Dae Jang Geum

I highly agree with other reviews about wait time. It is almost ridiculous to make customer wait so long in empty restaurant. We went there after lunch crowd and restaurant was empty. We ordered 4 – 5 dishes and waited 40 minutes to get first dish on the table. Then wait another 15 minutes for next dish and wait another 10 minutes for 3^rd dish and so on.
Is there only one cook in this restaurant?!
Each dish was pretty pricey for the amount. Food tastes okay but not worth the price and wait…

Hire more workers please!!! Avg. wait time at noon is 1hr. And they frequently miss orders.

Review in a Nutshell: good Korean food for a decent price!
Disclaimer: I’m an Asian cuisine snob. I grew up on my grandmother’s home-​cooked Korean food, lived in the LA area for almost a decade, and I LOVE all things Asian food related. So, the fact that I can give this place 5 stars is a big deal. So let me break this down:
Food: I’ve had their ddukbokgi (spicy rice cakes), yook gae jang (spicy shredded beef soup), and soondubu (spicy tofu stew). All three are worth having again. Great consistency, spiciness, and flavor! Not as good as homemade versions I grew up on, but definitely on par with some places back in LA. The price is very reasonable, too, given it’s East Lansing and not LA. I suppose all things equal, it’s worth the cost.
Service: always great! Friendly waitresses who are attentive and careful. They don’t rush you on your order and double check to make sure they’ve got it right. I will say that someone who looked like the owner/​co-​owner on my first time there was having a very… passionate and loud conversation with either a waitress/​waiter or someone else. I can actually understand Korean, so I knew he wasn’t mad or berating who he was talking to, but… as I’m well-​aware, Koreans can often sound very angry and aggressive when their voices are raised and speaking fast. So yeah, that wasn’t the best climate experience, but the guy did come out to greet us and said thank you when we were on our way out.
Location: SUCKS! Geez, parking is a pain in the ass, and you definitely can’t park anywhere outside of their assigned parking lot because your car will get towed! (DJG had signs up inside their restaurant apologizing to their patrons for the inconvenience). So, if you’re an MSU student, think about walking. If you’re not into walking, brace yourself for some tight (or non-​existent) parking.
Overall, this is definitely my go-​to Korean restaurant in the area. Lucky for me, my husband is a spicy food and Asian-​food lover, too, so this works out really well for us! I’ve tried some other Korean restaurants in the area over the past 4 years I’ve lived here, and this is by far the winner, in my opinion.

If you want authentic korean food, this is the place to go.
If you come here for lunch they have lunch specials but their portions are indeed smaller, but you do get $ 1.00 off original price. My brother was upset with his lunch soondoobu cz of how small the portion was.
One of my favorite food here is the kimchi daeji gogi (kimchi pork) dish only because it comes with a side of fresh lettuce, garlic, and ssam (korean dip). They also have the best gamja-​tang that I have tasted in Michigan. Their stone bowl does not have enough meat, so I wouldn’t really recommend it.
Staff is friendly but can be frustrating when it’s busy. It’s super hot in there during summers… I don’t think they have a. c…
Parking here SUCKS when it’s busy. There’s only like 6 parking spots so just be aware if you’re planning to eat with a large group.
Price is kinda expensive… but in the end, you’re paying for quality not quantity when you eat here.

Great kimchi pancake and the kitchen was happy to make dishes vegetarian.

This place is a hidden gem! They serve authentic Korean dishes and the quality of the food is very fresh. They also give out awesome side dishes (their Korean potato salad is amazing) and will supply with more if you ask for refills! It’s a bit difficult to find because the sign is in Chinese, but make sure to try it out if you find it!
– also, I would recommend the bodaejigae. It consists of ramen noodles, spam, sausages, veggies, etc in a spicy broth. This dish is enough to feed up to 2 – 3 people!

Very authentic, reliable Korean food! Yuk gae jang, MSU chicken, squid bokkeum, and seolleongtang are extremely tasty. Service is great, and they always have barley tea ready.
Unfortunately, the dolsot bibimbap is mediocre (and certainly not hot enough to get nurunji on the bottom). I think Charlie Kang and Ai Fusion serve a better bowl :-(I would’ve given 4 stars but the AMAZING women’s bathroom makes up for it.

