October 24, 2005
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posted by: justbee
Restaurant Review: Keun Jip
Pictured: Gyeran Jjim (Steamed Egg), Kong beeji Jjigae, and Sullungtang.
I’m very picky when it comes to Korean food because I grew up in LA which has some of the best Korean food in the world. Often even better than food in Korea because I think they make things a lot spicier in the states. Me like.
I know all the good Korean restaurants are in Flushing and New Jersey but it’s hard for me to go out that far since I live in the city and I don’t have a car. My favorite restaurant on k-block (32nd street bet Broadway and 5th ave) in Manhattan is Keun Jip. They have all your standard fare – gooks, jjigaes, bokkeums, noodles, bbq, etc. My favorite thing about Keun Jip is the gyeran jjim they give you as banchan. Though they don’t grill meat over charcoal (the best way to eat Korean bbq) their galbi is actually very good. Their bulgogi so-so. Samgyupsal – very good. I also like their gamjatang. Their nengmyun not so good. Kong beejee is a little sheenguhwuh (bland).
This is pretty much the only place I eat on kblock because I haven’t liked any of the other restaurants I’ve tried. I’ve been to Kumgangsan, New York Gomtang Sootbul galbi, Seoul Garden, and a couple more I can’t remember the names. All blah. And I think Gahm Mi Oak’s sullungtang is just ok. I usually never go to places like Woo Lae Oak because I feel like they cater to an American pallette aka not authentic and not spicy. They say if you see a lot of Americans in an ethnic restaurant, walk out cuz you know the food ain’t good.
What are your favorite Korean restaurants in Manhattan?
Comments (56)
yeah, i didnt get all they hype about gahmmioak
I like Hanbat on 35th street and Li Hua on Grand + Baxter near Chinatown/SoHo/Little Italy.
i went to keunjip when i went to ny!! i forgot what i had though. i don’t think korean restaurants in ny can ever compare to the ones in la! i remember i also went to some pho place in ny and i hated it. i just think la has better food when it comes to asian food. maybe it’s because there’s more asians in la. who knows!!
i like yang pyung on 33rd street. it’s open 24 hours and their yook gae jang is really good.
kun jip’s probably the best real korean place in that area.
there are a bunch of pretty decent ones in the east village. temple is one, do a citysearch for korean in the e.village and you should find a bunch. my absolute favorite korean restaurant is in woodside, you can take almost any train there though because it’s wehre the BDFQR and 7 intersect. let me know if you ever are down to go… i’ll give you directions. plus they’re 24 hours, and have amazing service (they have gae jang there too… yumm!).
korean food sucks in boston!
the korean restaurant above the garage and pretty ok nengmyun, considering it almost always sucks. and they have good haemool pajun. i really like kunjip though
I really like Kun Jip. I was just there this past weekend. I like it so much I even joined the Kun Jip Blogring… haha.
k town is definitely not up to par in the food taste when compared to flushing. but keun jip and choong moo ro across keun jip would be my two favorites on 32nd.
we’ll have to go eat one of these days in flushing.
I haven’t really ventured out to Flushing yet, but I live in Jersey, and I love it! If you ever want to meet up and cook (e.g. “mandoo making party”), let me know!
My favorites in NY/NJ:
Manhattan~ “Best Daegu Maeoon Tang” – Korea Palace, “Best Korean Comfort Food” – Kunjip, “Best Korean Teahouse to take non Korean friends” – Franchia, “Dduk Bossam” – Seoul Tofu House
NJ~ ”Best Kalbi” – Zen Zen (New and Yummy!), “Mul Naengmyun” – Youchun, ”Best jja jjang myun” - Mandarin/Crystal Palace,
“dduk bossam” – Pyong Chang, ”Best Overall” – Daewon, So Man Nam Jip, Han il Kwan
i remember getting good korean food in fort lee.. too far?
yum. there’s a new restaurant called “Bann” who are from the same owners of Woo Lae Ok in Manhattan. it’s never terribly crowded and because of that, i’m scared to try it! it’s either 1) not good or 2)overly expensive. looks kinda chi chi…
oh wait! i went there on sat night overly drunk! yep, i remember the food was pretty good!
if you like tofu, kimchi, and sausage, try the boo-dae-jun-gol. it’s a combination soup (stew?) made with the above ingredients and more. it’s a popular dish among students and young professionals in s.korea – keunjip makes it well!
my favorite place in ny is in woodside, queens…where they make authentic home cooked meals! my mom is the best korean chef in the whole wide world!!!
omg! look at that fluffy gehran jjeem!!! Do you know what the secret is to get it that fluffy? me and my friends always scratch our heads over it whenever we eat good gehran jjeem. my husband says Korean food in La is better than Korea too, esp meat dishes b/c meat quality is better here.
i thought kangsuh was ok but the other ones are pretty bad. never tried keun jip.
