Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo

Can never get sick of this place! (Let my pictures do all the explaining!)
The bigger party you have. a little longer you’ll need to wait!
MUST TRY THE SEAFOOD KKAL GOOK SOO ~~~ THE BEST IN TOWN!
$ 2 for valet parking!

This place is absurdly, ridiculously, extraordinarily, magnificently, wonderfully, extremely, marvelously, exponentially, unfairly amazing.
I didn’t have to use a thesaurus to communicate how good Hangari is.
Introduced to this place by a friend, co-​worker, and fellow Unilocaler, I had never tried Kalgooksoo before. Now, I’m pretty confident that any other place would pale in comparison.
I usually get the seafood Kalgooksoo, which has plenty of clams, mussels, and other delicious items that sizzle in the spicy and punchy broth. The handmade noodles are extremely soft and have a nice wavy texture that seems to perfectly complement everything. I’m not kidding when I say that the whole dish is just breathtakingly great.
Not only that, but the servers here are quite kind. One girl in particular on my last visit was wonderfully nice; she picked up someone’s jacket that had fallen on the floor and nicely placed it back on the chair, she gently set a guy’s backpack in a seat across from him, and she gave me encouragement when I said «kam-​sa-​ham-​ni-​da» (thanks) in my horrific Korean.
Parking in this lot is valet-​only; it’s not too much, so maybe if you’re pressed for time (or just don’t wanna deal with the annoying K-​town parking), just go for it.
In conclusion, a million great things can be said about Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo. However, this place can be summarized in one phrase: the best.

This place is a gem! My friend brought me here on a Monday evening, and the plaza (the same one with SnowLA and Paris Baguette) was packed to the brim. Even though the restaurant was pretty full, our party of here was seated in just a few minutes.
I was in the mood for something hearty, so I ordered the chicken kalguksu. Before your order comes out, they give you an assortment of pickled vegetables and barley, which my friend explained you’re supposed to mix it all together with the sesame oil, instead of eat it all separately as you normally would with banchan at a typical Korean restaurant (she said that her server had told her this the last time she was here). This itself was SO delicious, I felt like I could just eat more of it and be completely satisfied. But soon after we cleared that out, our oOOoOodlez of nOodlez were delivered to our table. The bowls are massive, which should have been an indicator to me to not attempt to eat the entire thing. Of course, once I started, it was so delicious that I just kept going and going, and it wasn’t until I finished all but a couple noodles that I realized I was uncomfortably full. Even though I almost felt nauseous, I still enjoyed every minute of that meal. The broth was warm and soothing, noodles thick and chewy, and the chicken, though a little hard to maneuver as it was swimming in the soup, was so flavorful and juicy. I just wish I had stopped at halfway and took the other half home as leftovers for the next day.
This restaurant is perfect for a cold winter day, even though it doesn’t really actually get «cold» in LA. That being said, I would still just as likely come in the summer… hehe. That’s how good this stuff is.

Why have I not been here before?! It was bookmarked for the longest time. I originally planned on going to Sun Nong Dan, but there was a wait. So I finally had a chance to eat here today!
The employees were very friendly despite the lunch rush.
I loved barley rice and yulmoo kimchi with soybean paste & sesame oil. FYI if you want another bowl of barley rice, they will charge you (according to the employee, not sure how much they charge).
I ordered manila clam kalguksu (#3). My dad ordered bibim milmyeon (#7). Kalguksu was great! I liked it more than Naegohyang’s kalguksu. They put a lot of clams in my kalguksu.
My dad is usually picky when it comes to food, but he really enjoyed eating bibim milyeon. It comes with a soup and pork bulgogi on the side!
I will definitely come back to try different items on the menu.

Tiny joint with usually a 15 minute wait these days. I remember I came here when it first opened and I knew that word would get out fast. I’m not even sure that their storefront sign has their name in English, but it’s right next to Café Bleu — you can’t miss it.
If you like soupy noodles, this is the place for you. They specialize in kalgooksoo, or knife-​cut noodles. My favorite is the bajirak kalgooksoo. It has a ton of clams and the broth is very tasty. Portions are huge and I love the little rice dish with soy bean paste they give you as an appetizer. Perfect thing to eat for cold weather!

