Mhat Korean Restaurant — Restaurant in La Palma

Looking for something that tastes good? Don't go looking beyond the Mhat!

Why? Because the Mhat, is where it's at!

Close by to where I live, the Mhat Korean Restaurant is operated by the same people that brought us Jang Soo Jang Korean Restaurant in Cerritos, before it became Red Palace KBBQ. Eager & willing for some hot soup at a new place, I was game to be single-legged & taken down to the Mhat.

At the entrance, a sign listing the daily specials greets customers before being seated. Color menus on the wall display their very popular choon chun dahk galbi & special menu items. On a cool November day, I was in the mood for soup with a fiery broth.

Yook gae jang (spicy beef & vegetable soup)- Spicy, it is! The broth had about a shaker full of red pepper. Perspiration flowed from my bald head. You could see the sweat outline of my thong through my jeans ;p J/K The generous bowl of soup had tender slices of beef, bean sprouts, noodles & the rest of the accoutrements that goes into making this wonderful dish. A bowl of moist white rice accompanies the soup. Hearty & rich, my tummy was happy upon completion of Mhat's delicious yook gae jang.

The assorted banchan were very good. I helped myself to a second helping of each. Barley tea (iced or hot) is complimentary. Know what else is complimentary? Self serve Thrifty ice cream! Can't go wrong with ice cream, especially when it's free & it's Thrifty's brand. For my visit, butter pecan, mint chocolate chip & strawberry were the flavors du jour. Yum!

Service was great! The young woman seating & tending to everyone was very pleasant, helping me decide what to order & periodically checking on me. She could be a hypnotherapist, with her calm, soothing voice & pleasant demeanor. The older woman who brought out my food, whom I assume to be the owner, was cheerful & friendly. She laughed as I took pics of her food. Amateur food critic, here.

Table seating for around 38 people, Mhat has a homey feel to it. 1043 MYFM plays on the house speakers, you know, to make sure you can rock out to One Direction & 5 Seconds of Summer while stuffing your face with kimchi.

Parking is in a private lot, at the 7-11 strip mall. Not a lot of parking spots available, parking may be difficult to find during prime hours, with residential areas available.

Interesting tidbit - the front signage says Maht, not Mhat. Hey, as long as there's great food, who cares?

I was taken to the Mhat & I tapped out - to delicious food! Prices are quite reasonable for some flavorful dishes. Why five stars? The service. The staff were friendly & seemed to be very nice people happy to have my business. I enjoyed & was highly satisfied with my authentic Korean lunch & I'm awaiting my next visit where I may go for the house specialty - dahk galbi. I had food envy when I saw most of the other tables with portable stoves, big pans of dahk galbi bubbling away. Next time, baby!

Highly...

The reviews lied. The reason we go to restaurants is to try foods that taste better then what we can make at home. Sorry, but the food is just edible. The reason for the extreme low stars is because the wait time was crazy. Had to wait 20 minutes for their chicken galbi. They promote it like it is their main and popular dish. Then why did it take 20 minutes to get it to our table. On top of that, they needed to heat the galbi tableside. Another 15 minutes? Wow wasted almost 90 minutes to eat here. Don’t they have ingredients prepared? We went on a Wednesday night and it wasn’t really busy. Half the place was empty. The staff’s body language and tone of voice said quit bothering them. Lastly i felt robbed. Paid $29 for a person portion of chicken galbi then they charged $4 each for 2 extras. Then we asked for 1 order of beef galbi at $37. The portions are so small like Korea. But prices like you’re in some Kangnam upscale eatery. $80 for 2 adults and 2 small kids. Try...

The rating should have been 3.5 stars, but I am knocking 0.5 star off because I found hair in two of the banchan dishes. Service was excellent, especially for Asian restaurants. The restaurant was also very clean. The banchan (small appetizers) collection was good, as it wasn't just a bunch of spicy pickles. We ordered the Kalbi Jim and Seafood Pancake. The Kalbi Jim ($28) was so-so; it was very sweet but the flavor lacked depth. Some pieces of the beef was sorta tough. The pancake ($16) was of a good size, but there was no seafood in it. It should have been renamed as green onion pancake as all I could taste was the green onions. Finally, the prices are kinda steep. There are plenty of Korean restaurants nearby and I am hoping that Mhat's owners pay heed to...