Hwa Gae Jang Tuh Korean BBQ

We ordered bulgolgi, seafood pancakes, and hot pot — it was all tasty, but I found the meal pricey for what we received. (But then again, I am comparing to a favorite Korean BBQ we used to go to in Southern CA). Overall, the food is decent and the service good…
P. S. I upgraded the restaurant from 3 to 4 stars as I attempted to make the hot pot at home and failed miserably. I now appreciate the difficulty of making a good hot pot, which (to me) includes a flavorful (and not too spicy) broth, and a good balance of vegetables and tofu. I really liked this restaurant’s hot pot — not so much, their bulgolgi or seafood pancake.

Today for lunch, we ordered one seafood and one Galbi bibim bop. This restaurant after many many visits is consistently very good. Attentive and homey service, this is our go to Korean fare. The stoneware adds authenticity to these classic dishes. Wish the bibim bop used less cabbage as fillers… but still great!

I went here on a Thursday night with my friends. All of us didn’t enjoy that much. The price is not reasonable for the portion. The portions are so small for 1 person. The taste of the food was ok. But all of us didn’t get full

Gnats flying all over the place and into my food avoid this place the food is okay but the gnats made me lose my appetite

My finances family usually comes here for most of their Korean food cravings. They have very good bbq. When we all Come we usually get gamjatang or the goat stew. Both delicious! Recently I noticed the goat stew price went up to 40 $! So the fiancé decided to get a fish stew and his mom loved it! (I’m Not a fish stew fan). I noticed all the menu items had the prices hand written on top of white out or a sticker thing. I guess they raised all their prices! We came in the other day and it was completely packed! That made everything hectic but the food was still great.

Let’s call it 3.5 stars — service is spotty but friendlier than some places I’ve been.
Otherwise, this place serves solid Korean BBQ and generous banchan — pretty much everything I’m looking for in a Korean restaurant. The meat is a lot better quality than other places I’ve been and the portions are deceptively large. They also have those little private party rooms that are a necessity when you have a large party getting down with the Hite and Soju.
It’s a little pricey, but I would say it’s comparable to other Korean BBQ places I’ve been. I’m pretty happy to have found an alternative when I don’t want to wait an hour at Iron Age on Rockville Pike.

Five stars! I always bring people to this place and I order the cod fish head without telling my guests.
After we finish I asked if they like and I always see their smile and after I mentioned what they ate, off course nobody believe it!!!
Usually I don’t eat kimchi, but at this place I love it!

This is my favorite place to eat Korean BBQ in the area! Their Kalbi is perfectly marinated (just the right balance between sweet and salty) and they typically help you with the cooking of it as well. We almost always get some pan fried dumplings, chap chae and bi bim bap — they are all great, especially the chap chae which is generous in portion size, has lots of «chae» in it and is delicious. They also serve miso soup to start and a sweet rice soup for dessert. And of course the appetizers to start off as well.
When I go out for Korean BBQ, I care mostly that the food is fresh and flavorful (particularly the BBQ). This place is consistently great, and everything we have tried there has been very high quality in my view.

Hwa Gae Jang Tuh is my go-​to-​place for Korean BBQ when I’m in Maryland. I always leave extremely satisfied with a longing to return. The restaurant accepts reservations (by phone), has a dining area, and two private rooms for larger parties. The staff is friendly and the food is consistently good. My Party of Twelve ordered the following: (2) Jap Chae, (2) Seafood Pancake, Bulgogi, (4) Galbi, (2) Pan Fried Dumplings, and Bi Bim Bop in a hot stone pot. After placing an order, the staff brought out several orders of complimentary small tapas — fish cakes, potato and carrots, soybeans, kimchee, spicy zucchini, and salad — to go with our meal.
The Jap Chae consisted of thick vermicelli noodles mixed with shredded vegetables (e.g., mushroom, green pepper, red pepper, spring onion, carrot, onion) tossed in sesame seeds and sesame oil. The Seafood Pancake consisted of dough, spring onion, and seafood (e.g., shrimp, calamari, octopus). The Bulgogi consisted of pre cut marinated beef and onions cooked on sizzling dish. The Galbi consisted of marinated beef short ribs in a special house sauce and cooked right in front of your eyes. Each order of dumplings came with 10 pan fried vegetable dumplings and served with a semi-​sweet soy sauce garnished with spring onions. The Bi Bim Bop consisted of rice, shredded vegetables (e.g., mushroom, radish, carrot, soybean, spinach), and half cooked egg served in a sizzling stone pot. The meal finished with a sweet, cinnamony, rice punch to cleanse our palettes and good for our digestive systems.

First time having Korean BBQ and it was excellent !!! I had a rice dish which had spare ribs, cabbage, mushrooms, and bell pepper topped off with a fried egg. There was a hot sauce which I loved and dipped everything in. The kimchi and wonderful as well. Totally will return !

This was probably the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. The waitress didn’t get our order right and when the wrong food came out she argued with us and refused to correct her mistake. She showed us her ticket and what she wrote down, insisting we got what we ordered. What would we have gained for lying about the food we wanted? And so what anyway, just take it back and bring back what we want! Nope, she just walked away and left us with food we didn’t order. My friends wanted to walk out but I felt it would be immoral or something… We should have just left.
We were all given one glass of water that was never refilled for the full 2 hours we were there. Then when we finally paid our checks, the waitress hovered over us, examining our tips. Most of us left something but one in my party decided not to since the service was so horrid. The waitress asked him, you’re not leaving any tip? He said no because the service was terrible. She just laughed and walked away.
Really, nothing else matters about my visit to this restaurant. Who cares what the food is like if you’re going to be accused of lying then ignored for the rest of the night? No thanks, I’m NEVER coming back to this place.

