Majang Dong

The banchans and the quality of meat are absolutely disgrace to Korean food. I was horrified by the horrible taste of Nyeng Myun here. Its bad, everything taste bad except the egg soufflé. If you’re Korean who grew up with good Korean food, don’t bother with this place. I gave 1 star for the friendly wait staff and the ambiance. What a waste of money.

Pocha style perfection!
John and the team were amazing.
BBQ was absolutely spot on.
Outdoor satiation and alcohol exceptionality.
Highly recommended and a happy regular

Passed by this place many time and never thought to go in because of the outside appearance… but let me tell you this place is very good!!!
A nice old school Korean style bbq!
Must must try the pork belly and intestine!!!
It was very busy when we got there… but hey! Busy means lots of customers! Lots of customers means this place is legit!!!
Willing to go back soon and try other menus on top of the pork belly!
And must eat with somac (soju+beer in korea)

You really don’t need to make the trek (it was for me at least) from Manhattan to eat here. Maybe if you’re around the area late and need a kbbq fix, then go for it.
They weren’t doing any of the seafood bc it’s not in «season» so we had the first page of their menu. Here is the general ranking:
1. Kalbi
2. charcoal pork belly
3. spicy porkbelly
Not-​an-​honorable-​mention: The cold noodles were just basic.
Trust me, I’m Korean???
I really don’t feel like saying much more.
If you like 90% fat on your fat pork belly, then you’d definitely enjoy this place. For me though, there was so little meat on each sliver I almost whimpered.
I was looking forward to the spicy porkbelly (because I usually love kimchi porkbelly/​samgyupsal), but the marinade was not spicy and rather sweet and more oily with no distinguishable flavor.
Kalbi is well-​marinated and I enjoyed it the best.
STILL though, it is WAY overpriced for me to give this place even four stars.
One serving of meat is 25−35… W.T.F.?! No. And the one serving was a kiddie meal. No self-​respecting Korean native eats one serving first of all, but at least three to six (in my case four, proudly, since the fifth grade; and I’m a petite 5’2″ Korean girl); this one portion was so, so sad. (Insert frowny face)
If a restaurant is going to charge that price for one serving, I need to see the slabs of meat covering the ENTIRE pan, not a peek from the flame or charcoal. Okay?
Well now I feel badly bc I had a rather enjoyable escapade with my friends to this hole-​in-​the-​wall, and savored each bite. But this place is for objective perspectives, right?
XOi

So I found out about this place via an article on my FB feed. Checked it out with a friend and we had quite the experience. The place wasn’t too hard to find– on that block it’s the yellow awning with all Korean and then BBQ (I think someone posted a pic). Walked in and headed straight to the back and it was just like the pics in the article I read. After getting seated and observing the area I felt like I was in the streets of Korea (not sure how accurate that is since I’ve never been there but it was a good vibe). Ordered the pork belly and fried chicken– they were delicious. Also felt adventurous and ordered the intestines– not something I’d normally go for and I still feel the same. Prices were comparable to KBBQ places. I had a nice time and super plus that it was outdoors.

