Hangari Kalgooksu

We ordered the mandu (dumplings), kalgooksu (seafood soup), and the cold noodle. Although the portions are large, toppings are scarce. The noodles were a delicious consistency. I really liked the dumplings although they were scarce in meat. The kalgooksu was disappointing to me, I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not used to home cooked Korean food, but there could’ve been some more shrimp, or they could add some squid, more seaweed, etc. The cold noodle lacked variety in vegetables as well, I would recommend they add carrots or just anything. If I ever do come back, which I most likely won’t ever, I would order the tempura because I saw the orders and the portions are HUGE as well.
The service was hospitable, the ambience is comforting, but the food took a long time (20 min of awkwardly eating kimchi, oats, and sipping barley tea).
All in all, the Unilocal reviews let me down and I won’t be back.

I love coming here for good kalgooksoo! My mom is such a plucky water but she approves! Nice big portions. The food is affordable and delicious.

I’m going to get right to the point. This place is famous for their fresh hand cut noodle soup and it doesn’t disappoint. I ordered the seafood noodle soup and it was delicious, fresh clean taste. The noodles had the right consistency, not too chewy and not too soft. The soup was light and was seasoned perfectly. Even my little niece said that it tasted like homemade soup. I do wish that they should have put a little bit more of clams or some other kind of seafood in there. If you’re feeling under the weather or just recovered from something then their freshly hand cut noodle soup will surely give you a lift and put a smile on your face. It did it for me ~_~.

Very good noodles and spicy rice cakes. You add your own spice to make it as spicy as you want. The portions are large and filling. Every order comes with barley rice and fresh Kim chi. Service was just ok.

Yum! It was soo good on a cold night. Really liked the food and the price was so great for the portions!

3 years later and I still come back to eat here all the time with my friends and family. The service is always amazing and the quality of the dishes never fail me. I always come back here for the Kalgooksu, ramen dukbokki, and the mandu!
If you refer to my first review, which was 3 years ago, dukbokki was something fairly new to me… I don’t take back what I said about the dukbokki being chewy, cause they aren’t very consistent with how they make their dukbokki. That first time I had it I think it was overcooked, hence it being a bit too chewy. The last time I had it, it wasn’t as spicy as I remembered it to be, but the dukbokki was cooked perfectly! I love this dish because it’s so well flavored and has this addicting spiciness to it. The ramen dukbokki also includes fish cakes and cabbage; when you mix it all together, the condiments are marinated in the dukbokki sauce. Because this dish is so glutinous, it can be very filling, even though the dish doesn’t look too big.
The Kalgooksu is what this place is known for. I absolutely love it, but I can see why others wouldn’t be a bit fan of it. The broth is very clean, and it can be a bit bland. It’s filled with a light, sweet, seafood aroma which i really enjoyed. The noodles are perfectly cooked and tender. The soup had an assortment of seafood such as, clams and mushrooms, and also had bokchoy and mushrooms.
I’ve also had the fried mandu; that in combination with the ramen dukbokki was so good! The mandu came out freshly made, with this golden brown shell. It was crispy on the outside, and the filling was steaming hot and moist. Filled with so much flavor, and it had the perfect meat to vegetable ratio.
Each dish was $ 9, and for $ 9 the portion and quality is amazing. If you’re sharing between 2 people, 1 – 2 dishes was more than enough. I highly recommend coming here if you’re looking for korean comfort food.

I saw all the reviews here and took a detour to get here. This is a truly authentic restaurant. The menu was short and simple. We all felt a tad awkward not really knowing what the proper way to eat was. Thankfully a lady who was eating there could see we were confused and jumped up and helped. The food was so good and the portion sizes were massive. I only have one small complaint. The broth was extremely hot temperature wise. it took a little while for it to cool down before I could eat it… it was good and I attempted several times because it was so good.

