Life Soup Korean Resturant 인생국밥 — Restaurant in Suwanee

“Life Soup Korean Restaurant”! This is the name of this restaurant. For someone who likes Korean-style soups and stews, it was the name of a restaurant that I felt like I had to go and try. In conclusion, I definitely want to go next time and try other Korean soups and stews. In particular, next time I really want to try Gamjatang (M6: Pork Back-bone Stew), which is spicy and made with pork backbone.

The first soup I tried at this restaurant was Ox Knee Soup (Do-Ga-Knee Ttang). The doga-knee soup is very attractive with the white-milky, soft but chewy meat that comes out of the ox knee. I was curious to see a spicy picture for this ox knee soup on the menu, so I ordered it. When the food I ordered came out, I realized that its picture on the menu was incorrect, and it was the same looking as I know. When I looked at the soup, it seemed a bit thick, so I sprinkled some black pepper powder on it, took do-ga-knee meats out of the soup, and dipped them in the vinegar-soy sauce-based sauce that came with them. As expected, it is the delicious do-ga-knee soup that I know. After enjoyed do-ga-knee meats and soup, I put steamed white rice into the soup and ate it. It tasted a little bland, so I added a little radish kimchi broth to adjust the soup's taste, making it more delicious.

Looking at other people around me, I noticed that they were eating gam-ja-tang (pork back-bone stew), and I thought I should definitely try gamjatang at this restaurant. I was able to end my lunch with the thought that I would definitely come back to eat...

My bf and I visited here for dinner after hearing so many recommendations from people around us about how good the food is here.

While it was not that busy, the service and handling of order mistakes throughout the process left something to be desired.

We ordered two pork bone soups but one I received had a burnt taste. Since it had been a long time since I last had this in Korea, I wondered if it was supposed to taste that way and ate about half of the meat inside. However, by the time I ate the meat that had been soaking in the broth, the burnt flavor became much stronger, and I realized something was off. I tried my boyfriend’s one, and it tasted completely different—it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I mentioned this to the server, and they offered to make a new one for to-go. I felt bad since I had already eaten about half of the meat tho, I agreed. At the end, a different server with her hair tied back kindly apologized to us, which I appreciated.

Overall, the taste of the food was great. We paid a 20% tip anyway. Having worked in the service industry myself for many years, I understand that how customers are treated can sometimes be just as important as the food itself(or more important). In that regard, this visit was somewhat disappointing, but I'll still share with others how delicious the food was here. I look forward to seeing improvements on...

Came in for lunch on a Monday, and it was pretty slow. Maybe 5-6 other guests. Was greeted and seated immediately.

Got menus, and banchan and hot barley tea less than a minute later.

Wow, really good banchan. The calamari was among the best I've had. Their bean paste paired very well with the mild white onion, though I didn't care for the pepper (not spicy). The seaweed was great too. Radish and kimchi were ok.

I got the pork backbone and my partner got the hangover. She wasn't a fan, but already had the backbone her last visit.

I have never been a fan of Korean soups but this was the best I've had in Duluth, and I've lived here my whole life and have been to dozens of soup joints ITP and OTP. Very meaty and flavorful broth. Plenty of spice and flavor, but not super spicy (capsaicin-wise). It's got ground perilla (sesame) seeds and leaves on top, cabbage, potato, and lots of tender pork.

I don't know what authentic Korean soup should taste like, but this is the only place I'd go back for soup. Before this I honestly would have recommended you skip Korean soup and just get anything else, anywhere. Now, I've got a decent option that's not just me being polite to someone whose craving sundubu (for a reason that was lost on me...