Manna Rang

This is the food court /​walk up counter restaurant that is inside of the H-​Mart. All the big Korean grocery stores do this. The giant stores in LA usually have several of these eateries attached to the grocery store, as well as little shops with beauty supplies, cosmetics, etc. They all tend to have a similar menu of Korean staples, so the menu is pretty much what I would expect it to be.
Most of these places have decent food, but it’s rarely anything worth writing home about. These places are also typically very affordable.
Manna Rang is exactly what I would expect it to be. I’ve eaten here twice with my husband when we’ve been out late running errands on a weekend. We’re usually trying to wrap up groceries for the week and if we run behind, we’re still running errands and starving at mid-​afternoon. The hubby hates my Hangry Monster so the couple times she showed her face while we were in H-​Mart, we stopped shopping to eat here.
It’s good enough to make the Hangry Monster go away. And restore peace and tranquility to the shopping experience. Other than that, I wouldn’t really eat here. But I’m grateful it’s here and I’m sure I’ll be eating here again at some point.
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Explanation of my rating system —
5*: Epitome of something, the best I’ve had, would LOVE to go back
4*: Great food and happy to go back regularly, but not the best of the category
3*: Food is fine. I may spontaneously decide to go there based on convenience. But no need to go back either.
2*: If you insist, I guess I’ll come along. I’ll find something to eat. But I wouldn’t have picked it.
1*: No plans to come back. I’ll try to talk companions out of going.

From Korea with love. The spicy seafood soup (champoong) or just simply #19 and #15 braised beef soup (I can’t pronounce the Korean name) are two of Asia’s best comfort food. Too bad you can’t get them after a night of drunken debauchery; they’d be great after a night of drinking. The servings are quite big, especially #19 the seafood noodle soup. It’s quite spicy, but nothing that will burn your mouth, just enough to make you sweat a bit. The beef soup is also hefty, it comes in a stone bowl that keeps it hot. The beef soup has vermicelli (glass noodles) so you may not need the side of rice it comes with. What I do sometimes is put the rice in the soup to make it heartier. After all, rice is almost a sacred dish in some Asian tribal cultures, so don’t waste it. Both dishes come with small serving of kimchi. Some people have complained about the service in this tiny «food court» but what they don’t realize is that the food is prepared upon order. So be patient, it is worth it! And after you eat, you’ll notice that you’re not thirsty. That’s because the flavor comes from the ingredients, herbs and spices, not salt. It’s a more healthful option then. But you know what’s a good dessert after all that savory, spicy soupy goodness… ICE CREAM!!! I’m not yet done with my ice cream hopping so those reviews will have to wait.

I was more impressed with the grocery store than the food court. The customer service at MannaRang Food Court sucks!
So I walked up to the food court because I saw they had fresh sushi. I asked the lady at the food court about the options available and she impatiently told me to go to the other side. I can’t say that she was rude, but her tone was so harsh it made me almost cringe to find out what was on the other side that she was so brash about. I did go around, and there a man as stiff as balls that stepped out from the other side of the counter. He just stared at me as I waited for my son to catch up to me so he could pick out the sushi he wanted. I almost felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to be there, but had already told the kid I’d get him some sushi if he came inside the store. I did smile at the man, but luckily I didn’t need to ask him anything because he definitely didn’t want to talk, or even smile. I guess smiles aren’t really contagious.
I’ll go back to the grocery store, but I won’t go back to the food court. The sushi wasn’t that good and the service was just unpleasant. Go with God when you go in here. Just be warned.

This is one of my favorite places to eat. I always get number 14, but I’ve had friends get many other dishes and they’ve all been satisfying. My advice is to stay towards the warmer dishes. Americans tend to not like cold bibimbap or noodles, and their stews are really good. I come here twice a week almost every week, as my college is right around the corner. If you’re not familiar with korean food, it’s no big deal. Descriptions are right below the names of dishes, AND they have awesome sushi!

This is the most authentic Korean Kim Bap Shop I’ve been to in the US. I lived in Korea for a year, and one of the things I miss the most are the inexpensive, quick, and delicious ubiquitous corner kitchens. Manna Rang is the closest I’ve come to finding that style of restaurant. The ladies who work there are extremely friendly and helpful. The signage is colorful and enticing, and appeals to any person who likes to eat with their eyes, regardless of their knowledge of Korean cuisine. The bibim naeng myeun is outstanding, as well as the jjam pong and soondooboo jjiggae.
TIP: The trick to having an above-​average meal is to order actual Korean dishes, and not the Asia-​generic «fried rice» or «saucy chicken» dishes. A lot of the less-​than-​satisfactory reviews of this place are written by people who ordered Americanized dishes.
The portions are gigantic and inexpensive. If you want to try traditional Korean food served in an authentic way without the intimidation or price of a restaurant with table service and a table-​center stove top, this is the place to go.
PS: H-​Mart has great produce prices, too!!!

Manna Rang is H Mart’s food court, if you can call it that.
Just a list of things I noticed:
Prices are inexpensive.
Quality of food is average, at best.
Staff seem unhappy.
The staple Korean dishes are available.
Sushi is available.
The tempura section is not fresh.
They are honest — there’s a sign that tells you everything has MSG.
There are recent additions to their menu.

Freshest sushi around with an unbeatable price! The hot food side is just a 3 star review. I’ve been twice but don’t really feel the need to visit again.
But the sushi side is fantastic. It’s super fresh and very reasonable. I usually grab a couple rolls and some sashimi but there’s also a menu that you can order from as well.
This is also where we get sushi grade salmon and tuna when we want to make our own rolls.
Great place to grab sushi when you want sushi at home.

We ordered their advertised summer specials which include the cold noodle soup (nang myun) and cold spicy noodles @ $ 9. You’re better off getting the packaged versions in the supermarket and making it on your own at home. Also we detected a bit of a soapy taste in one of the dishes. Couldn’t help but get a bit neurotic about how they are cleaning their wares.
While I was there, I noticed other diners were pretty happy with the stews. We also had the kim bap $ 4 and that was pretty good. So I would stay away from the cold noodle stuff and order the stews.

6÷22÷11 5:00PM
This is the food court inside of the Catonsville, MD H Mart. I ordered Shrimp Fried Rice which came out to around $ 8.50. The entrée came with a self-​serve bowl for Miso Soup and a small plate of kimchee and spicy pickled radish.
As with most food courts, the food came out very quickly. Overall, the meal was meh; I think I can cook shrimp fried rice better at home.
After the meal, the biggest regret was that I could have tried Kirkwood Pit Beef which was literally a few blocks away with my $ 8.50.
The remorse settled and I went home. Maybe I will remember on another grocery trip.