The Koop - Korean Chicken and Cuisine — Restaurant in Camp Hill

Ugh, let me tell you about this truly disappointing experience I had yesterday at a Korean place called 'The Koop.' I took two friends out, excited to treat them, and the whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth – and not in a good, flavorful way!

The bill for the three of us came out to a whopping $98.37. For that price, we ordered Gang Jeong, Hemul Pajeon, and Bulgogi. Now, we walked in there with serious appetites, ready to dig in. But guess what? We left 'The Koop' still hungry! Seriously, how does that even happen after spending almost a hundred bucks? The portions were just ridiculously small. It's not like I make a habit of going to restaurants to leave feeling like I need a snack!

Note: The first 3 pictures are of 'The Koop'. The last pictures are from 'KPOT'.

Also note: The picture where you see rice over the Bolgogi might not represent the actual small portion, but let me reassure you that it was tiny. I left 'The Koop' still hungry.

Just a few days prior, I took the same two friends to KPOT, and while that place set me back over $100 with the tip, at least we left feeling satisfied and happy with the food. I definitely can't say the same for 'The Koop.'

The only bright spot in this whole ordeal was the Bulgogi. It actually tasted pretty good, which made the small portion even more frustrating. As for the Hemul Pajeon? Oh man, it was a greasy, flavorless disaster. For a Korean dish, it had absolutely no zing or character. And to top it off, when our food was brought out by who I think was the owner, the Pajeon was missing! We waited, thinking it would come out in a bit, but nope – he'd completely forgotten it.

And the rice? The tiny bowl they gave us wouldn't have filled up a kid in elementary school. My friend who ordered the Gang Jeong was also bummed because it was overcooked and dry. I specifically asked for my Bulgogi to be extra spicy when I ordered, but it arrived with absolutely no heat. Thankfully, I always carry my own Carolina Reaper ground pepper, so I had to spice it up myself!

To make things even more challenging, the person who took our order didn't speak a word of English. Trying to communicate what we wanted was like pulling teeth.

Then came the cherry on top of this whole frustrating experience: when I went to pay the bill, the owner literally had the nerve to write 'Tip' on the receipt! Since he didn't speak English, I guess that was his way of asking for one. Let me tell you, I was beyond displeased with the portion sizes, and a tip was the last thing on my mind. I'm usually a generous tipper – I even left a $20 tip at KPOT because the food and service were fantastic.

Honestly, nothing irks me more than shelling out a lot of money for food that isn't worth it or leaving a restaurant still hungry. Thank goodness I didn't order a second serving of that Bulgogi, even though I enjoyed the taste!

Word of warning to anyone thinking of going to KPOT: While the food there is good, be aware that it's quite expensive and the portions aren't huge. If you're going in really hungry and are on a tight budget, it might not be the best choice.

As for 'The Koop,' I have the receipt right here to prove how overpriced it was for what we got, and the fact that they had the audacity to ask for a tip after such a disappointing experience just adds insult to injury. Avoid this place if you value your money and...

Did you ever go to a restaurant and say to yourself, “I’m glad I tried this at least once?” The Koop IS NOT one of those restaurants. I used to enjoy the prior restaurant, Spring Garden, so I was excited when another Korean restaurant took its place and I had the chance to try it out on a Friday. It is very disappointing though. I have never once been to a Korean restaurant (including causal, fast-food style places) were there were no banchan served, and I have been to well over a hundred Korean restaurants. Sure, you can order radish dishes and kimchi for extra, but I have never heard of that, even the Korean chain Bonchon and Korean grocery store cafes offer a few small plates. Also, there are no indications the dishes aren't included, so one wouldn't know to order them if so inclined. The other issue that I had was the portions of proteins are so small when ordered with vegetables dishes that it is almost insulting. I can understand not serving even a medium sized portion of proteins, but what I got was barely a few morsels. To add insult to injury, the spice level was way below expectations. It wasn’t all horrible, as the service was nice and the vegetable that came with the meal were bland, but fresh. This place really deserves one star, but I gave it two because the Korean options in Harrisburg are so limited and a bulgogi dish they brought to another table looked good, so maybe that is the item to order. Prices are a little high for the quality of food (roughly the same as Spring Garden was for soups) but the quality isn’t there. Both Nagoya and Korealicious (even with Korealicious limited menu and Nagoya not specializing in Korean food) have much better Korean food. The closest and most convenient to Harrisburg Korean restaurant to Harrisburg that is outstanding remains Arisu in Hagerstown. Hopefully before long, another Korean restaurant with an extensive menu and better food opens. As it stands, I have no reason to return to The Koop.

I have been back to restaurant one other time and it was significantly better. This time kim chi was given with the soup, and the soup was excellent, if not quite outstanding. I would revise my original opinion and put it on the level of Korealicious, but not Nagoya. For the area, it is is more...

I'm glad finally there's a place that serves Korean fried chicken in this area. Before The Koop,the closest one I know was in Frederick MD inside the H Mart, which by the way is also managed by the same owner, Andy. He also manages 2 other locations including one in State College.

The exterior is modest, unlike the previous Spring Garden which had a distinctive Asian façade. The ambiance is informal, it could have been the inside of a chalet in a remote place, especially given all the mountaineering paraphernalia in the front corner and the license plates hung on the wall from all over the world. In a way it's rather memorable.

It was 3 pm on a Saturday but still there were 4 other table occupied, many were young Asian. Andy and the wait staff were both very friendly.The menu was simple. The prices were not cheap. We ordered a large 16 pcs wings $23.95 and the Hemul Pajeon seafood pancake appetizer $12.95. It's a bit funny that we were given some wing samples after we made our order, but we'll take it!

It didn't take too long before the wings were served. The wings (and drumettes) looked great. We had the Sweet & Spicy and Honey Garlic for the sauce. They tasted good but I wasn't blown away mainly because the temperature wasn't hot at all, only a bit warmer than room temperature. We had Pickled Daikon for the side. It didn't feel pickled at all, neither sweet nor sour, another downer. The seafood pancake came shortly after and it was humongous, about the size of a medium pizza. The taste again was all right but the texture left much to be desired. It was soggy and was breaking apart when we tried to serve it. There's so much carb we were beyond stuffed.

So I'd say fried chicken is what they're known for and you have the best chance of getting satisfaction. I was a bit disappointed on this visit,but I'd like to think it was an off day because I've had good experience in their MD location. I'd give it 3.5, rounding up for being one of its kind...