Read an article from Chopsticks & Marrow about this place and just had to come here. and OMG, this place is amazing. You cannot tell its a korean bbq/​restaurant by looking at the store front. Looks like a fast food take out place. You walk in and say the amount of people you need a table for and they lead you into this secret backyard. there you will find about 15 round tables with plastic stools. You walk into what feels like a country side and someones backyard. Its an awesome feeling.
My fiancé and i went there 3 nights in a row but with a different group each time. the first night was just the fiancé and I. we ordered the pig intestine and an order of the pork belly. the boss lady, ms. yu, (pre)cooks at another table before bringing to your table. I guess its just easier for her to cook on her own table rather than going to each table to cook it. I makes sense but also hard to tell which order is yours since shes cooking 3 – 4 orders at one time. The pig intestines came first and if you dont like pig intestines, do not order it. The portion was alot, we took our time eating since we wanted to savor each piece. it was crispy and chewing and delicious. next came the pork belly, it was OK, maybe we couldnt really appreciate the pork belly due to us being full from the pig intestine. the meal also comes with steamed egg and some spicy tofu soup.
the second night, we came with a friend, so 3 of us total. this time we ordered 2 orders of kalbi and one order of pig intestine. the kalbi was on the pricy side, $ 34.99, its typically under $ 30 in most restaurants, at least in queens, but until you see the portion, it is totally worth it. Now this she actually grilled on our table. When she put the two long strips of kalbi, we werent sure if it was one or two portions, so we asked and she said one. WOW. the 3 of us were nearly full from the first portion, so imagine the second portion and then the pig intestine. LOL. the kalbi was so tender and so flavorful, i think its the best kalbi i have ever tasted. maybe its the charcoal, maybe it was atmosphere, maybe it was the company, i dont know.
now comes the 3^rd night, this time we came with 8 other friends, 10 total. now one table sites a comfy 4, 6 at the most but that will start getting uncomfy. we had two tables combined. It was ok, good thing we have a table together, i mean, this place was getting packed, it was gone viral with the article. we had to wait this time, about 15 – 20 mins wait, which wasnt too bad. between the 10 of us, we ordered, 2 pig intestines, 4 kalbi, 1 pork belly and 2 noodles (one spicy and one regular). Our friends loved it, and so did we for the 3^rd night in a row, but dont know how our cholesterol is though.
All in all, each night was great, but i do suggest you go with a smaller party, huge parties are hard to accommodate, they are a small mom and pop shop and they would love to be able to cook at your table so you can enjoy the charcoal at your face. just kidding, but yeah, large crowds starts to get unruly and hard for them to manage. They only have 3 people working, but mainly one cook and one waiter.

Let’s first get this out of the way. To those that are complaining about the staff not speaking English, being rude or not having a specific meat or this being a ghetto-​y joint in a dump of a backyard where you can get rained on — were you expecting a 5 star, white table cloth service? Didn’t y’all go there expecting this cool, hip, homey, outdoor, hole in the wall experience? I just don’t get some of these Unilocalers. It’s almost as if they gotta bitch about every little damn thing.
OK, as for the restaurant, I’ve been waiting for this place to open for some time as the owner had previously run a simple restaurant next to the Great Neck H-​mart years ago and mentioned, once in passing, about this vision of his. It sounded fantastic then and it does not dissapoint. The name Majang Dong is an homage to a neighborhood in Seoul that is well known for being the home of the largest meat market in South Korea. The neighborhood has a long history of bloody slaughterhouses (no longer there) and notorious gangsters in the 70s and 80s who doubled as butchers due to their knife-​wielding skills but I won’t get into the details. Anyway, it is a place Seoul residents, including celebs, flock to have good, cheap (relatively) Korean beef cooked over coal similar to this restaurant’s setup.
Food: I’ve only tried kalbi and gobchang (intestines), so I can’t comment on the other meat.
The kalbi is very very good. Not the best quality I’ve ever had, but it’s definitely up there. When factoring in both quality and quantity, I don’t think you can find a better deal in NYC. 1 portion gives you 2 large slabs rolled out.
The intestines are amazing. 1 portion is huge and more than enough for 1 average adult. When it cooks, it gives off the distinct funk resembling stinky tofu but that odor completely dissipates when fully cooked crisp and it is just fatty and heavenly in your mouth. Of course, entrails are not for everyone but I’d bet my bottom dollar that even squeamish eaters will enjoy it.
I really wanted to try their eel as this is one of the prized charcoal BBQ items in Korea (especially the freshwater kind), but the owner lady told me that they do not carry it because it’s impossible to maintain their freshness due to the fact that not enough people order it. Eels cannot (or at least should not) be kept frozen due to the high fat content of the fish. (if you’ve ever tried freezing bluefish or mackerel and tried eating it after a month, you know what I’m talking about) Chicken gizzards were also off the menu due to the lack of their popularoty.
The egg jjim, Ssuh-​bee-​sseu, was amazing. People take these for granted, but this was right on the money. Perfect harmony or egginess, saltiness, fluffiness and char that you can only get with professional high heat ranges.
Dwenjang jjigae was a nice addition at the end of the meal. BTW, to the Korean BBQ newbs, THIS is when you order rice — when you get your stew. Do NOT put rice, egg custard, banchan and stew and meat all in your lettuce wrap. That’s for meat and meat only.
Soju was NOT expensive as some people complained about. That’s the standard restaurant price. They are $ 4 in restaurants in Korea. This place charges $ 9.99 and this is NYC. C’mon, how cheap are you?
As for the owners not being able to handle the crowd, it is true that they appeared to be running around frantically when it was packed. When it quieted down, I spoke to the owner lady and she said that it started really picking up recently because of things written on the Internet. And frankly, she wasn’t too thrilled about it as she lamented that she was not able to give as much attention to each customer as she would like to. At this point, she wasn’t sure if she plans on hiring additional help.
So, that’s it. It’s a long review. Those of you that can make it there, feel lucky that we have a very unique restaurant serving excellent food close by in an easily reachable location unlike a place like the overpriced, overhyped, hipster-​heaven Bun-​ker (sorry, had to throw that in there). It’s not for everyone, but for me, this is an absolute gem.

