Don Maeul — Restaurant in Duluth

I ordered a yukgaejang, a spicy brisket stew that’s a Korean mainstay. It’s good stamina food and also good for colder weather. Lots of things on the menu looked super good, but I settled for that, at the counter lady’s suggestion.

I asked them to make it non-spicy, a near contradiction for yukgaejang. To my surprise, they pulled it off. I ate every morsel. Just be warned that it’s hard to eat yukgaejang without splashing drops of it on clothing. It’s a dish that’s mostly slurped.

The mung bean sprouts and kimchi sides (banchan) were delicious and fresh. Better than restaurant-quality.

The woman who took my order was kind, patient, and gracious. They were getting a lot of foot traffic. When I went back to her to compliment the food, she brought out the chef!

Chef David Shim told me that he had been the owner of this location since last January, so just about a year, but that he ran his own Korean restaurant in Missouri for nearly 30 years. He explained how he slow cooks the ox bone to make the broth, as well as the special prep, marination, soaking, and hand-pulling he did to make the brisket extra tender. He struck me as a living encyclopedia of Korean culinary art.

He told me he directs the kitchen staff himself and conducts quality control measures, including making sure the right quantities of ingredients make every dish, before a dish is served out to a customer.

I saw someone else eating their spicy pork dish, and a kid whose grandma was spoiling him with galbi. The one eating the spicy pork gave a thumbs-up regarding his dish.

For those getting into Korean food, this is a good starter place to try different dishes and flavor profiles. They offer a good, representative sampling of Korean restaurant fare. The portions are good and the prices are fair, given how much food prices have gone up.

If you’re Korean, I think you’ll be very happy also. The food tastes authentic and satisfying, clean and healthy, and you’re definitely saving money over going to a sit down restaurant. I haven’t tried enough dishes under this new management to say more, but I look forward...

Quick Korean food. The menu is vast and the prices are very reasonable. Things you should know: I. PARKING The restaurant is in the cafeteria section of the HMart in Duluth. The parking lot is huge and there's plenty of free, available spaces. Easy. II. SERVICE Once you order at the register, the cashier gives you a buzzer to let you know when your food is ready. I see a lot of reviews of people complaining about the employees not smiling.. I want you guys to know that it's an american custom to smile at strangers and not something all other countries see as a social normality. Read up on it & thoroughly educate yourself.. do not take it personally. III. QUALITY It was my first time trying both Kimchi Albap 김치 알밥 and Jaengban Makguksu 쟁반 박국수. I don't have a baseline to compare but I enjoyed the taste alone. IV. CAPACITY Fair traffic flow of people coming and going. Majority of the food ordered was to-go...

Everything I need is here. As long as you just wanna shop and not care about customer service then this is a great place. Have lunch or dinner. Food is really good. Prices okay too. Service is okay at food Court. But friendly and conversation is not their number one priority. But again...are you there to make friends? Nope me either. So....always stocked with product. Any made items have been fresh and good. It's where I can get good quality Korean made food. Eat there, take home and...