JOA

Neal

5.0

I'm an Englishman who lives in Australia who took over from Vancouver for a four days & happened to find this place which is a hidden gem. Go up the steep steps & open the heavy door & go inside & you'll find a very clean & warm & welcoming restaurant. I had the deep fried chicken & beef & vegetable noodles & I'm sitting here now & I couldn't be any happier. The food is fresh & tasty & I love it.

Jea

5.0

Takeout-focused Korean kitchen with solid Korean-Chinese dishes.

Not bad at all. For a place that looked like it was falling apart from the outside, the food was authentic & nicely seasoned. Classic mom-&-pop spot that doesn't bother catering to local palates & just goes straight for the real thing.

My friend & I got the black bean noodles (jjajang), the spicy beef noodles (jjam bbong), & a fried chicken cupbap, & everything was satisfying. No weird sweetness, no MSG bomb, just straight wok-fired cooking with natural umami doing the work.

My favorite was the beef jjam bbong. It ran a little spicy even for me, but it was one of the best versions I've had in a while. A lot of the brisket versions I've had in the US come loaded with beef fat in the broth, but this one was mostly clean spice & vegetables.

For a spot we picked at random, this was a nice hit. Would come back next time we're in the area.