I like to shop at Lotte Plaza and when i do I like to eat at Big Mama’s. This a total«mall style» order at the counter establishment but the food is excellent. I usally get the Jeyuk-Gui which is spicy grilled pork. It is fairly spicy and cooked up with scallions and served on a hot plate with steamed rice and two types of kimchee. There is not much of a drink selection so do yourself a favor and find something in the supermarket before you order. I am anxious to try many of the other Korean dishes on the menu.
Dina T.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Newport News, VA
New to the area and my boyfriend wanted cooking like his mom makes. This place is legit!!! Everything he grew up on they had! A must try for all who want authentic Korean food.
Ingrid K.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Aldie, VA
Located inside Lotte Plaza, Big Mama is my quick comfort food fix when I’m in the mood for Korean, but don’t want to mess with a dine-in restaurant. You order at the counter fast-food style, they call your number, you pick up your food. Free self-service water and miso soup at the counter is a nice added bonus. They give you two types of kimchi with your order(napa cabbage and cucumber). Their sign says they also cater. I need to keep this in mind for future events. When I’m done, I do my grocery shopping. Nothing like grocery shopping while hungry… you(I) always end up buying stuff you(I) don’t need. Thanks Big Mama! Side note: In Korean, parents refer to food as «Mama» to little kids. So I’m guessing the name means Big Food. But it could also mean what it says. Whatever it means, the food is always delicious.
Barbara B.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Chantilly, VA
Hands down, favorite Korean restaurant for soups, stews, and rice dishes(and I’m half Korean so I know what I’m talking about)! I eat here at least once a week. Do you value taste over ambience? I do! I’m not eating the décor so do I really care that Big Mama serves up her authentic dishes cafeteria-style in a food court in a grocery store? I’ll take variety, generous portions, and a great price over dim lighting and slow waitresses any day of the week. My faves: Yuk gae jang: spicy beef soup better than Mom makes(shhh!) Dol sot bibimbap: mixed veggies, optional beef, over rice served in a sizzling stone bowl so the rice gets a nice crispy bottom Kimchi chigae: kimchi stew(though not recommended as a date food due to pants-splitting l post-dinner kimchi farts) Mandoo: fried dumplings panfried with crispy edges, not deep fried calorie bombs Note that I didn’t call Big Mama out for meats. If you want Korean BBQ, go to a Korean BBQ place. It’s a whole experience, cooking at your table, wrapping the meat in fresh lettuce, and seeing if you get potato salad as one of your side dishes because there’s a non-Asian at your table. Mama does have bulgogi(marinated beef) but it’s a bit grisly and only comes with fried onions and rice.
Vincent N.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Richmond, VA
This place is located inside the Lotte Plaza’s food court in Metrotech’s shopping center. I always seems to stop by this restaurant when I go into Lotte. Most of their food comes out hot tasty. My favorites are the Bulgolgi, Galbi, and Kim chi fried rice. One thing I didn’t like was that the ramen seemed like it was made used from one of the ramen packs inside the grocery store. Ramen’s not their speciality and maybe some other stuff I haven’t tried, but other than that it’s good!
Hannah H.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Alexandria, VA
Big Mama took over what once was Evergreen in the Lotte’s food court. They offer various Korean dishes, such as fried mandoos, gooks/tangs/jjigaes, LA galbi, jaeyook bokkeum, and nengmyun. I tried LA Galbi with the Dwengjang Jjigae combo(the LA galbi had a teriyaki type of glaze on top, which I thought was kind of off; however, the taste was pretty good, as it was still savory, slightly sweet, and good with the rice. The jjigae was also pretty tasty, filled with a lot of diced zucchini and onions; this was actually my favorite part of the meal with the rice); the Jae Yook Gul(spicy stir-fried pork; the texture was a little off, but the taste was pretty okay; not sure if I’d order it again, though, as I thought it would be more spicier, saucier, and contain more onions); Bulgogi Dol Sot Bibimbop(this was my least favorite, as the rice was just way too wet and overdone; there were plenty of veggies, and the bulgogi was pretty okay, but again, pretty soggy); and, a Jjolmyun(spicy noodles; the hubs thought this was okay, but I thought it had a slight funky taste to it). The ahjumma that was taking the orders was super nice and friendly, and each dishes come with a side of kimchi and well-fermented ggakduki. There is also a pot of complimentary miso(not so great). I’d probably stick to their jjigaes, or their dweng jang jjigae, as that was my favorite out of the rest! +dweng jang jjigae +located inside Lotte(food court; the most western end) +friendly ahjumma
April S.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Herndon, VA
The food court inside Lotte is so clutch! Great time saver on days that I’m running errands and don’t want to think of a place to eat. I tried the bulgogi bibimbap and it was great quality. It even came in a stone bowl so the food was still sizzling for a few minutes after digging in. I’m not normally a fan, but the crispy rice at the bottom of the bowl was perfect. The amount and spiciness of the gochujang was also just right. Can’t wait to try more of their menu items on my next grocery run!