Came here for dinner and drinks for two on a weekday evening. We were seated immediately.
They serve 5 banchan dishes with the meals, and we enjoyed all of them; the server refilled them when they were empty without us having to ask. For dinner, we ordered the gamjatang (pork bone soup) and the godeungeo gui (broiled mackerel). Both were delicious! Dinner was capped off with a complimentary bowl of sikhye.
I really enjoyed the food and the service was great. The servers were very quick and pleasant, and seemed to anticipate our needs before we had to ask. Would definitely dine here again.

I went there for dinner and I was craving for Bibimbap, and this place was so close to my house and thought of giving it a try.
I was greeted very warmly by the waitress they are so nice and polite which is why I would recommend this place. I saw they have only beef bibimbap but I asked if I can get pork instead of beer out of the regular menu. They are nice to accommodate my request and in 3 mins they served me the varieties of Banchans .
And food tastes very authentic like I had in Korea Town back in LA. I’ll go back there again.

This is waaaay better than iron age… Their meat is very high quality and the service is amazing. Very authentic. Iim is an amazing server and has a great sense of humor. Definitely coming back on the regular.

Came for lunch on a quiet weekday.
Immediately greeted warmly and with tea.
Off to a great start.
I ask for some recommendations and the server recommended several dishes.
The first one she recommended highly was the number 4 lunch special so I gave it a try.
We also ordered the bibimbap.
The portions were good for both dishes, but the flavors of the #4 broth felt underwhelming and without depth of flavor. Really watery with little complexity.
The bibimbap, a Korean classic, was a much better alternative to my dish (albeit a little low on the meat).
Service was very warm and hospitable, but that broth was unexplainably boring, especially for a food culture known for assertive, aggressive flavors.
Gotta come back to try the KBBQ though and hopefully change my mind. Great staff though nonetheless.
3 stars.

I haven’t been to this location in over 10 years and the 1^st time under this management. I was pleasantly surprised. The service was great! The waitress was attentive and got the hint that I wanted my meat cooked longer when I put a piece of meat back on the grill to cook a bit more. I like my pork on the crispier side. The quality of meat is pretty good — galbi (marinated short rib), sam gyup sal (pork belly), and choel do begee (thin slices of beef). The kimchee chigae’s flavor was spot on, although a bit oily due to the fatty pieces of pork. The free banchan (sides of vegetables, kimchee, etc) were good but not great. I liked that they served slices of vinegared radish along with the lettuce that u wrap the meat in. I was so in the mood for Korean and this place saved us from having to drive to Annandale.

This place get’s packed easily, so if you’re coming in a big group call ahead and RESERVE a room or table.
The meat was pretty good and fresh lettuce is served with the grill. Also, they give you the lettuce mixed with green onion and soy-​vinegar; which was decent. The banchan (side dishes) at this restaurant was also decent. None of the side dishes really WOWed me.
However, I enjoyed the soy bean soup a lot. This soup had a miso base; which was light and delicious. The soup stood out to me the most because it was different.
As for service, it can be a hit or miss depending on the time of the day.

So I heard that this place hired the former Woomi Garden chef. No wonder this place tastes like the old Woomi Garden (back when it was the best).
This location has had several turnovers, but I think they have a good thing going. Came here on a Sunday dinner couple times now and both times, it’s packed here.
The service can be a bit sporadic. One day good and another day, have to flag, wave, and yell to get their attention.
As for the food, one of the best kalbi marinade and good cuts of beef. Their combination of kalbi and naengmyeon is always good!
If you have room after BBQ, their dol sot bibam bap, gam ja tang, and soon du bu are good choices too.
It’s great for people (good place to also bring your parents too) who don’t want to trek it to Annandale and who are looking for other Korean dining options instead of AYCE at Iron Age in Rockville or Honey Pig in Germantown.

Pretty solid Korean restaurant in Rockville, MD.
Been coming to this location for many years. The new restaurant renovated the interior which was badly needed. I have to say I was pretty impressed with the food here. The galbi was marinated pretty good and the meat was tender. Only thing is, the waitress who cooks the meat has to lean and stretch so her dirty apron is touching the leaf lettuce– so make sure you clear out a path for her so your banchan isn’t contaminated with raw meat germs.
The soondubu is good as well. I like it better then Lighthouse Tofu’s one. My wife enjoyed her galbi tang. I think I will be coming here more often then driving to Woomi Garden as this is closer to our house. Big plus is Shila Bakery is next door.

Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place before. Like a lot of Korean places, this one has gone through some changes in management and a name change as well (remember when it was Ha Dong Oak?).
I came here a few years back but the interior was completely different and the food was subpar as well. This time around, I believe it’s better. It’s hard to find a decent Korean restaurant in Maryland (we all know that Woomi is an overpriced joke) but this is definitely one option that won’t leave you with the smell of kalbi all the way into your pores. That may be because I didn’t get kalbi, and I went at a time when the place wasn’t TOO busy.
The interior is nicer than some of the other Korean places (think of Wang Jja Jang’s mismatched tables…) which is a welcome change. I got the kalbi deop-​bap, which is basically small pieces of kalbi on a bed of shredded lettuce and a fried egg, all over an ample amount of white rice. The kalbi is sweet and it comes out just hot enough. The lettuce adds texture to the dish, and it helps to offset any potential nausea from the white rice. This is definitely my go-​to dish, since I don’t eat any Korean BBQ outside of restaurants and I’m not a fan of places like Honey Pig.
The service, per usual, is par for the course when it comes to Korean restaurants. They’re not very attentive, but by now I’ve gotten used to that. I do like that they offer complimentary shikhye at the end of your meal (PLEASE DON’T CHANGE THAT!!!) unlike places like Woo Lae Oak that CHARGE for it as a «dessert» (robbing you blind, I tell you!).