Korea House Restaurant — Restaurant in East Lansing

Can't say they are the best Korean restaurant I've been to, but we went here two days in a row, so that's saying a lot. A solid 4 on taste.

There was a Korean convention going on at the same time, so this place was popping out the seams at 8pm on a Saturday. There were only 2 servers. So while service was slow and food came out slower, they did what they could and accommodated us very well. Our servers (we had one on Saturday and the other on Sunday) were both nice and quick. The Chinese lady was a little curt at first, but I could see she was just stressed from the unexpected rush of customers. After I thanked her for doing her best, she relaxed and gave me the most beautiful smile. She was very pleasant after that.

Chadol-baki, Korean bbq, came precooked (you don't cook on the table) on a hot sizzling dish, pre-seasoned and tasting great. It doesn't come with all the normal Korean bbq fare (lettuce, perilla leaves, garlic, pepper, green onions), but with rice and ssamjang. While the meat was good, I really don't like eating just meat without the veggies, so this one was a disappointment.

dolsot bibimbap friend said it was your average bibimbap. You really can't go very wrong with this dish.

tangsuyuk They ran out of this dish on Saturday, but we were able to get it on Sunday. It was quite yummy. And even though I didn't ask for the sauce on the side like I usually do, it didn't really get soggy throughout the meal, and stayed good through the last bite.

kanpung shrimp They ran out of kanpungki (chicken), so we got shrimp. I actually liked the shrimp better than the chicken.

octopus bokkum (little octopus stir fried in hot sauce) This actually tasted quite authentic, despite being on the milder side of the heat spectrum.

jjamppong-bap heard from some friends that the rice version is better than the noodle version, so we got the rice. But another friend later told us that the noodles were very good too. So I'm thinking that the noodles got overdone with an influx of customers on Friday, but the kitchen is normally better and fixed it the next day. Either way, the soup was quite good, and generous with ingredients and portion.

The consensus is that the jaeyuk-bokkum (pork belly stir fry) is on the sweet side for our Korean tooth, but good for the more American friends.

Oh, and the banchan... they were meager portions, especially compared to the generous main dish portions, and no one refilled them unless you asked, and of course, it was difficult to ask when they looked so busy. This is why so many restaurants in Korea make banchan self-service...

Overall, a solid Korean restaurant, that...

I first walked into Korea House about 4 months ago. I walked in a broken man, hopeful yet uncertain, unsure of anything but the growl of my stomach, still ruminating the failure of my recently ended relationship. The last thing I expected was to get unto something so serious so quickly. Beat still my mending heart.

As I walked in, Korea House hit me with a tasteful dose of authentic Korean aesthetic, complete with k-pop jams and Korean Food Shows on the TVs. I knew immediately I was ready to drop some serious dough on some serious food.

The best comparison I have for the vibe of Korea House is Ohashi, in Cleveland, Ohio. Thankfully I no longer visit Cleveland nor will I ever return.

First came the sides. 5 sides. Shocked, I quickly asked the server if she made a mistake. Nope. These sides are just "part of the meal". Each side was delicious, each one having their purpose, and their complementary flavor.

Now the recent breakup I had went through left me with a strange tea addiction, perhaps using the warm mug as a surrogate for human touch. That being said, I was craving the warm caress of a cup of tea and was recommended the Barley Tea. Now let me tell you something about Barley Tea. This tea makes you forget you ever needed something of substance in your entire life. It's a buttery, warm, perfectly delicious loaf of bread in a cup. A perfect pairing for the flavor circus laid out in front of me.

The Pork Belly BBQ was yet to come out. Now usually this amount of food would be plenty for a couple, but of course I am alone now and will have to be strong. It came out sizzling and I just sat there and looked at it and smelled it for a solid 5 minutes. Because as we all know if you go after something you like too fast you are going to get burnt. And a burnt tounge was not something I was going risk.

I spent the next half an hour mixing and matching the sauces, sides, and BBQ to my hearts content, completely immersed in the present and experiencing new flavor combinations. Needless to say it was a great meal and I have been back many times. Each time I go I continue to reflect upon my past and future life. I'm doing much better now.

Stay chill...

I have always liked Korea House's food, and always recommended the place to others. But today, I had a weirdly bad experience that I want to share. 5 of us went there around 2.30 pm for a late lunch. I knew that they're closed between 3-4 pm, so we asked first if they can serve. They said they could, but we have to order quickly, and we can sit there till 4; but then we'll have to leave. Fine. We ordered within 5 minutes, 5 dishes. That's when the problems started.

First, they got my drink wrong (Yuzu tea instead of Maesil tea). I didn't say anything coz I like Yuzu, too. Then they gave us quite small portions of Banchans for 5 (missing some more items too, picture 1). We were understanding as they were in a rush. We were eating quite quickly. But 2 of our dishes were a bit late, and everything was hot. And we knew we had till 4, so we didn't mind. Around 3.05 pm, when we only finished little bit of our food (picture 2), they handed us the check. As you can see, the food wasn't even half eaten. They didn't even ask how the food was or if we needed anything. Weird, we thought. But we still gave them the payment. Even though we ordered separate dishes, I thought only I'd pay it and my friends can zelle me later, as that'd be quicker. So I asked for an itemized bill. They refused to give it. We then thought okay lets just finish it, and we would just not tip. [[Disclaimer: I tip almost always, but not when I get a zero service, and I'm all for livable wages for servers, so please don't be negative.]] When they came to get the sign, they straight up asked, 'No tip today? What's the problem?' - which we thought was quite rude. We tried to be polite, and didn't want any confrontation. But then they started making loud noises behind us. Worst thing is, there were a few other people in the restaurant (at least 2 or 3 tables), but they were being like that with us only. I don't know if it was coz we looked like tired grad students, or 2 of us had hijab on, or what. But it felt extremely uncomfortable.

The food was, as always, really good. But I'd think more than twice before ever going back or recommending the...