Dae Myoung Ok Korean Restaurant

I have never tried anything else here, but always ordered Dak Do Ree Tang, the proper name for it is Dak Bok Keum Tang.
Chopped whole chicken pieces with skin stirred in spicy sauce with onions, potatoes, carrots, rice cakes and yam noodle. Nothing fancy, just like homemade, simple and clean tasting dish.
Side dishes (ban chans) taste just like homemade as well, nothing really fancy, but they are always changed at every visit.
I don’t feel like eating out when I am dining in here, I feel like eating at home, also the ladies make me feel like they are mom and aunties so maybe that’s why. Very casual, relaxed ambience here.
I noticed many college kids and older people come in at later evening to have a proper homemade dinner. I also often eat here to have a late dinner, it is a better choice than grabbing a burger or tacos late at night.
Price is reasonable, portions are big enough, service is attentive so feel free to ask for more rice or refill of banchans.

The food was decent! I can’t speak for authenticity since I’m not Korean but we ordered a bibimbap, some sort of soup, and a combo of soon tofu and short ribs. The bibimbap I thought was really good and the waitress was kind enough to assist us in mixing it and everything. She was a little snippy and impatient when we were ordering but I don’t blame her since we had pretty much no idea what anything was and she did her best to explain things to us.
It was a little hard to find anyone to ask for the check or a to-​go box and it took a few tries to get someone’s attention, so I guess that would be the only negative in this review.

Boodae Jigae ftw on a cold rainy night!
We ordered this for take out and it came packaged in 3 bowls of soup, 2 servings of rice, a package of instant ramen, a small baggie of glass noodles and a few pieces of rice cake. We requested some banchan and they hooked us up with a variety of side dishes! Awesome! Def recommend using your at home hot pot to bump up the atmosphere when enjoying on a cold night.
Definitely ordering this again!

SERVICE.
You can have my two stars for the service. We were seated quickly and our side dishes came out promptly. Our food wasn’t too long before they were out too.
COLD NOODLES.
Literally two pieces of meat and the rest was ice. I wasn’t getting much flavor out of the broth either. I paid for dinner and was told «That was some good ice.» LOL
S [something something] TANG.
The porridge with the chicken stuffed with sticky rice. There wasn’t much flavor to this either. I hear it’s more of «sick people food,» but I was hoping to get more of a chicken flavor.
PRICE.
It’s pricier here than other more authentic tasting Korean foods I’ve had.

PROS:
–Great little hole in the wall that serves authentic, delicious Korean food. Whenever the weather gets chilly, I find myself craving their Yukgaejang (spicy beef soup with veggies).
–Side dishes are all excellent.
CONS:
–Staff is nice but the service is SO… SLOW. It’d be great if they could hire just one more server.

My fav. Korean retaurant in Irvine got introduce by my sister when I studied here 7 years ago… & still going here every time I visit my sister! It’s a small cute place. They have the best seafood tofu soup & recently I just fell in love with the dish «Haemul Jeongol» so yummy!

Am still sitting here in the restaurant. I haven’t been here in a while, since there are so many new and great korean cuisine options now.
So. there are 2 servers. It’s Dec 29, there are a lot of group customers. Service is super slow. Took 8 minutes to get menu, then immediately ordered, and have been sitting here for almost 30 minutes.
Food is still pretty decent but you should only come here if you are in no hurry. But why would you when you have so many other options with better service?

I’ve lived on Culver & Walnut for over a year and I’ve never noticed this place until now. I’m glad I finally found it. Ignore all the haters cause this place is authentic as it gets. Like most Asian restaurants, their focus is their food and not their customer service. There were only 2 servers for the entire restaurants who did everything from taking your order to bus-​ing the tables so expect the service to be very slow.
I ordered their samyetang because I was feeling a little under the weather. It’s a riced stuffed chicken with ginseng soup. It comes a little more bland, but you can add as much salt as you want. This dish was homey and definitely hit the spot.
If you are looking for a place for authentic Korean cuisine without any of the frills then this is the place for you.

There are 3 Korean restaurants in the same plaza: Koba Tofu, Kaya Tofu, and Dae Myoung Ok. One of my friends loves Koba, and I liked Kaya a lot (I wrote a review for that restaurant.) However, Kaya always had a line, and one day I decided to check out Dae Myoung Ok. There almost never is a line, and that was worrisome. That worry, however, was unfounded.
There are about 12 tables of 4 seats available, accommodating 48 individuals. A Japanese paper wall separates the restaurant from the restrooms, and a coin-​operated coffee machine is located next to the entrance. During dinner time, two mature waitresses and an elderly woman usually roam the establishment. Orders are generally taken (and fulfilled) pretty quickly.
One thing that sets this restaurant apart from the other Korean Tofu places I like, is the type of food served. The typical Tofu soup (Sundubu), Bibimbap, and BBQ are served, but other, unusual dishes are also available. Dishes that, as I was told, your grandmother would serve at home, such as large stews or soups.
One dish in particular is one of my favorites — it is made better here than at Kaya’s: Octopus Bibimbap. Its chewiness of the large pieces of Octopus legs, buttery taste of the rice served on a flat stone, and sizzling of deliciousness… Wonderful!
FAVORITES
— Octopus Bibimbap
— Assorted Sundubu (Tofu Soup)
RECOMMENDED
— Haemul Jeongol Seafood Stew
— Gamja Tang (Potato soup)
DON’T CARE
— Fishball Stew
— Spicy Cold Noodles
The side dishes are excellent here and of higher quality than at most other restaurants. They are generally not automatically refilled, however, unless you ask for it.
Some of the dishes appear quite pricey, and I’m always hesitant to try them. However, those I did try, such as the Haemul Jeongol Seafood or the Fishball stews (especially the former) are very large portions and are meant to be shared.
The seafood ingredients of the Haemul Jeongol Seafood Stew were of better quality than other places I had tried. As stated, I did think the dish was overpriced, but after seeing TWO complete, Blue Crabs and the amount of seafood in there, the pricing was justified.
My brother tried their Gamja Tang, an item that was displayed in Korean on the wall. Several people loved it.
The Sundubu (Tofu Soup) has been flavorful.
I have been noticing the elderly lady (assuming she is the owner) walking around the restaurant and ensuring everyone’s food is taken care of. At times when she noticed our dish could use more sauce, for example, she asked whether we wanted any additional. The first time, I politely declined, but later decided to take her up on her offer because I added extra rice to my Bibimbap, diluting its flavor a tad. She smiled with a «See? I thought so» kind of look, and gladly added more sauce and mixed the dish. Boom, it tasted much better indeed! Every time I do add extra rice to my Bibimbap, she sometimes notices the imbalance of sauce and asks if I wanted extra sauce. It shows that she is concerned and wants to ensure her guests have the best meal possible. She is always very polite.
Despite all the positive things I mentioned, last night’s visit was not as good of an experience. My brother’s Gamja Tang (Potato Soup) and his wife’s Tofu Soup both came out warm (instead of boiling hot.) Both were sent back to be heated further. The elderly lady commented, in Korean (and translated by our friend), «Oh, she did it again!» She further explained that the cook had been making a lot of mistakes that day. Perhaps it was a new cook. My tofu soup came out hot (not boiling hot) too, but I did not mind. Hopefully, this minor incident was just a rarity. After all, our experiences had been positive so far.
For a homey feel with dishes that Korean grandparents would serve to their families, friendly service, and great food, we will continue to be going here for our Korean craving.

Have been in here many many times countlessly
Love everything here and the nice staff xD
Recommend Galbitang BooDaeJiGae Galbi Pork Bossam Bulgogi…