Cute place for that grimy backyard ghetto feeling with plastic stools. The owners were not prepared for the rush of people coming to this place after the blogs and articles came out. They turned away people and were visibly tested. Slow service and we didn’t cook it ourselves. This made them preoccupied with the cooking. Intestines were great and the best part. Beef was not high quality. I wouldn’t exactly clamor to come here again in the near future. Come here if you want to feel like you’re in China in the back woods but don’t come here for the food.

This is an old school Korean BBQ place, probably like the ones in Korea. This is a no frills and outdoor seating, don’t expect anything fancy sitting under a tarp held up by 2X4s. (no Valet, so you gonna have to deal with it) This place is all about the meat and that is the way it should be.
Using lump coal from a giant tub gives the meat a summer outdoor grilling flavor that many other places try to simulate. I recommend trying this experience for yourself. The staff was friendly and nice, service was great.

Neat little spot, almost like a hidden gem. I never thought i’d eat some korean bbq outside like back yard style.
Nice atmosphere, but watch the weather we were not under the roofing, but it only drizzled after we finished the bill.

When we arrived, I was a little concerned that they might actually have closed down because of how the exterior looked. You can’t see through the front windows, it’s kind of boarded up on the inside, so a heads up when you’re looking for the place. Came here on a Saturday for early dinner/​late lunch around 5, before parking was impossible to find. It was empty inside — just two of us. As mentioned, they do not speak English. We had the son serving us with his minimal English.
…Somehow they did not have beef that day or grilled eel so we settled for samgyupsal. Samgyupsal was nothing to write home about. Your typical pork belly. Not particularly marinated, not that it should be. We asked for lettuce… they also somehow did not have lettuce that day. All types of what?! How is it possible that the only thing they had today was pork belly? Served with steam egg and soybean soup. Not too much other banchan.
The son heats up the coals outside in their oven and brings it over. Since it was completely empty, he set the coal at the grill next to us, grilled all the food at the table next to us so that we didn’t end up smelling like smoke, and then brought the meat over. That’s pretty considerate. BUT… the meat got cold fast since it was no longer on any heat.
A larger group came in while we were eating. a group of 8 or so… and now they magically had beef for this larger group. Only 20 minutes passed from when we sat and ordered to when that group arrived. Now, I definitely don’t think it’s a race issue since we were all Chinese. but more that they just didn’t want to bother with us since we were only 2 people. It wasn’t worth their effort to serve us properly. Even giving them benefit of the doubt, if they just received the beef, they should have still come to tell us and ask if we wanted to order any. We also didn’t get any service after the new group came in, no water refills or even a glance.
Considering the setting and décor, and hoping that this would really be like the old school places where you could just eat and drink and be merry for hours… the prices were surprisingly expensive, but to be fair, your typical Korean restaurant prices. I was hoping for cheaper soju but that was still somehow over or around $ 10 a bottle. Considering the comfort level (.or lack of since you’re outdoors on cheap plastic short stools), I really hoped alcohol would have been cheaper or the food to be cheaper.
I’m hoping our first experience here was a fluke and there were no ill intentions when they served us, so I’d try the place again in the future when the weather gets a little better. It’s nice to be outdoors/​in tent every now and then — brings back memories of being in other Asian countries. But it’s definitely strange how things played out for my visit, and the food really wasn’t special. I feel like all these 5-​stars are for the unique design of the place more than the food.

