Paik’s Noodle PCH — Restaurant in Torrance

Hmm… I would actually give 1.5 out of 5. I had champong and tangsooyuk. People working there were extremely nice. I had visited Paik’s Noodle quite a lot when I was in Korea. Although expectation was there, I didn’t raise my bar much because any Korean food in US wouldn’t match ones in Korea.

I wouldn’t recommend champong simply because of the noodle quality. The noodle quality tasted cheap. It wasn’t chewy enough compared to other places around the area. Texture felt like one of those instant spaghetti in a can. Soup was great though. I would recommend champong-bap(rice) rather than the noodle one.

Tangsooyuk was actually pretty good for me. It tasted pretty similar to the one I had in Korea. This is a reason why I give 2 stars instead of 1. However, I think the only downside was that the batter applied to meat was unbalanced. So you would taste thicker part being slightly uncooked.

I would still like to to try jjajangmyeon. Hopefully it’s better the other places as other places’ threshold is...

I was pretty boomed out when Pan Holic moved out of H-Mart, because I really like their jjampong noodle. So, I am happy that Paik's came in and tried the jjampong the first time. To be honest, I still like pan Holic's version better, but that does not mean Paik's version is less quality. Pan Holic used more onion when stir-frying and that is what I like. So, the jjampong came with 5 mussels, squid strips, plenty of small scallops, a few small pieces of pork, onion, cabbage, and some fresh leeks as garnish. The presentation is good and soup is very tasty. Spicy wise, I would call it medium. There is also Gochu jjampong, which they told me has more chili flavor and a little more spicy, I can't wait...

Save yourself the disappointment—this place managed to create the worst champpong imaginable. The broth was sour, more like a leftover kimchi stew than anything close to champpong. I even complained and got a “fresh” bowl, but surprise—it tasted exactly the same. Either the chef skipped training or they think champpong is supposed to be an identity crisis in a bowl. If they can butcher their so-called signature dish this badly, I shudder to imagine what the rest of the menu...