I came here on a whim with my friend in search of good Korean food. Ever since, I have been recommending this place to everyone I know and taking my friends here every chance I get!
Food: I ALWAYS order the seafood noodle soup here which is what they’re known for. The portion is big enough to share between two girls, maybe order two for a bigger group or if you’re with a guy depending on how much you guys eat. The soup is very well seasoned and you can really taste the sea and seafood in the broth. The noodles are AMAZING. I really like the texture and chewiness of them and they don’t go skimpy on them either! Hands down my favorite dish at this place and I order this everyone without fail.
I’ve also had the Ramen dukbokki (Ramen with spicy rice cakes) which is also yummy. It also comes with sausage, fish cake, and other things. It is fairy spicy so if you can’t handle spice at all, I advise against ordering this. This portion is HUGE so definitely share this.
I’ve also ordered their steamed and fried dumplings (mandoo). Both are delicious and HUGE. Meals also come with free barley tea and a grain rice which is super good. Prices are super decent, everything is under $ 10 and the portions are great for sharing.
Location: Huge plaza with plenty of parking. Lots of seating inside. It’s usually pretty busy with Korean folks eating lunch here but I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes.
All in all, if you want a good seafood broth with delicious noodles, THIS IS HANDS DOWN THE PLACE. Great spot for homey Korean food!

I came here by accident and I ended up coming back so many times. I originally wanted cold noodles but I guess some of the pictures looked a little misleading. The restaurant is small and quiet. Im not sure if I always come during odd hours, but there’s always only 2 – 3 three tables filled. I guess that is good if you are hungry and wants one on one fast service. However, there was a time that I came and the restaurant was filled with families and there was only one worker and she busted her butt off to accommodate her customers. *applaud*
You do not get your regular 4 – 6 banchan side dishes here, which was a bummer for me. Instead you get this delicious kimchee and a small baby dish of rice. The menu is small and only has 14 items. I always their Ramen Duk– Bok-​ee, which is instant ramen and rice cakes mixed with their Korean spicy sauce and cabbage. The dish is not too spicy but enough where you do a little sniff here and there. They only cook one instant ramen pack, but they add a lot of rice cakes, which make you full faster. This is a shareable dish between 2 – 3 people.
I love their Man-​du (steamed dumplings). Nothing special about this because it is just dumplings, but I love the sweet and salty flavor of it. The meat inside is cooked perfectly and it doesn’t get too gross after eating 5 in one sitting.
Their Kal-​guk-​su is delicious and feels healthier. It is served in a warm seafood soup base with white noodles. The broth is clear and it is perfect to keep you warm and fuzzy. I love how they are generous with the vegetables and shrimps. The bowl is shareable with two people.
Lastly, I had their tempura dish. It is MASSIVE and I highly recommend not to eat this dish by your self or you will end up in the ER with a clogged artery. Well, I guess it’s not as bad as eating all those food at OC/​LA fair. But yes, this is exactly what you think it is. You have your typical fried shrimp, pumpkin, onion, broccoli, etc.
Overall, I like this place. I get great customer service and good food.

Came here on a Saturday afternoon with my grandma and the place was packed! Being a Korean restaurant, it was filled with Koreans. My grandma and I were literally the only ones who weren’t Korean. Because of that, I felt a bit out of place and uncomfortable. The ladies were really nice though. Anyways, we were seated after waiting for a short amount of time. We had to wait a little before one of the ladies came by and gave us our menus and utensils. The menus were on paper and could be used as a placemat for your food. There isn’t much on the menu from what I could tell. Besides «menu», the whole thing was in Korean. Luckily I had already looked up the food through Unilocal and its pictures so I knew what to order.
Before ordering, they served us our sides (barley rice, barley tea, and kimchee). It was good. I ordered one serving of kalgooksu and steamed dumplings. They were all delicious! The one serving of kalgooksu was enough for both my grandma and me but we have small appetites. The noodles and broth were on definitely on par (note: this was my first time having it but I’m sure its true since there’s so many positive reviews on it). The dumplings were also a delight!
Despite the language barrier and feeling out of place, the food was great and I wouldn’t mind coming back. But if you don’t speak or read any Korean, you should probably do some research on the place and what they serve before visiting.

