins you want. You can choose to get a regular size or the large. You can also get a variety of add-​ins to your spicy cold noodles such as pollack. There are also other options if you don’t feel like noodles, like Korean bbq.
I chose to just get the regular sized spicy cold noodles (bibim nengmyun) and it came with half an egg, julienned cucumbers, some meat, and Korean radish. Upon receiving your noodles, the waitress gives you the option of having your noodles cut so you don’t accidentally choke and become a liability to the restaurant. You also get complimentary Korean beef broth in a teapot to sip on. I thought it was really weird at first (and I’m Korean), but give it a try before you knock it. It’s a nice contrast to the cold noodles. The bibim nengmyun is pretty spicy, so if you can’t handle spice, I wouldn’t recommend this dish. If you do like spice, however, you *have* to try this!!! They truly don’t hold back on the sauce and it’s so flavorful that you won’t even realize how spicy it is until you’ve finished.
Overall, the place isn’t huge and it’s run by Korean ladies. Don’t expect stellar customer service; just some good old authentic Korean food.

What is the best thing to eat when it is over 100 degrees outside?
Here of course! On a super hot day I came here with my girlfriend for dinner. Because it was so hot out there was a wait. I think we waited about 15 minutes on that Monday evening around 5:30pm to eat. Once we were finally seated we were given water and their broth drink. They had told us that some of the items were sold out because they were so popular for the day. Once we ordered, they brought out their complementary pickled radish dish along with their jelly dish. The radish dish was good but the jelly dish was too firm and the text seemed like they had either overcooked it or it had been sitting out for awhile. For my dinner, I went with their popular small mul naengmyeon. I kinda wish it was a little more icy but it was still very good. The buckwheat noodles was firm like I liked it. It also contained half a boiled egg and some cucumbers. There was one piece of meat that I didn’t really care for. I thought overall it was very good and I did enjoy it. It wasn’t too sweet and was done just right.
Their small bowls are $ 10 and their larger bowls are $ 12. They also are popular for their bibim naengmyeon here as well. The service was good and pretty quick. The inside of this place is super causal and small so there could be a wait. I wish they had their A/​C on as well since everyone was so hot in there. The cold noodles helped though. Overall I had a great experience and would recommend and come back.

Before my doctor’s appointment, my family and I ordered wang bibim nengmyun, bbosam, steamed dumplings, and galbi tang.
Portion size for the wang bibim nengmyun was overwhelming. I was sharing that with everyone. It had a kick to it but didn’t have a lot of flavors. The bbosam was okay and the steamed dumplings were disappointing. The galbi tang was okay.
Ladies, beware of the restroom! It’s clean but I was shocked to see a men’s urinal as soon as I sat down… located right in front of me.
Parking is limited as it is shared with other shops here.

**This review is NOT for food. (Noodles are good) It is for the service**
Came in on Saturday evening and they were pretty crowded. My dad let the long hair lady know that we need table for 4. And we waited outside.
Few minutes later, a party of 2 arrived, and let short hair lady know that they need a table for 2 and they waited outside as well.
Short hair lady comes outside and tries to seat the part of 2 but they let short hair lady know that we were waiting before them. I said ‘Thank you’ and went in with my family.
Short hair lady ignored us as we tried to get her attention to get our order down. We waited about 5 – 10 minutes at this point. Later, she seats the party of 2 next to us and starts to take their order. As she was leaving I politely let her know that we want to order. She muttered ‘They came in first so I took their order first.‘
Clearly, short hair lady is not pleased with us. She was rude.
Not coming here again. I don’t care how good their noodles are. Sommunan is so much better.

The best nengmyun (aka korean buckwheat noodles) in Cerritos. Not sure why there aren’t more folks eating here. Ive only been here a few times over the last couple of years, but every time I’ve been here, the place is near empty. So, the good news for you is, you won’t have to wait. :) My usual order is the bibimnengmyun — which is the spicy one.