“scores” has pretty good food.
kunjip’s kalbi SUCKS.
i’ve always liked wonjo. korean food overall in nyc is =(
i agree with you. tho i think Gahm Mi Oak’s ggak doo gi is real good.
for suhlungtang, try Han Bat on 35th. it’s not bad either.
korean food in sf is SOOOOOOO bad. not a single decent place. i only go when im trashed late night, or im craving korean food REALLY BAD.
i loved han bat when i lived in nyc. they have the best gopchang jijae there. mmmm…i miss that place!! korean restuarants in sf really, really SUCK. i have to drive miles to get such average korean food. it’s sad.
I love Kun Jip. It’s the only Korean place I prefer in Ktown. I got about 5+ people hooked on this restaurant too since I introduce it to them.
Han Bat has pretty authentic Korean food (35th St). On that same street is Cho Dang Gol (not sure about the spelling, but they’re known for their dubu and have really, really spicy dishes) and this Chinese/Korean restaurant with really good jajangmyeon and jambong.
Oh, I forgot! There’s this Korean vegetarian restaurant that’s really nice – Hangawi on 32nd and 5th.
keunjip is my fav too. i tried their kongbeejee and loved it. i love ddukboki there. sooo awesome.
i agree korean food in manhattan sucks.
Yeah you have to come out to Flushing for really good korean food…but Kunjip and Han Bhat are two of my faves in the city…There’s also this one place in k-town that has all these great mandoo and their jjap chae is good too…it’s called Mandoo bar…
nothing good about gam mi ok and geun jip except the fact that that’s where all the drunk hoes hang out after clubbing on fri, sat, & sun mornings.
Asians have really fucked up eyes. Get some damn surgery.
Korean food-too salty or spicy. I like galbi though….damn that’s good….I hate kimchi…I like jja-jang-myun though…sullungtang…eeeh never really tried it…
I DON’T LIVE IN MANHATTAN, DON’T LIVE NEAR IT!!!! Was born near it in Massachusetts… LIVE IN CALIFORNIA. But there are many good KOREAN PLACES HERE… but GET ME ONE IN SANTA CRUZ!!!!!!!! And if that happens… there are a lot of people that will be satisfied.
looking goood!!!!!
omg ur site is soooooo cute!
mmmm good
random propz
Cool xanga……it makes me very hungry
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Random Props, but I love YOUR SITE. I also love kumgangsan. I dont know how you dont like it! Try the naengmyun.
Can you tell us how to make sullungtang?!
When I go to NY to visit, I never go there to eat Korean food, it’s like downgrading from LA. There are so many non-Korean restaurants that are better that you just don’t go there for Korean.
Hi! Your site was in the featured content, adn I came in to say hello! The food here looks to YUMMY and LOVELY!! Sorry! I can’t contain my enthusiam because I loove food! In fact, your site just gave me an inspiration!
My dad tells me Woo Lae Oak and Korean restaurant have one of the greatest Korean foods in Chicago!! You should go there, if you ever visit Chicago!
aww.. I like in toronto, canada.. and the korean food here sucks..
sorry I mean “live” I live in toronto.
hello there
caught you on featured !
i live in maryland, but i was born in new york.
i went to keun jip this past summer.
i agree the naeng myun was only so-so.
the gamjatang, and the gaeranjjim are my favorites.
mmmm. the korean food sucks here in maryland =(
I don’t mean to be all, “my mom’s cooking owns your mom’s cooking” but…it does. my friends have admitted it several times. But we live in Iowa currently and the choices you jerks have in LA and NY are slightly pissing me off. Also, I miss my mom…
WTF? is all u do is post entries about food? i wanna eat ur xanga.
keun jip is a good place to go after a late night of drinking – don’t eat their dolsot bibimbap…very bland. i’d say my favorite is kangsuh hwaegan. woolaeoak is only good for taking non-korean people…their food is too sweet. same goes for ban’n (same owner as woolaeoak). but, LA is the BEST for korean food.
Oooh, love this page!!
NY KomTang is the BEST and OLDEST korean restaurant in NYC! SO GOOD!!!
NY Komtang is THE BEST and OLDEST korean restaurant in nyc! SO GOOD!!!
hello, just subscribing b/c you have all these yummy useful recipes… thanks
Love your website… will be here quite often to learn how to cook! haha
i like keun jip and hoon baht. at first i didn’t know it even existed
my two favorite restaurants are mah dang sui (in nj around fort lee area) and ham ji bak (in flushing- prolly one of the best places for sam gyup sahl).
back in the days, keumgangsan was “the” place. no longer. i was there during the summer and place was just filled with non-koreans. food- just horrible. i agree with you abou keun jip. i like their kimchee jae yook bok keum. if you go with a large party you should order their jang ban gooksoo. they give you lots of fruits. gooksoo tastes pretty good wrapped around fruit.
i love your site.. my cousin told me about it yesterday. will def be coming back!!
the secret to making the egg fluffy is to use a little bit of baking powder and to whisk it enough that the water and egg protein binds like souffle. I also nuke it in the microwave. It makes it easy and fast and it taste just as good.
I don’t care for any of the korean resturants in Manhattan but I’ll eat at Hanbat if I need to but I get basics like bibim gooksu or bibimbab. My husband likes the sul lung tang there. I prefer the korean food in woodside, flushing, bayside or pal park. There is a place in flushing that makes the best kal gook su (even better than mine).