The kalgooksoo was delicious! Especially in this rainy weird weather.
The dukbokki wasn’t so good.
They give you free barely rice and the radish stem kimchi as a starter.
This is old school and I love it.
I wish they kept the clams inside the shells, but it still tasted great and there were plenty of clams inside.

Came here for the Kalgooksu — I didn’t really have any expectations because it seems like there are way fewer options for kalgooksu in OC than in LA.
There were only 2 or 3 other parties in the restaurant when our party of 4 arrived. The nice lady working the front greeted us and seated us promptly. Their menu is really small, probably a dozen items give or take? We expected the kalgooksu to be served in a ginormous portion like places in LA, so we ordered one to share, plus an order of rabokki, and an order of shrimp/​vegetable tempura.
The kalgooksu was a slightly smaller portion than we expected, but it was still served with a bit of barley rice and young radish-​leaf kimchi beforehand. It was quite good! The rabokki had what I assumed to be fresh rice cakes because they were SO plump and soft. I was really glad that the sauce wasn’t as spicy as many places tend to make it (I’m a wuss). They give you such a generous portion of the shrimp tempura — and with TONS of shrimp, compared to most places that give you like 3. We were stuffed from just those 3 dishes and even had to force down the last few pieces of shrimp!
The service is very friendly, facilities are clean, reasonable prices, and excellent food. You can’t beat it!

Its Two Star Tuesday (TST: Cindy C fr LA — LOL) again!
I had the kal guk su at Myung Dong Kyoja in KTown, so I wanted to try the same dish at Hang A Ri in the Korean Business District of GG. I was hopeful it would be good because there is also a Hang A Ri in KTown. The OC location is on GG Blvd, just west of Brookhurst.
We ordered the seafood kal guk su ($ 8.99 — Knife cut noodle soup) and mandu ($ 9). The menu is very limited, and additionally there is du man du guk (kal guk su w/​mandu) and tempura (o_​O). To start off, we received complimentary barley and kong sim chae kimchee (Chinese = ong choy; Filipino = kamote leaves). I have been to Seoul before, and the foregoing is about as FOB as you can get. BTW the kimchee was bitter: 2 Stars.
First of all, the soup was pretty bad. There was one shrimp, and hardly any clams. In addition, the noodles didn’t compare to MDK: 2 Stars. Secondarily, the mandu were OK. There were a lot for the price, but the flavor was nothing special: 3 Stars.
Regarding the ambiance, it was traditional Korean. There were minimal decorations and it was small: 3 Stars. On the other hand, the service was non-​existent, other than taking our order and delivering our food: 2 Stars.
There is NFW I would return to this place when their #1 dish that touts seafood, has very little of it. Additionally, the limited menu that includes tempura earns this place a spot on my TST list. I left this place hangari (hangry) in the wrong way: Full of unsatisfying food, but hangry for some food that is satisfying. I had to go to Past Memories again, like I did after Project West — LOL!

This place has great soup and wonderful noodles. The soup is perfect for a cold night or if you’re feeling sick. The bowl is really large and two people can definitely share a bowl. Chicken and clam soups were really good.
The barley rice that they give in the beginning (for free) is so good. It’s soft and fluffy and wonderful. This place is good but not a place I’d come to regularly — id have to be in the mood.
Valet parking is $ 2 or you can try to find street parking.