The most underrated mul neng myun restaurant I’ve been to and it’s definitely the best in the area.
Came here on a whim over the past weekend and I’m glad I did. Gombo Wang is located in a random strip mall where there’s an asian grocery store and a 19 min. photo shop on 183^rd and Norwalk.
I would have never expected this was a tasty Korean restaurant. By just seeing «Gombo», I immediately always thought this was southern food. Bad generalization on my part.
As my boyfriends and I entered, we were immediately greeted and taken to our seats. The owner was nice and the restaurant was clean. er compared to other nearby establishments. We were given a tea pot (which I thought was tea but it’s actually beef broth soup), and it was good! Tasted like cup noodle soup but still good nonetheless.
We ordered the mul neng myun combo with kalbi and an order of spicy neng myun. We were told that the noodles are made fresh in-​house and it tasted spectacular. Because it’s made fresh, it’s at a slightly higher price point at like $ 12 – 14 per bowl.
You guys need to come try Gombo Wang. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Excellent spicy mangmyun! Should have little more banchans. It was pretty decent overall.

I brought my mom here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. Since it is such a small location almost all the tables were already full. Not too much room for larger parties, so our party of two was just right.
We ended up ordering the naeng myun and the manduguk and decided to share. Just like Lili K. mentioned in her review, the naeng myun was perfect, no need to add any vinegar. The manduguk on the other hand was lacking in flavor and mandu, only two mandu in the whole soup. My mom was like what is this? Definitely try the naeng myun!!!
Service was a-​ok, refilling the banchan for us and making sure we had enough water.
Parking in this strip mall is pretty tight, not ideal for anything larger than compact.

Loved the mul neng myun here-didn’t even have to add much vinegar to it, either. It was pretty perfect as is!
The mandoo was just whatever though, so I’d skip on that. I did like the warm soup/​drink they give you, too!
Annd the second time I came here, I like how juicy the meat was!

Honestly. It is WAY overpriced for what they sell. I may remember it incorrectly but it felt like I paid $ 1000 for a bowl of korean cold noodles with korean galbi. And their galbi (short ribs) that they give (I don’t know if it’s due to the poor economy) but their galbi they they give is mostly bone and fat. I mean cah’maaaaaa’n. I’m not a dog. Don’t throw me the bones.
And a buncha Korean old people eat here (not that I hate old people. I mean I love old people. I love my grandma the most) but they probably just buy this expensive food using their social security money and/​or their children’s money.

Had a really good lunch with a colleague and friend.
The highlights:
— Great juicy, tender, and flavorful galbi Korean short ribs. Delicious.
— Great yuksu hot soup broth to drink
— Good mul nengmyun cold noodle soup but it could have had more flavor
— Decent banchan but definitely could have been better

I was at this place with my family around 5pm for early dinner. When we arrived, only 2 other tables were occupied and we were the 3^rd party.
The service was just bad even though it wasn’t busy at all. The waitresses didn’t even give us water.
We had mool nengmyun and bibim nengmyun. Both of them were not that good. Nothing special. I didn’t think they were delicious or anything. tasted like the instant nengmyun you can buy from Korean markets. But it was understandable since not everyone can have same tastes as others.
However what really upset me was the attitudes of the waitresses. There were three waitresses at the moment and they were all sitting at one table in the corner, endlessly chatting to each other. Not one of them came up or turned their heads to see if anyone needed anything. I had to ask twice for an extra bowl and they seemed to be annoyed by me asking for it. Later, they were looking at an online shopping website on a tablet, talking about which colored item they each wanted to buy. (That’s how loud they were chatting, I didn’t even want to overhear their conversation but I was able to.) Then one waitress just fell asleep with her head down on the table.
We were done eating but none of the three waitresses seemed to be noticing that, so I had to walk up to the table they were hanging out and ask them for our check. I am never going back!

DH and I were brought here by DH’s CA colleagues for lunch and my, was it satisfying! Especially on a hot summer day, Gombo is packed with people looking to cool off. Their specialty is the cold noodle bowl. What I liked the best was the sashimi salad! I need to find a place in NY that offers it just as good! Or else make it myself. We also had the bossam (pork belly + cabbage appetizer) and it was pretty amazing :)
This is definitely on our list to return to next time we’re in LA!