The wait, I hate.
The noodles, there’s oodles.
The service is great, never really a wait — Water? here you go. Ban chan? Right on.
We had the LARGE (feeds 3 – 4) chicken knife noodle soup, family style. It was very tasty. It had a fresh satisfying flavor that hit home and deeply reminded me of mom’s.
The mandoo (dumplings) was okay, nothing special. Plenty of chicken and veggies (for 3) but it really just left me half-​full. The LARGE is good for 3 not 4. Next time we will order this along with another main dish to share minus the mandoo.
Give this place a try — very good if you’re a noodle lover as I am.

Kalgaksoo for a change. This is a food spot for that. I had alway curious about this place, then a friend suggested this the other day. This place is somewhat hidden in the busy little center where Snow LA is located.
It didn’t take a while to seat me and four of my friends but there was obviously a line of people outside. The ahjummas were attentive and set out the banchan and the cold tea (tasted like rice tea), soon as we were seated. I loved the dips and the kimchi from among the banchan.
I got the seafood Kalgaksoo which I believe came with house made noodles? It was good! I had it mildly spicy and it was very soothing to the palate. Couple of friends ordered the same thing and others got the chicken kalgaksoo. An order come in a huge hot stone bowl so think about sharing it with someone and trying something else. I didn’t finish mine. Great experience nonetheless.
We came on an early Saturday night and lucked out on street parking. So be patient if you come around the same time because his part of K-​town gets really busy. Or you can do valet parking.

The milmyun is fantastic! I’ve never had the OG milmyun in Busan Korea but they say it tastes exactly the same. Think of it as naengmyun but with thick white chewy rice noodles instead. It expands in your tummy as you are eating it so you will get full quick, but it’s delicious nonetheless.
It also comes with a small side of spicy pork bulgogi and a few pieces of rice wrapper. You’ll get a few teasing bites, but it’s enough to satisfy.
As we all know, one of the highlights here is the barley starter. It’s so fluffy and nutty — mix it with the soybean paste + sesame oil and top it off with some yulmoo kimchi. Comfort food 101!
There’s usually a huge line of people waiting during lunch and dinner so try to come off peak time.

I checked this place because i feel like eating soup. there is no line that time, Actually i am surprised that everytime i passed by here there is a line after i tasted there food it mediocre. i think the idea of there homemade noodle makes people get curios but i doubt a return customer .
PARKING:
Street parking, free parking but the parking are pretty busy because it is surrounded by different other restaurant
PLACE:
its small sitting place, few seats available, setting is typical soup place in a small setting. i would say if you are sitting in the middle its very tight. i think even the booth are pretty tight to move around so be careful while you eating your soup, someone my hit you and spill it in your clothes.
SERVICE:
The staff are pretty quick.
FOOD:
nah, aint going back
1. side dish — their kimchi is tasteless
2. their noodle soup is taste less, bland although my seafood soup are tons of seafood on it, like clams but hardly you can even taste anything and the noodles are ok but i had better one somewhere else, taste water even i ordered a spicy one .
3. their bimbimbap is the worst one. i def advice not to get this one, lack of flavor and it doesnt even taste bimbimbap at all .
not the place i will recommend and i would definitely not going back. there too many great places, this one is very mediocre

I wish they have this back in NorCal :(
So good, got the seafood soup, clam soup, and dubokki. Get the seafood soup if you like spicy and it has more flavor too. Seating is kinda cramped and there’s a long wait too. For the appetizer they give you a little brown rice and side dishes and it was unique and yummy.
Dubokki was pretty spicy so beware!

I’ve been wanting to try this place out and I finally did it.
I understand now why this place is so packed all the time.
I was lucky enough to avoid the long line when the place was beginning to get packed right after I was seated.
Excellent quality of the food and service period!
They put so much Bajirak (Clams) inside the noodle and it’s almost overwhelming.
The broth, noodle, vegies, and clams were all complementing each other in a one big heavy bowl which Koreans call it Hangari.
I really liked Boribap (Steamed Barley) they give you as an appetizer when you order Bajirak noodle.
You mix that with Water Kimchi, Soybean paste, and Sesame oil to make sort of little Bibimbap and it’s something that you must try. It’s really yummy!
The side dishes like Kakdoogi (Spicy Fermented Radish) really goes well with the noodle and it taste little better from noodle specialty places like here.
I’m still thinking about the noodles and can’t wait to go back.