Frankly, whenever I have been back home in the OC I’ve never taken the time to get home style Korean food; I’ve always new too Americanized, going to popular places like Gen for kbbq.
I’m glad I took the chance to come with my mom to hangari. After looking briefly on Unilocal,we ordered the kalgaksoo and dukbokki. Luckily, ive had enough experience with my Korean friends to pronounce them correctly. After a bit the waitress brought kimchi and barley rice. They actually tasted great! Don’t eat too much of them because they get filling.
Shortly after, the waitress brought our orders. First off, every time I’ve eaten dukbokki (spicy rice cake and ramen), it wasn’t really spicy. At hangari, they know how to make it hot! The stone pot definitely keeps it warm too.
But the star of the show goes to the kalgaksoo, the knife cut seafood soup. I don’t know what they put into their broth, but it tasted friggen amazing!
A point about their service: since this is a mom and pop Korean shop, if you don’t speak Korean, it might be hard to grab the attention of the waitresses. That’s what issue I had. However, it definitely doesn’t put a blemish on your food.
Eat well and proposer,

The dumplings are hot and well made. They have a balanced and traditional korean taste. The Kong guksoo is pretty good too. It’s flavors are very traditional but it doesn’t grab my attention in any extraordinary way. The cooking reminds me of something home made by a typical ajumma. It’s what I’d expect but id like more chewy noodles, a thicker more soy granulated soup base and some more vegetables in the Kong guksoo.
However, i do appreciate the barley rice and kimchee that is served before the main dish.

Not as big on this place as others on Unilocal.I thought the kalgooksu was okay but I was really disappointed with the jangtuh gooksu that some of the Unilocalers seem to love. It really lacked in flavor and I was really sad about the lack of any protein in it…
You will need to add to the broth the seasoned soy sauce otherwise it will be too bland to eat. Younger people and those with Americanized tastes might find it bland even with it added.

They brought the cold dish, cold unsweetened tea, barley rice and warm soup when we were waiting for our noodle. I love the soup which has the flavor from seafood, my friend and I thought that’s clam.
Overall, the noodle is favorable and the portion is generous. Give it a try especially in the got weather!

If I ever get a craving for tempura or even Korean food in general, I’ll be sure to make the venture out to Hangari.
Three dishes were ordered and three dishes were devoured by the end of the meal. The tempura here is surprisingly good; I would even say some of the best tempura I’ve ever had. They literally give you a mound of assorted tempura composed of shrimp, squid, and veggies. The batter has a really nice crunchy texture and just tastes amazing overall; I would suggest not passing this one up.
The kalgooksu was really well prepared and is the perfect dish for a cold night. We also ordered steam dumplings which were good but sort of lost their shine among the other dishes on the table.
I love the barley rice that they give you before the entrees come out. For those not in the know, you’re supposed to mix it with the sesame oil on the table along with the chili paste and kimchi. I really don’t know how traditional this is, but I’ve never felt so Korean in my life.
The staff here aren’t the kind to come up to your table to ask if everything is okay, but I really can’t make any complaints about the service. I found a hair in my soup, which we brought up to the staff; they offered to recook the soup, but we told them that it was fine. She later came to our table to apologize and let us know that the kalgooksu would be half off. It was after I noticed that the hair was too short to be any of the female cooks in the back that I realized the hair was very likely my own. I felt bad that they didn’t at least contest that the hair couldn’t have been from the staff and were so willing to compensate us; rest assured, I gave them a very generous tip to make up the cost. Definitely a new favorite for me and I’ll be coming back very soon.

«Baby it’s cold outside» — Frank Loesser
With the temperature dropping and holidays in full swing, it’s nice to warm up with a hot bowl of soup with a special someone. Although at Hangari you’d probably won’t be sharing their seafood kalgooksu. It’s a one-​person dish — sorry guys!
The broth has a soothing warmth to it and the noodles, the noodles are just incredible. You can tell that they were freshly made because they have this great chewy texture that can’t be faked. Mmm. I’m hungry just thinking about it. It’s served with mushrooms and seafood (shrimp, mussel), which gives it a great balance.
I also had the opportunity to try their Ramen Dukbokee, but it pales in comparison to the kalgooksu. Eat this, not that! Enjoy!