Have you been to Jumbo Wang?
What? Oh, it’s Gombo Wang. Silly me, my mistake ;p
If you haven’t been to Gombo Wang, you should!
Located at a nondescript strip mall named Kim’s Plaza, Gombo Wang is renowned for their housemade naeng-​myun, which are cold buckwheat & arrowroot noodles. Being closeby to me, it was only a matter of time before I set food inside Gombo Wang for their specialty dish.
Complimentary chicken broth–
Piping hot, the broth is made with chicken bouillon cubes & assorted vegetables, along with some chicken meat. A savory & welcome alternative to tea.
Banchan–
I was asked if I wanted «many» banchan. I was informed that noodle dishes traditionally only come with a couple banchan, whereas rice & other dishes come with many. Without hesitation, I requested «many» because really, who wants less bang for the buck?
Hwe naeg-​myun (regular-​size) —
Cold buckwheat & arrowroot noodles in a spicy chili sauce, with hardboiled egg, pork, spicy Pollock (which is actually skate) & beef. How can something so hot, be so refreshing at the same time? Well, take me for example ;p BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA Anyhoo, the housemade noodles had the perfect chewy consistency. Diners can definitely tell the quality that comes with noodles made right after ordering. The spicy chili sauce struck the perfect balance of sweetness & heat. Sweat trickled down my bald head, but yet I was cooled at the same time by the cold temperature of this dish. The various meat were good. I have to warn you, the cuts of skate were on the tough side & included some bones & fins. This was my first experience eating skate, and I enjoyed it, toughness and all. Regular-​size was the perfect amount for me, because between this, chicken broth & additional helpings of banchan, I was stuffed. I ate most of the hwe naeg-​myun w/​o mustard & vinegar, in order to taste it unadorned, and then I added the two to see how they would change the flavor profile. I must say, definitely add the mustard & vinegar, as they kick things up a notch tenfold!
Complimentary sikhye (rice dessert drink) —
I had to ask for this. I nice sweet end to a Korean meal.
Service was great. I was given a lesson on Korean culture, and how Gombo Wang ensures quality by making their noodles in-​house, where other places simply buy premade noodles. A quaint restaurant that can deceptively seat around 40+ people, the ambiance was clean, homey & inviting. A flatscreen TV with Korean programming was on for diner’s viewing pleasure.
Parking is located in the small Kim’s Plaza strip mall. Gombo Wang is on the left of the closed Laker Karaōke.
Gamsahabnida & well done, Gombo Wang! Your much heralded naeng-​myun did not disappoint & lived up to my expectations. A cheap, affordable lunch of delicious food nearby to home means I’m going to be a frequent visitor, especially during the scorching hot days of summer when a plate of cold noodles will help me cool off from the heat. Can’t wait to try your bossam & other menu items!
Highly recommend!
NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

To start off, their waiting list is frustrating. It doesn’t matter how far up or down the list you are, you get in according to the number of your party (ie, if a table of 4 leaves, the first table of 4 will be seated, instead of splitting the table into 2s to seat the two parties who arrived earlier)
The service from beginning to end was crap. It was so bad that the couple sitting next to us gave us their bottle of vinegar and horseradish. The waitresses seem to almost avoid making eye contact with their customers.
The hot soup they start you off with is really good, but the mool nengmyun was nothing special for me. The hweh nengmyun was a lot better to my taste.
I was constantly getting bumped into by the waitresses and their cart which is way too large to be rolling between the tables. The place is small enough that customers yell out their orders and what they need rather than asking the waitresses to come over.
It was an overall frustrating experience. The cup of soup was probably the highlight of my visit.

GW is a hole in the wall without the grime. It’s a clean space that serves all the korean dishes you would expect to find (and done reasonably well) — bossam, soonduboo, bibimbap, galbitang, kimchi jiggae, you name it. What you must certainly have is the naeng myun (cold noodle) — mool if you can’t handle the heat, and bibim if you can.
The experience of slurping bouncy, chewy, handmade buckwheat/​root noodles all tossed in a flavorful sauce or broth is something that words cannot describe and the tongue and mouth must taste for itself. The bibim naeng myun is dressed in a chili paste sauce that is both spicy and sweet. The two flavors balance each other out like a complex dance. (I would increase the heat and turn down the sweetness if it were up to me.) Slices of crunchy cucumber add to the coolness of the dish with some hard boiled egg to anchor the more soft and slurpy texture of the noodles.