Been looking for a place that does soo jae bi and came across Hangari Kalgooksoo.
I guess this place is real popular because the line at 2pm was still going strong.
What I love about Hangari is the variety of items. You can get chicken kalgooksoo (Korean knife cut noodles), spicy kalgooksoo, seafood kalgooksoo, soo jae bi (hand torn dough soup with potatoes, my favorite), etc. I also love their complimentary yulmoo kimchi and barley rice. One of my favorite Korean comfort foods is yulmoo bibimbap and this really hit the spot. Big thumbs up!
For the kalgooksoo itself, I still think Myung Dong Gyoza is better. But they don’t have soo jae bi and I dislike their crazy garlicky kimchi that’ll make your breath stink till the next day. So it’s more of a Variety vs. Authenticity here. If I am sure I want kal gook soo and dumplings, I will go to Myung Dong. If I’m feeling like something different, I’ll go to Hangari. With that said, they are both delicious.

Friends and I went here on a Friday night after we were told the wait at nearby bbq restaurant Quarters was 1.5−2 hour wait. We were seated immediately (restaurant was still packed, just a high turnover rate).
Most of us got some kind of variation of the noodle soup. I got seafood, one got clams, one got chicken, another got a rice cake dish. Omg it was sooooooo much for, and at a great price ($ 10 for the giant bowl, easily worth two meals if you weren’t a fat pig like me). There was like half a chicken, several dozen clams, and then tooons of seafood in mine, including clams, mussels, crab, and I think squid.
Broth and noodles were also delicious without the meat. I’d have to guess that the noodles were at some point handmade or rolled as they had an inconsistency to their width that it didn’t look machine made… also the soups took a while to come out (which also made sense after we saw our meals and the amount of food and esp meat in them).
Banchan was pretty good as well. I don’t normally likely Kim chi but really enjoyed theirs, as it wasn’t overly sour. They also served with barley oats instead of rice. Tea was cooled/​cold rather than hot.
Overall, great. Would definitely come back. Just don’t go in expecting bbq like we were originally: p

This place is one of my favorite places in Ktown. It’s got the best korean soups with thick hand cut noodles that are comparable to some really good chinese noodle restaurants. Plus each soup is around $ 10 and they give you really large portions so it’s super worth it. I was legitimately really hungry and completely full by the end of the meal along with the three others guys who I came with. The kimchi kalgooksoo and chicken kalgooksoo are both really good.
The store is pretty small so it isn’t a place for really large groups. I think the ideal group size you should come with is max 4 unless you come off hours. This store attracts lines in a crowded plaza with shops like SnowLA and Sun Nong Dan which are both pretty crowded stores. All in all, 5 stars and I’d come back in a heartbeat.

My friend would rave about their popular kalgooksoo. On a real cold night we were both craving something soupy so we decided to come here. It’s in a small plaza that is valet parking or you can street park. It can get quite packed so keep in mind a long wait may be expected. We waited for about 15 – 20 min. The inside is cozy and the line goes fairly fast.
As you are seated they give you 3 types of kimchi (2 a bit on the spicy side and one that is a more refreshing one). And a type of barley rice with a soy paste on the side. I thought it was a bit random as I’ve never had this before but I loved it! If they sold this as an entrée I would totally get it. So simple yet so good. You just add a bit of the sesame oil and soy paste to the rice. Don’t add to much otherwise it can get real salty.
_​Manila Clam Kal Guk Su ($ 9.95) Portions are pretty big, they give lots of noodles. Happy to see they give a good amount of fresh clams as well. The squash and potatoes were soft and paired well with the clams, The noodle was a bit on the softer side. The broth was the main show. A bit salty and has that fresh gritty ocean taste from the clams. It was refreshing and light.
_​Chicken Kal Guk Su ($ 9.95) My friend got this. But he subbed his noodles for sujebi (Korean traditional soup consisting of dough flakes roughly torn by hand) The chicken was served half hen. The broth was hearty and a bit thicker than the clams. Different taste but each great on their own way. I’m not a huge fan of sujebi so I would get this with the regular noodles.
Most people love this place over Ma Dang Gook Soo. It’s your own taste, it’s like how some prefer coke or pepsi. I’ve ate at Ma Dang Gook Soo many times with my mom, so for me I prefer Ma Dang a bit more as for me it’s a shareable memory with my mom but I’ll bring her here next time and see what she prefers.