This place probably has the most authentic, old-​school Korean bbq in all of NYC. I went with a group of two other people, and their portions were huge for what we paid. Super friendly staff; I think it’s a husband and wife running the kitchen.
I told the owner that I found out about this place thru Unilocal,and they didn’t know what I was even talking about. They aren’t concerned with the frills of being «the best restaurant». They legitimately just make GREAT food and hope their customers like it too.
I’m actually hesitant to write this because I want this place to stay as my little hole in the wall, but honestly this place deserves these 5 stars. I can’t wait to go again.

Love it! My first time here, glad I found this amazing place for Korean BBQ. It’s nice to have BBQ in the back yard, I like the outdoor space, very Korean like. Tried their pork belly, intestine, and fried chicken they are so good! Would come back again :)

I’m not sure what these other reviews are talking about but this place is terrible. Typically, Korean places are known to have bad customer service but this place takes the cake.
It took multiple attempts to place an order with our waiter who barely spoke english. The guy even left after taking our order. Like literally left the restaurant. We saw him put on a new shirt and never saw him again. Granted no one told us this since this left only 2 others working.
We had to request utensils and waters many times. We were even told they were running out of rice. What kind of asian place runs out of rice?!?
Long story short we ordered 4 dishes and at the end we were charged for 8! Neither of the owners spoke English and so were basically yelling at each other. We couldn’t even go back to the waiter that took our order since he was gone!
The food itself was ok but if you don’t speak Korean and aren’t with someone that does be careful of what food comes out since they try to overcharge you as well.
I normally don’t post reviews but this was such a ridiculous experience i had to warn others. Try at your own risk.

4.5 stars!
On a quest to find the highest rated Korean BBQ in Queens, I set out to travel 40 days and 40 nights to reach Flushing (we all know Flushing is far from everywhere else in Queens-​like another state/​paying toll type of feeling)
Got here and noticed a whole strip of small restaurants with titles all in foreign, but this spot was still easy to find.
Walked in and escorted to the back by the patriarch of the family, which literally felt like someone’s backyard BBQ. Pink round chairs surrounding multiple tables, brightly decorated posters, and some tables strictly for grilling.
Waiter, the son I’m assuming, with limited English approached us, was able to communicate what we wanted which for some reason we decided chicken. (we should’ve tried the beef and pork instead to enhance the experience).
Matriarch grills next to us instead of us doing it ourselves which I was ok with. She was a beast– with all the cutting, seasoning, flipping etc.
Since ours was chicken it arrived from the kitchen where patriarch was. I gotta say… THOROUGHLY impressed! Fried chicken with very tender white meat inside, delicious BBQ dipping sauce, hefty portions. Also came out with little unknown“finger foods”?!-which tested our palates.
We also ordered spicy noodles and white rice on the side which we didn’t have to because portions were no joke.
Noodles itself were cold. not exactly what we expected but still flavorful, preferred it to be hot though. Also tried their Kloud beer and it was really good.
The atmosphere + quality food + price + smiling staff = a phenomenal and unique dining experience. I’ll be back to try pork and beef dishes!

This is a tiny family style restaurant. You wouldn’t expect it to be so good but their Korean charcoal grilled barbecue is amazing. We got the pork belly and the cold noodles. Cold noodles never came but it was fine because they gave so much complimentary dishes on the side that it filled us up. They’ll give you steamed egg, veggie soup, kimchi bean curd, radishes, etc. The pork belly was amazing, best pork belly I’ve had so far. At the end they also gave us fried chicken on the house for some reason that was amazing. The service is slacking because the mid aged couple is bad at English and forgets a lot or is really slow however they’re very welcoming and nice which is highly appreciated. Would come back again.

What an amazing place. If you are in Flushing Queens do yourself a favor and make it to this small tucked away Korean BBQ place. Great service. So friendly and helpful. They have a back yard I’ll have to come back for. I would give 10 stars if I could.

