Myung Dong Kyoja, from what I understand, is known for its Dak Kal Gook Soo (or Korean style chicken soup), but the true hidden gem here is the Jjol Myeon (or cold spicy noodle).
How does Myung Dong Kyoja make their Jjol Myeon? Well, the cold wheat noodles are sufficiently chilled, not cold, but sufficiently chilled so that they are cool to the palate but not unpleasantly so. It comes lathered in spicy sauce (which reminds me of what the kimchi is bathed in, but more on that later), topped with shredded cabbage, some julienned cucumbers, and half a hard boiled egg (for protein balance, maybe?).
But you order this for the noodles and the perfect confluence of chewy noodles counter-balanced with those crunchy raw vegetables, bound viscously together with that very crave-worthy spicy red sauce.
The other standout here is their dumplings. Not mandu – at least not the typical mandu one might find at any number of Korean restaurants in these parts. But dumplings like the mistaken test tube baby of a Beijing style boiled dumpling and a Cantonese shu mai. They’re circular, and at first glance you might mistake them for xiao long bao, but these have no soup (they come in pork, or pork and shrimp). Weirdo hybrid appearance aside, these are very good and they pair wonderfully with the house (gratis) kimchi – either spicy or bland. And you will want to enjoy these dumplings with the kimchi, and take pleasure in enjoying a sort of a reconstructed deconstructed mandu.
Myung Dong Kyoja
3630 Wilshire Blvd
Koreatown
(Southwest corner of Wilshire and Harvard)
great writeup! the jjol myeon sounds great for a summer day here. I’ve heard of this place for the dumplings but haven’t been, will definitely try it out.
Omg their kimchi is insane. I mean seriously you have to make sure you don’t have an important business meeting or any interaction with any other human for two solid days after eating that kimchi. Your entire being becomes a diffuser of garlic and other kimchi flavors. I mean come on, I’m used to eating a shit-ton of kimchi but this is in a league of its own.
I’ve since discovered Myung In for their excellent dumplings and inoffensive kimchi.
Pork dumplings (#4) were great, juicy with lots of greens, so lighter than you might expect. Never had anything much like them before. A little black vinegar was nice. Wrappers were thin and none broke.
Kimchi was excellent, fresh-tasting, didn’t seem wildly garlicky to me.
Dongchimi guksu (#8) was also great. Noodles are green. A Korean banker-looking guy at the next table was surprised to see me order a dish that’s maybe too spicy for him, asked me if I liked it that spicy, I said, well, compared with Thai food, it’s not really that hot.
Great light lunch for a hot day. Place was busy when I got there around 11:45, full with people waiting by 12:30. Looked like everyone was Korean except for me and a couple speaking Spanish at the next table.
Pork dumplings juicy and good as previously. Shrimp dumplings tasted almost like same, could see bits of shrimp but not taste it. Funny that they gave us separate dishes of kimchi.