Since living closer out this way, I’ve bookmarked so many restaurants in K-​town to try and this was one of them.
I was drawn by the mentions of the Chicken Kal Guk Soo which is the hand cut noodle soup with chicken. I already knew I wanted to order this but they also had bibimbap on the menu which is one of my favorite dishes but I decided I’d give the soup a try.
As I sat down at my table, I was served a bottle of cold barley tea which is always great to drink. Then, I was promptly served little side plates of various pickled vegetables called banchan. I love that Korean food is so healthy. There was the kimchee (pickled cabbage), daikon (pickled radishes), a side bowl of some cold soup with greens in it, a small bowl of barley rice and some tofu paste to eat with the rice. It was all very good. I always worry I’d get too full eating the appetizers before getting my main dish so I kind of nibbled on everything.
Then the bowl of kal guk soo was served and it looked very good! The broth was simple and not very flavorful which is okay. I think we tend to add too much salt in our dishes here in the states. The soup had slices of squash, potatoes and a quarter chicken. The chicken wasn’t very meaty. I think it was added to be an accompaniment to the dish and not the main ingredient. The noodles were delicious too, loved eating it!
There was so much food that I could only finish half of the noodles and broth so I packed some up to take home for later.
The ambiance is nice and it had the authentic Korean décor with the woods for tables and padded bench seating. The ladies serving me were very friendly and everything was done quickly. I think it’s such a small place that they have to make sure we are served and finished as soon as possible. No lingering here over conversations, that’s for sure.
It was a lot of food for $ 10 and healthy at that. I enjoyed my experience and will definitely have to come back here again to try the bibimbap next time.

After moving away from LA, this place is always on my «to visit» list whenever I’m back.
The complimentary barley rice, dwenjang (fermented soybean paste), sesame oil, and three types of kimchi that you get as a starter… Man, if they gave out full entrée sized portions, I could enjoy that alone.
As for the actual entrees, everything is good, but the KALGOOKSOO. That’s where it’s really at. The texture of the noodles is always perfect, and the broth is super flavorful. And with all of the kalgooksoo dishes being under $ 10, it’s SUCH a great deal.
My favorite is their signature bajirak kalgooksoo (clam noodles). It always comes with a TON of clams, which I really really appreciate. I hate it when restaurants name a dish like it’s full of seafood and they skimp on the seafood. No problem with that here!
Damn, I wish I still lived in LA to come here more often…

Love love love this place!
This place is located in the Alexandria mall which is always busy and definitely the busiest at all times! I remember hearing only good things about this place but it was always busy with a long wait whenever I went so I only got to discover Hangari THIS YEAR and ever since then, I am in love.
There will be a wait, no matter what time of the day unless you are really really lucky, but it is definitely worth the wait!
Must item to order is definitely their Bajirak (clam) Kalgooksoo because, afterall, that is their name and it is insanely good, even for someone who doesn’t love kalgooksoo in general. Their portion is ginormous and you will not be able to finish it and although it is plenty for 2 people with a side, I always end up ordering more even though I can’t finish it. But seriously… their bajirak kalgooksoo is to die for because of that broth is amazing! You can also ask for more chopped jalapenos if you like a bit more of kick.
I haven’t tried everything on the menu because I have to order at least one bajirak kalgooksu but other items have all been winners up to now.
What I love about Hangari is also their barley rice with fermented miso paste and kimchi! You can mix everything and voila! you get the yulmoo bori-​bap which you can also order a whole portion of. They also give a free sample of this to all customers which I think is brilliant!
Amazing food that is consistent at a very affordable price with good service… Hangari is definitely one of my favorite places to eat in Ktown!