You know this place sells legit Korean food when all indoor signs are in Korean, TV is playing Korean news, and everyone who eats here are only speaking Korean.
Waitress was very nice, but her English was somewhat limited. To dissect the menu, just remember that «wang» means king (size), «mul» contains cold broth, «bibim» contains spicy sauce, «hwe» means marinated skate (here is translated as «spicy pollock»), «naengmyeon» means cold noodle, «mandoo» means dumplings. «haemul pajeon» means seafood pancake, and «dukboki» (here is written as «deukbokki») is spicy Korean rice cake, and «jjigae» means soup.
After I finished my order, a cup of hot savory beef soup (yuksu) arrived first and it was very delicious. Ha, I mistakenly thought it was a cup of hot tea … shame on me.
Next, waitress brought out three banchans — nokdumuk (mung bean jelly), jeon (pancake) with soy sauce, and kimchi. They all tasted homemade — not super amazing, but good enough to keep my taste buds busy.
$ 12.99 combo — mul naengmyeon (buckwheat noodles in cold broth) + mandoo (dumplings): Wow … super tangy handmade noodle with icy cold beef broth. The bowl also contained a slice of beef, one-​half sliced egg, cucumber slices, and 10-​star worthy Asian pear (put me in heaven)! Dumplings were REALLY good — skin was simply amazing and probably one of the best steamed dumplings I’ve had.
The meal ended with a small cup of icy cold sweet rice drink (shik hae) — it was a refreshing way to end my meal. Man, I could drink half a gallon of sweet rice drink all day long.
Coming here is like taking sauna for your taste buds — first is hot, then you start to cool down. Overall a very solid Korean cold noodle experience.

After the horrid experience of having nengmyun (cold noodles) at Somunnan I was on the look out for another Korean restaurant around Cerritos which served good nengmyun. Thanks to Unilocal I found Gombo Wang which specializes in nengmyun so decided to give it a try a couple of days ago.
Gombo Wang is located in a nondescript strip mall on the corner of 183^rd and Norwalk that I have passed by a hundred times so I knew the location well. Parking is plentiful as half the mall is empty. At the peak lunch hour the restaurant was almost full. When I entered I was quickly greeted and shown to an empty table and provided with a menu. My server asked me if I needed any suggestions but I pretty much knew what I wanted so I declined and went with the small bibim nengmyun ($ 9.95) (spicy buckwheat noodles). This made my server ask if I had eaten this before and I replied in the affirmative. Next I was informed that they make the noodles in-​house by hand here unlike supermarket bought noodles used in other places. I just smiled and decided to wait till I’d done a taste test.
Next I was served hot beef broth to sip on till they got my noodles which was an almost 15 minutes wait. As soon as the noodles were served they offered to snip them into small sections which I gratefully accepted. My experience from Somunnan has been that Without the snips it is really difficult to get the noodles down so getting them into manageable sections is a must. Taste wise the noodles were excellent. They were chewy and had a nice mouth feel. You could immediately make out that this was top shelf stuff. The noodles are supposed to be bibim but I found the sauce to have complex hot and sweet flavors not the regular fire that you expect from hot Korean food. I liked everything about what I ate. If you are a first timer wanting to try bibim nengmyun Gombo Wang should be the place that you should start from — the product is good and service is great.
The only thing that I did not like was the portion for the small serving left me wanting a lot more. Next time I’m just going to pony up for the large ($ 12.95). Price wise it was 40% more expensive that Somunnan so its top shelf quality with top shelf prices — I can live with that!!!

Prior to visiting this place, I have never tried any Korean cold noodle dish. This place has been in my bookmarks for quite sometime and I was curious as to why it was there in the first place. After reading the reviews to refresh my memory, the reviewers have mentioned that they have best bibim naengmyun in the area. So I told myself, it’s time to have my very first Korean cold noodles.
Bibim naengmyun is the name of the game.
The flavors of this dish is just inexplicably good.
Although this does not affect my rating, I noticed that I was the only non-​Korean person eating at the time and a few customers gave me odd/​curious looks. But that did not deter me from finishing my bowl. Yum.