Happy Family

Limited menu but really, this place is all about the noodles (Jaja myun and JamPong are awesome). No other place in San Diego comes close to this places noodles.
Don’t make a western newbie move and order kimchi Jigae or fried rice. Get the noodles! Also, service? If your getting great service, you’re NOT getting authentic Korean food. It’s not bad, just set your expectations according to the type of food you’re eating.

First off, this is neither wholly ‘Chinese food’ nor ‘Korean food’. This is more like Chinese food that you find in Korea. I have been eating jajangmyun and jjampong since I can remember grabbing chopsticks, and I can reassure you, this is the best place for either of those dishes in San Diego, PERIOD. There were stand alone restaurants that had this type of food 10 – 20 years ago in San Diego, and they’ve all disappeared. The family that runs Happy Family made it back– thankfully!
The food you taste here is how they’re supposed to be done. It’s a great deal for the amount of food you get and they have the BEST fried dumplings, in town. THE BEST JERRY!
The Jjampong and fried dumplings are of the ‘can’t miss’ variety. I could say that for everything they serve here, if it was up to me. However, from my friends and coworkers first visits, these two items were the jam.
In regards to ambiance, sorry, considering how most of the best food places are ‘hole-​in-​the-​walls’ I never had nor do I expect it. Just give me some great food, respectable service and somewhere where I can eat it. Happy Family does just that.
Enjoy!

Errrrr. I hope that non-​Koreans or America born Koreans don’t think this is how Korean dishes are suppose to taste like. –_​_​_​– I came here with my mom n bro n ordered, jjam bbong, some Chinese soup thingie, chicken wings, dumplings… n all of them were horrible. Even noodles were overcooked… Come on now. How can u overcook noodles n open a restaurant… I don’t wanna sound so mean but I guess when it comes to Korean food, I have expectations.
Also, the service was so bad. The young girl who works there, when you ask her a question, she answered them while checking her phone.
Def will save my Korean cravings for LA trips.

Jajanmein is good; the flavors are right. The janpon is REALLY good. The flavors are all very much shandong/​korean ^_​^ the ingredients are okay with traditional stuff, but not the giant shrimps and meats I’m used to from home… hahaa. I guess I’m being too picky ^_^

expectations play a big role in impressions and experiences. everyone knows this after a moment of self-​reflection and it is built into Unilocal in general of course. in this instance it works well for Happy Family!
Set in a warehousey area and realtively simple cartoonish storefront, my expectations went fairly low. however, the food was good and I would come back.
+Mabo tofu (a comfort food for me) really hit the spot with high quality shiitake slices and little bits of meat, but the sauce which I supposed can be called Korean rather than traditional chinese flavored (though I am not any expert in either of these) came with a red spicy soup/​broth (like jjamppong minus seafood or veggies) and both were was sooooo tasty!
+Jampong was good! excellent broth
+Jjajjangmyun was pretty good but I don’t normally eat so dunno how it rates versus others: p
+sweet and sour breaded pork wasn’t my favourite, not worth the price really
unimpressive appearance, HUGE portions for decent price, great taste, good meal.

If you want good ja jang myun check out the new Zion market. My first and last time here. The food was bland and bitter.

A very limited menu and vacant warehouse feeling made this an interesting meal. The seafood soup is really good! The bowl is like a bucket and there is a ton of spicy noodly goodness to keep your belly happy.

I was in the mood for Jjamppong, I only like it from Happy Family which was at the old Zion market. They closed down when Zion moved, I called today just to see if they would, by any chance, be open again, and guess what… They are! I went straight there for a lunch date with a co-​worker and the Jjamppong was as yummy as I remembered it to be=) So happy that they have re-​opened and at the same location which is now U-​Mart. Wish this business lots of success, which is well deserved based on the delicious food that they serve.

I love this place! I always keep meaning to write my review and I always forget but since I’m already on Unilocal I decided why not now.
Anyway, this is a small family restaurant in Zion market. It’s delicious the portion as are very large and I’m never disappointed! Folsom bimbimbop and jam pong are def my favs here.
I sure hope they are going to move to the new Zion market.

My #1 spot in San Diego for jajjang mien, jabong, and sweet and sour fried pork. They are owned by Chinese Koreans like my mom’s family so they know how to cook this stuff. The authentic flavor and homemade noodles are on par with other Chinese Korean restaurants I’ve been to.
It’s alil pricey but big portions make up for it. I recommend :)

for a food court place, this isn’t too bad!
i had premeditated going to dede’s tea juice city for dinner but they were closed early due to a refrigerator malfunction.
in total frustration i turned to my favorite go to place for fried man-​doo. this place does it pretty well. they are definitely korean style and i love the dipping sauce. i like how it also comes with a plate of little ban-​chans like damuji and moo.
i got the jjam ppong tonight as well. the broth seemed to a little bland, it had nice seafood (mussels, octopus, and shrimp) but no pork. the pork would have given it a nice depth.
i hear this place rivals san tong when it comes to jjam ppong and jja jjang myeon. i’ll have to come back to try the latter.
service is ok for a food court, seating can be problematic at peak times.

I think this place has the best jja jang and jjamppong!
The price is decent and there is a lot of food.
The other dishes are okay but I think the jja jang and jjamppong are definitely my faves here. I tried another place where I found a fly in my «NOT GOOD» jjamppong. It’s really hard to find good Asian food places in San Diego. If you do, it’s usually expensive.

