Cho Dang Korean Restaurant — Restaurant in Irvine

This gem is located inside H Mart's food court in the back. I initially came for groceries, but mine as well enjoy some Korean food while I'm here!

Parking: There's a large parking lot, so finding a spot can be a hit or miss. This lot is always busy.

Ambiance/Environment: There are lots of other Korean restaurants offering all types of different Korean foods. This one was most appealing to me bc they had tofu soups, bbq, noodles, bibimbap, and more. There's plenty of seating. It was veryyy busy when we visited during lunch time. Finding a table was a challenge.

Service: We interacted with two workers. The male worker spoke limited English but enough to get by. He was very nice and knowledgeable about the menu. The female worker was courteous and attentive.

Foods: Each dish came with banchan and more!

1. Beef Short Rib (soft tofu soup) - The soup was absolutely flavorful with a generous amount of tofu! The beef short ribs were big and came off the bone easily.

2. Galbi (BBQ) - Grilled beef short rib with sweet soy sauce, onion & green onions. Wow, the grilled smoky flavor brought me back to my childhood. The days when my family had our backyard bbq party. You know these hit when they remind you of your childhood.

3. Hot Stone Spicy Chicken (Bibimbap) - This had spicy chicken, rice, vegetables, furikake, & egg. I asked for mild spicy, and it had just the perfect kick for me. The chicken was cooked well and paired deliciously with everything else. Make sure to mix it right away or the rice will burn on the bottom!

4. Bulgogi Japchae - Stir fried glass noodles with vegetables & beef. This dish didn’t feel too heavy. The glass noodles were cooked well and had lots of flavor from the bulgogi.

5. Beef Brisket Kalguksu - Noodles served in beef bone broth with beef brisket. This is perfect for sick days. This dish honestly reminded me of chicken noodle soup but with beef lol.

6. Bulgogi Pancake - Their pancakes are thiccck. Don’t forget to dip! The sauce made it even more flavorful! Again, very generous with the meats.

Pricing: The portions were larger than the actual picture. Each dish can be shared at least between 2 people. Definitely worth it! I got more than I should’ve, but now I have lunch & dinner leftovers for...

The food is terrible and wait is long. I got mushroom tofu and there was literally ONE thinly sliced button mushroom in it, no enoki, no anything else but a ton of tofu (medium/firm tofu too, not soft tofu). The taste is surprisingly tasteless with a hint of tomato paste that will make Uncle Roger cry. For the price of it (15.99 plus tax), there's a lot better options out there so stay away unless you want to grab an uneventful lunch/dinner at H Mart....

They give you a lot of rice and banchan, which is good, but banchan tasted quite mediocre. It's a nice meal