Gene W.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 McLean, VA
We love going explore new places to eat but theres a hidden gem inside Lotte International Supermarket. There’s mini food court in the back of the store on the right hand side. Korean, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, & Japanese food are offered. We decided on Big Mama Korean Cuisine. The menu board with prices were self explanatory and it’s just what you want. We decided on kimchee fried rice, dumplings, chicken bibimbap and beef bulgogi bibimbap. Those are the ones in the stone bowls(VERYHOT) with your meat, veggies, rice, and a fried egg on top! Everything was delicious and made to order. No fountain drinks just cans of soda and bottled water. The bibimbap is all about the crispy rice on the bottom of the stone bowl. So crisy and delicious! We can’t wait to try the other items!
Jane H.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Centreville, VA
*3.5 Stars* Wow look at all these great reviews! I’ve been here twice and didn’t think the food was worth 5 stars. The first time, I had the ohjinguh dolsot(spicy squid in hot stone bowl) and while the portion was good, I thought it could use some more of the sauce. It was definitely hot and filling though. Watch out for red pepper flakes in your teeth after you eat this. The second time, I had the maeun galbi tang(spicy beef rib stew). The soup was slightly bland, and there were not enough goods in the soup. I finished off the meat and noodles in record time, and could have eaten more. Half the soup was filled with radish pieces, which were not very tasty. I usually love the radish in such soups and stews, but oddly these were just meh. My boyfriend had the ohjinguh bokkem(spicy sauteed squid) and this one was very tasty. He didn’t have enough rice so ended up taking some of mine; the rice bowls were packed loosely and not filled to the top. I’ll give it a few more tries and hopefully update my review to a higher rating.
Dani P.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Arlington, VA
We didn’t want to eat anything near the Expo Center, so we took a short drive to Lotte and browsed their food court. You have to head towards the back right of the store to get to the little food court with Korean, Chinese, and Indian cuisine. For a decent price, I got a nice bowl of beef dumpling soup(it was really cold and windy that day). It was absolutely delicious. No frills, just straight up good Korean food. The counter also has water and hot tea to go with your meal. Perfect.
Jay M.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Ashburn, VA
I like their vegetable hot stone bowl. The vegetables were very fresh and thingly sliced. It was not greasy or salty at all. Healthy light fast food.
GeeKay L.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Fairfax, VA
Big Mama is located where former ‘Evergreen’ was at Lotte Plaza, Chantilly. Luckily menu is kept to cater predominantly towards Korean patrons, but has enough dishes for other who are not really familiar with(like Bibimbap, Bulgogi, etc). Keep in mind it’s a food booth, you come here only for the main dish. If you looking for all the Frou-Frou and overly crazy amount of banchan… go to a fancy restaurant. Getting just some Kimchi or Kkakdugi is all you need. This is the only place right now where I can satisfy my ‘Aal Tang’(Fish roe stew) cravings for a very reasonable price. Actually all their stews are amazingly good for what they charge for. Their home style seasoning almost makes you believe your mom cooked it for you. Almost… nothing beats my mom’s cooking: D In the summer my to-go-to main dish is ‘Mul Naeng Myung’ — I had them pretty much a over DC-Metro: Plain classic buckwheat noodles in a light cool broth. Believe me… it’s all about the broth and the right chewy ‘al dente’ consistency of the noodles. Here at Big Mama they do it just right.