Paik’s Noodle by Hong Kong Banjum — Restaurant in Duluth

HKB is relatively new and, amid a pretty aggressive nationwide expansion, they've had some growing pains based on the reviews I'm seeing. Actually went to their location on Jeju Island and didn't realize they were the "same chain". That one is more of a sitdown place but with an even more limited menu that leans into the Korean-Chinese aesthetic I've had the opportunity to try this particular location a couple of times and honestly it has been pretty good. It's hard to review a place like this and compare it to fine dining and rate it appropriately. If you're from the area, then it's workflow kind of like Sambong Naengmyun if you've been there. First, it's very brightly lit, relatively sparse, and you order at the kiosk. So it's already kind of setting the tone for what you should expect. The host might guide you to a table if it's busy or if it's not you can sit wherever. You go and grab your napkins, utensils, water cups, and some danmooji, the yellow pickled radish. Also extra bowls and plates if you wanted to family-style it. They call out your number, you get your food, and you enjoy. It's mostly self serve except for bussing so I guess it takes care of the most difficult part of the meal - clean up. The food is priced relatively high for a fast casual setup, but it's not terrible in this economy. They're obviously going through some growing pains and training challenges. The food has more hits than misses. Haven't tried the shrimp dishes, but the tangsuyuk was crispy and flavorful. Sweet, lightly sour. The yangyum fried chicken wings were a little bit of a miss. Not sure what was up with it, had some sorta banana flavor or something and the meat was freakishly soft/fatty. The jjajjangmyun met expectations. I liked the flavor of the jjampong. The chili oil versions of things may be a tad too spicy for some. Overall the noodles for the dishes may have been a litttle soft, but that's a matter of preference. If you're going for a leisurely dining experience with a group, this isn't the spot. You can linger, but it's meant for turning over the tables relatively quickly after your meal. If you're going for quick, acceptable Korean-Chinese cuisine then this should...

We stopped in on a weekday to try this place since we couldn’t last time due to very long wait times this past weekend. We ordered Jjajangmyun (extra spicy), Pepper Jjampong (extra spicy), and Tangsuyuk (sauce on the side). Jjajangmyun was just okay. Noodles were slightly underdone and strong smell of starch. If you order it extra spicy, it’s definitely going to be VERY spicy, which I enjoyed. Sauce was not as flavorful as I expected. A little on the sweeter side but not as rich as I would prefer. Jjampong is a little lacking in flavor in terms of broth and the contents of the dish. Broth was very heavy on garlic smell. I actually like garlic so it wasnt an issue for me but i could see why many people dislike this soup. Tangsuyuk was very good. Meat was tender, breading was crispy, i can tell they use the mochi breading for it, which i like. Oil seemed clean, no bad smells. Only problem is the sauce. It had a strange fermented taste to it, nothing ive ever tasted in tangsuyuk sauce before… It almost tasted like it went bad. Place is pretty spacious with self service kiosks and a monitor to show which order numbers are being served. Nothing special. I will return here one more time after theyre finished with soft opening and they officially open. Im hoping they make some improvements and listen to the...

We both ordered jajangmyun, his was regular and I made mine spicy with the regular jajangmyun. If you like some spice, order it like this instead of "spicy jajangmyun" with spicy peppers. I absolutely loved my jajangmyun but thought my husband's was a little too sweet. Tangsooyook - fried pork was surprisingly juicy and chewy, I was glad I got the sauce on the side because I thought it was too sweet. Husband thought it was fine. Portions were good.

I drink a lot of water when I eat and their water dispenser does not dispense cold water... yes, I turned the knob to cold, but it was still lukewarm.

Although you order yourself at the kiosk, they serve your food to your table and there are posters around the restaurant to leave your tray - keep in mind when you pay to add tip.

Staff doesn't check in once, which I prefer but when I asked for a togo container, the staff handed it like she was a bit annoyed. But the owner seems to always be at the restaurant to greet customers every time I visited.

Very clean, but the cleaning cart with rags by the self ordering kiosk stinks.... honestly lost appetite because of the smell. Might be best if they moved the cart away to the back. Music started with kpop and then onto country music the whole time, odd music to listen to while eating chinese-korean in...