Inside Zion —
Price is OK
Food is OK
— Fried Gyoza wasn’t deep fried enough (think typical jajangmyun places)
— Dwenjangjjigae was not bad — I actually enjoyed it, as I can’t make it on my own and haven’t had my mommy’s since the last time I’ve been home…
— Bibimbap: you can’t go wrong with bibimbap b/​c it’s an assortment of namul, gochujang, and rice.
— Miso soup that came with every order was too salty
Unless I’m already at Zion and am too lazy to drive elsewhere, I wouldn’t come here JUST to eat at Happy Family. It’s just convenient.

I have only eaten here when my friend — Henry– (who works at Crispy Tonkatsu next door) has the day off… that’s every Wednesday. Just like at Crispy Tonkatsu, I want to try everything on Happy Family’s menu.
Here’s what I’ve nommed so far: Almost every menu item comes with really delicious banchan. The kimchi is always perfectly fermented. The bibimbap is ok. Jajangmyoen is da BOMB, and it comes with decent sized cubed vegetables. IMHO the larger the vegetable cubes, the nommier. Jjampong is super hot and to DIE FOR. I am will seriously to have to fight the urge to get the Jjampong every time if I want to complete my quest to try everything on Happy Family’s menu.
Happy Family! = Gastric happiness! :D

This place has won some stars back. Awesome jajangmyeon. Not the best I’ve had, but still very good. A fair amount of noodles overflowing with sweet, not terribly greasy black bean sauce and some side dishes for $ 7. The price is right.
Do not, by any means, come here looking for some great service. Or even good service. Your order is received silently and without a smile. And as you receive your food you might catch an unenthusiastic utterance of «enjoy». Not very welcoming but the jajangmyun is worth popping by for.

I got a jiajangmyun to-​go. Opted for to-​go since it’s pretty hard to find seating, I was there on a Sunday.
They were really fast, I’m sure partially it’s because it’s pretty easy to serve jiajang myun. Just get the noodles, sauce is already made and just put them together. They noodles came in one styrofoam box, and the sauce came in a soup one. They gave me SO MUCH sauce. So much! I literally ate 4 other meals with that sauce. Not sure if it was just a lot b/​c it was to-​go.
The meal also came with bachan. All pretty yummy, not that much, but it’s okay! The jiajang myun lasted me a week!
If you are a po’ kid like me, check it out!

Those aren’t sesame seeds on my face, they’re jjajangmyun stains.
And please don’t wear a white shirt if you’re planning on eating jjajangmyun.
That being said, real jjajangmyun doesn’t actually taste like the ones here. I suggest you either make your own or go to LA Ktown for tastier jjajangmyun.
The service is decent, but I’d rather shop at Zion and make better-​tasting food.

Walked into Zion Market to get some goodies and as I passed the food court, I spotted RICE CAKES at the corner of my eye. And then I got hungry. So first I did my shopping and then after that I walked back to the food court area. They had two different shops. One was Happy Family, the Korean one, and the other was this Japanese one.
I went up to order at Happy Family and got a Duk Pokki (I think that’s how they spell it). It was so cheap, under $ 8. And they give you kimchi and sweet pickled raddish. The Duk Pokki had the rice cakes, lettuce, dumplings, fish cake, carrots, and other goodnesses. The sauce was slightly sweet and a tad spicy. Not the best Duk Pokki i’ve ever had but the best for its price, don’t get me wrong, i did enjoy it. They had other things on the menu like bulgogi, chajjangmyun, shrimp chow mein, japchae. And everythings cheap!

Food: Only tried the Bi Bin Bop (not sure about spelling). And I would recommend it if you’re feeling like a rice dish. The rice comes w/​thinly sliced veggies and meat, which was served in a black hot pot bowl. I was surprised to see that it came w/​tofu soup and side dishes. Be sure to squeeze that bottle of hot bean paste into your bowl of rice and then start mixing everything together. That’s the whole point of the dish. The paste really isn’t that spicy, at least not to me. So, put enough of it until the white rice turns a more red color.
Price: It came out to be like $ 9 bucks. May seem a bit pricey, but the portion and side dishes was worth it. I think generally Korean food tends to be a little bit more due to all the extra stuff. Or, it might be because there isn’t enough competition like L.A. Either way, the Bi Bin Bop was pretty good. Soup wasn’t the greatest though.
Location: Inside Zion Market, who’s neighbor is Mercedes. The restaurant is located on the north end of the market.
Parking: Can be a big pain depending what time you go. There’s a huge lot right across the street. Look for the big sign!

Happy Family is my favorite when we need a quick food before or after shopping for some groceries, as it is inside Zion (Korean Groceries) market. It’s so convenient and fast, as well as yummy, not to mention cheap ($ 7 for pretty big quantity with side dishes). You take a number and wait, then go pick it up when they call your dishes.
Their jjajangmyun (black bean noodles) can be made vegetarian — just ask them to take out meat. This dish is the best I’ve had so far in San Diego. And they’re generous with sauce and vegetables which is always good. Definitely better than San Dong Ban Jum or Noodle Town.
Jap chae bab (fried sweet potato noodles with rice) is also very tasty. They fry the noodles with some chili peppers which was a pleasant surprise to me. This dish can also be made vegetarian without the beef.
My favorite here used to be Hot Stone Bibimbab (rice with different kinds of vegetables & mushrooms, can be made vegetarian without beef), but after the new ownership this year, I found out about their vegetarian jjajangmyun — and I had to get it. It’s incredibly delicious! Order the 2x version jjajangmyun if you’re a big guy and super hungry.
If you’re craving for some good ol’ Korean-​style chinese food, this is it!