Banchan Chosun

Loved their banchan! I came here because one of my good friend recommended me. I bought their kalbi as well and oh man. it was GOOD! Not only their kalbi is good, all of their banchan is tasty and their price is maybe similar or cheaper than the ones you get from korean markets! Highly recommend this place!

This is hands down the BEST kimchi I have ever bought in a store!
Whole Heads of Napa Cabbage jammed into the jar with the thickest, most amazing sauce imaginable. I use scissors to cut everything before serving.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ will be back!

This place is nice when you have a craving for banchan, but don’t want the Korean BBQ. As I am not Korean and nor do I speak Korean, it was a little difficult communicating with the lady behind the counter. However, she was super nice and offered samples to try before I bought stuff. All of them looked fresh and since I went pretty early in the morning. I’m not sure how much banchan costs, but I bought 3 small containers and 1 larger container of kimchi and it came out to about 8 bucks. Not bad since I still leftovers for another meal! Only thing is their selection must rotate, so you never know what’s available. Would have liked to see some more pickled stuff.

Great stuff. I will go back.

I first learned of this place when it was featured on a Tasting Table newsletter last month. They wrote that this recently opened store has over 24 rotating varieties of banchan at reasonable prices and made this place sound really appealing. The owner is Youngji Cho, who apparently used to cook at Bann and Woo Lae Oak. So I bookmarked this place on Unilocal and was determined to come. I was foiled a couple of times because their hours are not listed on the Unilocal page and there was no answering machine at the phone number. But finally one time I was in Koreatown they answered their phone and I headed on over.
It was a bit out of the way for me, since usually when I’m in Koreatown I’m there for Koreatown Plaza, Koreatown Galleria, or Kim’s Home Center (and other businesses in that area). But I really wanted to try this place since I love banchan and it’s not practical for my mum to make many varieties at one time for just the two of us. The place is pretty easy to find, although if you can’t read Korean that may not be the case since the signage is just «banchan» in Korean on the side of the building. Like Seung Eun C. points out, you need to enter from 4^th St.
I came here with my mum and we were sorely disappointed. It was a Saturday afternoon and they did not have many varieties of banchan available. What little they had did not look very appetizing and there was nothing that either of us wanted to buy or even sample. In addition to banchan, they also offer several soups/​stews… but nothing is labelled! I think that really turned me off. My mum is able to identify all the banchan by just looking at it, but I wasn’t able to… and I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one. I know this place is still somewhat new, only open around 6 months I think, but I would think labelling their products would be a basic thing they would have done from the beginning. Since we felt bad about walking out empty-​handed since we were their only customers, my mum asked if they had any Yuk Gae Jang. They said yes, of course, and led us to where it was… except there wasn’t any! So my mum ended up buying just plain beef broth instead –_​–
Apparently they will sell marinated meats soon, but they did not realise that they needed a separate license to sell meat. So they are working on getting that license now (well, as of last month. Not sure if they have it already or not). No matter to me, though, since I’m not planning on coming back.

I got their:
JANG JO RIM: this was good… a tiny bit on the sweeter
SQUID MUCCHIM: this was ok. i actually wished it was a little sweeter
MUSHROOM BOKUM: this was ok. a little bland
Their banchan is ok. not bad. not excellent. It is slightly on the pricier side. you can try the banchan before buying. They’re really nice.

I’ve been to this banchan place several times. it’s bothering to make different banchan whenever I make meals.
There are assorted Banchans and casserole (jjigae) and soup (pumkim soup) and organic garlics, barley, Kimch, gutjuri (kimch salad) etc.
Two middle aged ladies are really kind and explain the banchan well.
If you want to try a sample, you can taste it, too. Best banchan place!

Can’t help but to bump it up to 5. Yes, I think it’s really that good.
The service has been awesome for my last few visits and I like that they give you KOREAN SERVICE.
What’s Korean service, you ask? Well, first it’s pronounced SU BEE SEU in Korean. Translation: something free =)
They will give you a complimentary side of banchan for Free. Well, at least to me anyway =)