I trawled through pages of Unilocal reviews before deciding to try this little place, and it was fantastic. The restaurant was empty when I walked in. The lady in the kitchen looked at me a little apprehensively until she made sure that yes, I was hungry, and yes, I knew they only served BBQ. Once this was settled, I was seated. All the tables had a hole in the center for the charcoal grill and a vent hood.
I ordered the pork chops and pig intestines. While I waited, they served me kimchi guk and gyeran jjim in earthenware pots, both of which were bubbling ferociously. If you love fermented things, you’ll love the soup, and the egg had a delicious smoky flavor. The other banchan were typical sides for kbbq. My only complaint about Majang Dong is that there isn’t a great variety of banchan, but that might be because the last time I had kbbq was at Han Joo, and their banchan included fermented crab.
The pork chops were marinated, so they could be eaten alone, but they tasted best with a slice of garlic on top and a dip in the sauce. They were tender and juicy, and I was having something of an eating frenzy. I wish I’d eaten less because then I would’ve had more room for the intestines. I ate the first one plain and it was like a crispy delicious explosion of pork flavor and juice (and I realize it was mostly oil, but it didn’t feel oily).
The staff was all very friendly, and my server was such a sweetheart. The guy who heated the charcoal outside and then brought the grill in – I think he’s the husband of the lady in the kitchen – was very excited to hear that I’d come all the way from Manhattan to try their food. Even though it’s a trek, I’ll definitely go back as soon as I can. So friggin delicious

Majang Dong
NY Queens Flushing
7pm Tuesday 23^rd February 2016
Five Stars
At this month’s Gastronauts dinner, we ventured to Flushing Queens to enjoy some Korean BBQ. The sign has no English so use your gps. The inside is small and sparse, but they have a backyard area. We sat in the wooden shed covered with tarps to shelter us from the rain. The plastic pink chairs and flimsy tables give it an authentic Asian experience. Even though the surroundings are not posh by any respects, the food was great. They use a wooden stove heat an open grill. We started with some traditional Korean salads: sweet bean sprouts and Kimchi. We enjoyed their famous marinated kalbi pork chops, grilled eel, grilled squid tentacles, fried gizzards, and fried intestines. The pork was tender and flavorful. The eel was good but you have to be careful of little bones and/​or scales. The squid was not chewy and had spicy Kimchi taste. The gizzards were delicious but are bit chewer than the rest of the offal family. He intestines were bit more plain and bit oily. Overall, I enjoyed everything. We drank a table full of Kloud Beer. The beer was malty, creamy, with a strong wheat taste. The staff was quite nice.

great old school korean bbq joint with old school korean music… meat cooked on open grill fueled by wood logs

We had a great time in there!!! Go to their backyard n have BBQ under the shed, Sooo good! People work in there are very friendly, and refill our sides and water very often. There’s only one guy work there can speak English well tho. we love the vibe under the shed! They ran out beef tonight, but the pork is very delicious! We definitely would like to come back! :)

My Korean friend told me to check this place out. It’s very traditional Korean he says especially with the plastic pink stools.
At first, I walked past this place because there’s no sign in English. It had no windows either and the door was covered it bamboo shades.
And when you walk in, my friend told me just to walk straight to the back right to the garden. The garden is half shaded and half not.
No one spoke a lick of English there except one kid who told her we were the second non Koreans to go here. That’s already a good sign! He said most people know this place through word of Korean mouth.
My friend told me to just order the first one on the menu, which was the marinated pork. It was so tender and flavorful and had the perfect smokiness to it because of their charcoal. It came with tons of little banchan and the spicy tofu soup and the steamed egg soufflé.
I also ordered the pig entrails because I’m a big fan of intestines and they were amazing on the grill. The server was hella surprised that we ordered it too but it was delicious.
The service was amazing, everyone was kind. The water was constantly refilled and there wasn’t even a hesitation when we were running low on kimchee. They just brought it.
The bathroom was clean as well. Small and old school but clean.
Just be careful about the grills underneath. It gets super hot and it can burn you under.

best korean style pork galbi I’ve tried in NYC area. also, their korean bone soup is really good.