Tang Maru 탕마루 — Restaurant in Palisades Park

UPDATED:

I finally got the chance to dine in and I think I have found my new go-to Korean spot in the area. The takeout was already good, but eating it fresh was (obviously) even better. To start, they bring you banchan. The banchan was slightly different that what they gave us for takeout. It was even better. They gave us these plates of tofu and it might be the best tofu I have ever eaten in my life. It was silky smooth, but doesn't easily break apart when you try to pick it up, and is topped with some gochujang and green onions.

We ordered 3 lunch specials and a japchae. The lunch specials are a great deal because you can get a combo of a main and tofu soup, appetizer, or seolleongtang. We had tofu soup + seafood pancake, tofu soup + galbi, spicy pork + seollongtang. My favorites were the galbi and the japchae. The galbi isn't your traditional galbi but is stir-fried in sauce. It's not a bad thing, but just not what we were expecting. Between the four of us, we had a good amount of leftovers to take home.

Can't wait to come back!

Ordered takeout for a Friendsgiving. We had all the classics - seafood pancake, galbi, spicy pork, regular pork, japchae, and bibimbap. My favorite was the japchae and the galbi. They also gave us two containers each of banchan - kimchi, radish, and white kimchi. I've never had white kimchi before and I really liked it. I actually can't think of another Korean spot that serves it.

Next time, I'll have to dine in and have...

A very friendly family owned Korean restaurant, serving delicious tofu soup, bibimbop, stew and many other exciting items.

We went to Tang Maru for weekend lunch. We got seats right away as it wasn't too busy. They have separated each table with plastic tent, which use really above and beyond measures to protect customers from Covid.

Their menu is pretty huge, covering all sorts of Korean popular dishes, alongside all sorts of protein like beef, goat, chicken, pork, ox and seafood.

We ordered the scallion pancakes, beef bulgogi hot stone bibimbop, and spicy black goat stew. Our orders came out to table within minutes. We also got the complementary side dishes of kimchi, radish, eggs, and few other items. The bulgogi and stew were sizzling when they came out, it was super exciting. Loved the goat stew so much, just kept eating until I reached the bottom of the bowl. It was soft, tender, juicy, and creating a perfect blend of taste with the stew soup.

A special mention of the staff members who were attending us. They were super nice and kind. They constantly checked on us and made sure that we were having a good dining experience.

Certainly Tang Maru has made it to my favorite list, will surely visit them again to try many other items from their menu.

TL;DR:

Food taste - 5/5 Food prep time - 5/5 Service - 5/5 Price - $$

Items tried: Scallion pancakes - 4/5 Bulgogi hot stone bibimbop - 5/5 Spicy black...

Food: 4/5 Service: 1/5

If you don't care about service, just want decent food even if they give attitude and make you pay at least 15% gratuity regardless of their poor service, not a bad choice.

If you want good service and will leave gratuity based on their food and service, avoid.

Service was poor despite being overstaffed, and was almost forced to pay 15% at minimum saying they'll bring me new receipt so that I can make the change. Yes, I had already signed and paid. I told them the service was poor and it was lunch so 10% is reasonable, but they said, "People don't like it when they get tipped below 15%," with a very rude gesture. I usually tip 15-20% for lunch and 20-25% for dinner and I respect my waiters/waitresses and appreciate their time and effort, but this place just makes me laugh because it's unbelievable. Just avoid if you want to have a pleasant rest of the day. There are more than enough restaurants for Korean cuisine around this area.

But again, food is decent. I've been here countless times until today when I learned I "have" to pay 15% minimum. I wouldn't know because their service was not bad and I paid 15% until today. Will never visit again even if this is the last...