This place was a pleasant surprise, I’m not really a fan of kalgooksoo (basically noodles in soup, the noodles are generally handrolled though and is quite thick) so I’ve never been incentivized to try this place. Though I’ve lived years super close to this place it’s never stood out, just in that plaza with the 7 – 11 next to café bleu. However, I noticed they had really high ratings and checked it out. Attempted twice with my husband once around 8pm on a Friday night (this failed there were about 7 parties waiting ahead of us and we were starving) and again around sunday at 2pm. Even around 2pm we had to wait for about 20 minutes before we were seated.
They bring you a sort of «appetizer» of straight barley rice, dwenjang (fermented soybean paste) that gave me flashbacks of my grandma’s cooking, and few kinds of kimchi. BTW, the thing in the yellow mustard container is sesame oil (we found out too late) and you basically mix the dwenjang, and sesame oil into the rice and eat it with the kimchi. SO GOOD! I’ve never had straight barley rice and only heard of it being served in restaurants in Korea. It dates back to when Korea was super poor during/​after the war and people couldn’t afford rice so many ate barley instead.
I got the bajirak (clam) kalgooksoo and hubs got the kimchi kalgooksoo, he’s not the biggest fan of shellfish but he still ate a few and said it was good. There are a TON of clams in this thing which I really enjoyed. It would be great hangover food, my broth was clear and savory with a clean finish, the kimchi broth was also good verrrry savory and slightly spicy. The portions are also absolutely monstrous, one would’ve fed both my hubs and I.
The one thing I was not a fan of was that after we finished our barley rice they asked us to get up and move to a different table to accommodate more people. We were seated in a booth that could fit 4 and was moved to a table for 2 and I didn’t really appreciate getting up in the middle of our meal to do this. Parking is in the plaza, valet only at $ 2. This lot is a total shit show though so beware. Overall, I’d come back.

Even though the signature dish for Hangari is bajirak (manila clams) kalgooksoo (knife-​cut noodles) [it is even a part of the store name], I actually ordered chicken kalgooksoo instead and I only got one word to describe it — MAGICAL.
This was my 1^st time trying the Korean version of knife-​cut noodles and it surpasses all the Northern Chinese version of knife cut noodles I’ve tried in the San Gabriel Valley.
Parking: I’ll take advantage of valet parking ($ 2) as long as you can still park in the lot. There’s an underground parking lot right across the street (City Center on 6^th), but they recently changed their parking validation policy and you’ll have to spend a lot more to get 2 hours free validation (free for 1^st 30 minutes and $ 2 for each 15 minutes increment).
So I came here for weekend lunch at 2 PM and luckily the wait was only 10 minutes. Our lunch started with free iced barley tea, but service was somewhat slow and one of the staff almost messed our order up. She gave our table two chicken kalgooksoo instead of one chicken kalgooksoo and one seafood kalgooksoo.
*** Complimentary side dishes ***
Kimchi: Slightly sweet and spicy, very good balance.
White Radish (aka daikon or «mu»): Slightly more sour than I would like.
Bean paste: BEST bean paste I’ve had — not overly salty with slightly sweet aftertaste.
Young Radish (yulmoo): Pretty spicy … actually a bit too spicy.
*** Main course ***
#5 Chicken kalgooksoo (with two jujubes and slices of squash & cucumber, $ 9.95): Holy cow … one of the best noodle ever (soft and chewy). Such a simple noodle soup with clean and flavorful broth … not to mention the portion is HUGE.
[I also sampled broth for seafood kalgooksoo and I still prefer broth for chicken kalgooksoo]
#19 Steamed dumplings (mandoo — 10 pieces, $ 7.95): It also came with dipping sauce. If this was the best mandoo (Korean dumplings) in the SoCal, then I just lost all hope on mandoo. Excellent and tender skin, but I thought flavors was just OK. It looks like I won’t be ordering another mandoo for a very long time.
***
Normally I would give 4-​star for its slowish service and slightly OK dumplings, but chicken kalgooksoo was so good that it cancelled out all the other negative aspects about this restaurant.