Dong Baek — Restaurant in San Francisco

I started getting takeouts from Dong Baek about 2.5 years ago and their food and service quality has been noticeably decreasing. I have received multiple deliveries missing my drinks before; I have received my delivery in a heavy duty cardboard shipping box before (yes, that was their solution to running out of plastic bags); I have received Bibimbap with Gochujang packets that clearly stated that they had already expired for 2+ years; and finally, I got food poisoning from their bibimbap and seafood pancakes. What I am stressing to point out is my last meal from them included a hand-poured cup of Gochujang sauce that was so terribly expired that it had gone spoiled. It was absolutely terrifying for me because the sauce had a disgusting color and pungent smell to it. What I was truly disappointed about is how did anyone in the kitchen not see or smell this awful sauce quality while they were preparing the food??? I am having a very difficult time imagine the excuses and I am extremely concerned about other consumers at this place.

When I reached out to the restaurant regarding the sauce issue, there was only Korean-speaking one lady (store owner?) who cannot speak English, and there was no other English-speaking people in the restaurant who could assist. After 5 minutes of struggling to explain the issue, I was offered one free Bibimbap to make up for the incident but I am literally scared to ever give my trust to this place again after this terrifying and shocking experience. It is 100% boycott for me...

I unfairly judge Korean restaurants based on their panchan and on how faithfully they replicate the overwhelming meat sweats you get from some of the AYCE Korean joints in SoCal. While Dong Baek loses points on both those criteria, it nonetheless holds a special place in my food gland for fighting the good fight for Korean food in the Tenderloin.

Now, I know that the loin is gentrifying, but when you walk past some of the dealers and homeless folks right outside, you'd be surprised the customer base at Dong Baek stays so strong. Many times that I've eaten here, I'm the only non-Korean, or if there's another outsider, we get to give each other the panicked nod.

Lots of homestyle Korean dishes to be had here, and just one look at the casserole list and you'll understand. This is comfort food, something Mom whips up on Saturday nights when all you have in the fridge is kimchi, hot links, and you're down to bags of ramen. That's where cham pong comes in, and I have a hard time not ordering it each time. Big smokin' bowl of noodles in a spicy red greasy broth, with chunks of squid, oysters, and more onions than your hot date is comfortable macking with. It's a comforting dish that really fills you up on a foggy San Franciscan night, which is perfect since Dong Baek closes late.

The panchan are well-done, but nothing stands out, and they never...

Solid 3 out of 5 stars for everything. I had the dolsot bibimbap and my sibling had a spicy fish soup. The side dishes were nice, some better than others - the slivered potatoes, radish kimchi and bean sprouts were great. The broccoli was meh and the kimchi was more sour than spicy and the sea weed salad was standard. We were the first customers of the day when we went and service was okay. I found my bibimbap okay, I've had better elsewhere as it was lacking salt and lacking the classic sesame oil taste. I also found the red pepper sauce bland and had to add a lot to the bowl. This is nit picking, but the fried egg was cooked through instead of a runny yolk, which I also usually preferred. Okay and filling, but left me wanting. My sibling enjoyed their fish stew although the fish (pollock?) had quite a few tiny bones to pick out, but they were very satisfied with their meal. The restaurant is definitely dated and dingy in some places, but it seemed clean enough and was...