They only have like 10 dishes like what??? Super super disappointed. If you want more variety go to charlie kangs. They have better food anyways.

Such a great place to eat Korean food.

I had to search on Unilocal to know the name of this restaurant. The sign on the wall is not in English, it may be hard to find for first timer.
I’ve only been there for lunch. So far, everything I’ve tried are delicious, especially for the cold winter. They have lots of soup options for lunch. All the soups come with a bowl of rice, and everything else comes with 3 – 4 dishes of banchans (free refills, by the way). All the dishes on the lunch menu is only $ 8, worth every penny.
The restaurant is not that big. If you have a big group, come early.

This little hole in the wall Korean join was fantastic.
I was on the prowl for something tasty and up popped Dae Jang Geum. I initially had some trouble parking as was new to the area and unfamiliar with the odd Michigan tradition or entering from the rear (what, are you in middle-​school?).
The space is cozy and warm with a laid-​back family touch to service I appreciate when I visit small mom-​and-​pop shops.
I ordered a classic Dolsat BiBimBap (stone bowl) and was surprised at the limited kimchi options. While I understand the American palatte doesn’t quite like –everything– pickled like Koreans and Chinese seem to… I am used to more than five options of kimchi. Although, to their credit, they did provide free refills on the small kimchi plates.
The barley tea was delicious, flavorful and comforting on a cold Michigan day.
The food itself was fantastic, though I was a bit sad at the lack of caramelized rice at the bottom of such a hot bowl, everything in the bowl extremely flavorful and very very tasty. The beef was seasoned well and the veggies made for a great contrast to the soft rice and tender meat.
I’ll be back for sure.

I was looking for some good korean soup and I found this place. The service was good and friendly. It’s unfortunate that it was just one boy because he was super busy managing all the tables. Almost all the tables were taken during lunch and by all Asians.
I got the seafood pancake (hae mul pajeon) and beef soup (sul lung tang).
Likes:
1. Seafood pancake had really large delicious pieces of seafood
2. The broth on the beef soup was tasty.
3. The kimchi was actually really good. I normally don’t like eating kimchi at restaurants but this one was good.
Dislikes:
1. Seafood pancake had egg in it which was odd to me as it typically doesn’t have egg and it was more mushy and oily than crispy. Not my favorite.
Overall, this is a good spot for korean food in the Lansing area.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! so fucking good. there are lots of good korean options around and this is maybe the best. authentic, affordable, and friendly service. FYI no alcohol and little to no ambience but you won’t care once you get your food.

I went here for lunch on Christmas break. It was my first time going and honestly I went because Kang’s was close (Christmas Eve). I went in and was surprised to find it was pretty busy for 3pm on Christmas Eve. I was greeted immediately and given water.
I put in my order, squid salad and a beef stew, and a couple minutes later I had 3 little banchan and my salad. Everything was good and right when I finished my salad. The soup was piping hot and delicious, served with a side of rice. They offered to refill my banchan, too, which is always nice (sometimes places charge). I ate my meal and was asked how things were after my first bite or two. An Asian woman, I believe the owner, came over when I was done and I had asked for a to go container because I had a small amount left. She looked at it and said it was too little to take home and took it to the back. She filled it more with the same soup, on the house, gave me rice and a couple banchan to go. I was shocked! She was so nice, the food was great, the service was quick, and the prices good. I will for sure be going back!

Decent, fresh Korean food near MSU campus.
I liked the seaweed salad & the waitress accommodated my request for japchae (off the menu — yum). Lots of side dishes and free tea (nice on a cold day). My dining partner ordered the spicy octopus, but wasn’t thrilled.
Most other tables were ordering the soup for two — next time! Also saw some sushi orders some out of the kitchen, but that wasn’t on the English menu,
Nice, warm, clean and simple interior. A step up from most slightly deteriorating Lansing area restaurants

Super yummy! Great service. I love Korean food so have been trying different Korean restaurants in the area. This is the one that all of my family (including my 7-​year-​old boy) can get what they like and everyone enjoys their favorites here. Highly recommended.

This is a new Korean restaurant in this area, before that it was Sushi Q. The food is good and the service is good. Just like some other Korean restaurants you will have some side dishes coming with your meals, but here they will ask you if you want any refills, for free! The parking lot is small so you might want to consider walking here, right on Grand River Ave.