Jang Choong Dong Korean Restaurant — Restaurant in Maine Township

So my husband is Korean and we just moved to Chicago a week ago. We were craving jokbal (braised pig trotters) and thought surely some Korean restaurant in Chicago must serve it. From an extensive search, it seemed like Jang Choong Dong out in Niles was the only place serving this authentic dish. We were a little aprehensive considering several of the negative reviews of this place, but with essentially no other options for jokbal, we thought we'd give it a try.

We set our expectations rather low, and prepared ourselves for slow and inattentive service as several reviews promised (side note - in Korea, wait staff largely leave you alone unless you verbally beckon them over for something, so service standards are different). This restaurant is definitely mostly catering to local Korean folks in the area, so this is the service experience you will have here. Having lived in Korea for 5 years, this sort of service style doesn't bother me. You are left alone to enjoy your meal with your dining companions until you need something.

We were sat promptly and able to order quickly since we already knew what we wanted. Another side note - it seems this restaurant is well-known for its all-you-can-eat bbq offering, and most other diners had chosen that, from what we can tell. Ironic, since Jang Choong Dong is a well-known Korean chain specializing in jokbal. I'm assuming the unlimited bbq thing has arisen for reasons of business profitability...

We did have to wait a while for our food. A LONG WHILE. Probably something in excess of 40 minutes. We arrived at 5:30 on a Thursday night, and there were maybe a total of 4 tables, with two servers working. My 6 PM, the restaurant was full (and it's rather large)...lots of groups had shown up and the wait staff was clearly ultra busy. About 6:15, three or four more staff rolled in (unclear if they were scheduled or just phoned-in reinforcements).

Our food finally arrived, and I must say, it was STELLAR, and so worth the wait. The pork wasn't just good by US standards...it was good by Korean standards. I've eaten a TON of jokbal in my life, and they do it right at Jang Choong Dong. We ordered the extra large portion (supposed to feed around 4 people, but my husband and I are big eaters)...very reasonable at 30-something bucks for an enormous platter of meat and a huge variety of authentic Korean side dishes. I wish I had taken a photo of our feast to include with this review, but we totally dived right in and decimated it. The staff were pretty impressed that we could eat all of it ourselves!

I would EMPHATICALLY recommend trying Jang Choong Dong if you love Korean food or are an adventurous eater. I'd also recommend skipping the all-you-can-eat bbq and ordering something more authentic off the menu. The jokbal did not disappoint! They also seemed to have a great selection of soups and other Korean fare.

A word to the haters who had a negative experience here...adjust your expectations and western dining mores. Come in with an open mind and a modicum of patience, and you will have a fantastic evening out. And if you need a server, just smile and wave your hand or walk up to the counter. This is not rude and you'll get what you...

PLEASE READ ISSUE RESOLVED

I am keeping the rating the same because of the below. However, our entire party reached out to the health department. My friend was finally contacted by someone who has common sense. The issues with the staff have been handled to our knowledge and the money was refunded. Owners were not in town at the time and obviously trusted people who don’t care for their business. We appreciate the follow up.

I’d like to start this out by acknowledging my party of 5 were of color. My friend and I planned this outing since we are the most experienced with Korean cuisine in general. Our waitress was sweet however, her lack of patience to hear our entire order/wants was non-existent. My friend had to ask her to stop walking away before we were done asking for what we needed. I will say for a $338 bill the service did NOT reflect the service we received. Waited almost 10 minutes before getting to order anything. I tried to help her by taking stuff off of the tiny table. We asked if they had any vegetables and got told no. As we were getting up to exit the table we noticed the table behind us had an entire plate of vegetables. If you are a person of color who wants to experience kbbq for the first time…this is not the place to go. I tried very hard to handle the situation soley and calm my table but there was little to no effort by the staff. Also whatever older male waiter was on duty was standing by our table literally staring into our souls. I bring a non confrontational person felt the need to say something. Will not go back hopefully this is they can work on. Be aware

UPDATE: Called in to ask for the owner or leave my name and number to discuss the experience above. Was hung up on and sent to VM. Unprofessional, rude, and terrible service. DONT EAT HERE Last Update: 3 out of 5 of our party have thrown up plus other distasteful activities 🚽😒 I called again today to ask for the owner and again was immediately hung up on. Talking to Doc and...

Standard all-you-can-eat authentic Korean BBQ restaurant. Ordered kaibi (short rib) and they served us jumuluk(ribeye). Pretty disappointing they pulled a fast one on us like this, but I can't believe I didn't notice until after the fact. I would call the restaurant and tell them what happened, but the staff speaks minimal English and I feel like they switched the meats on purpose. Ribeye cut is good, but they served me really poor quality ribeye. The ribeye was not trimmed entirely and was not fresh at all with zero marbling. I know it is all you can eat, but the quality was lowest of the barrel that you can get of ribeye. Looking back at it I don't know if I will come here again. I might go back just to see if they switch the meats on me again.

Tip: Only come here if you are Korean or accompanied by a Korean friend. The staff was not impolite or inattentive, but they did switch the meats and gave us the worst quality while also not offering any soup, noodles, or stove top kimchi rice at the end of the meal.

Ordered: Chadolbaegi and kaibi

Received: Chadolbaegi and low quality...