Sam Woo Jung Japanese and Korean Restaurant

Yeah, this place is now closed. I’ve been there a few times. Lunch buffet wasn’t spectacular but for the price it was decent. I would have loved to have tried the Kalbi (BBQ Beef Ribs) there, but the cost was ridiculous. It went from $ 25 to $ 30 the last time I went. I’d give this place 3.5 stars because I never had a bad experience there.

I just went there tonight to eat some delish kal bi. And it was CLOSED?!? with for lease signs on the window?
Anyone know if it’s gone for good or relocated?
Moved to Silver Spring recently, and so far this was my favorite Korean place (tried Woo Mi, that place by the Korean Korner, and Lighthouse which was pretty good too). Noooooo!!!

I’ve been to Sam Woo a few times now and liked the experience every time. The restaurant is quiet and clean. The staff is friendly. Sometimes they don’t check up on you as much but it seems to be that they don’t want to bother you. Maybe I have poor body language. However if you look up at them, they know to come right to your table.
Ok the important stuff– the food is yummy. They have a great assortment of ban chan (the side dishes) that comes out if you order their BBQ meats. Now i need to try their lunch buffet…

I usually come here for the lunch buffet, although I have eaten dinner here a couple of times. If I remember correctly though, the Korean BBQ is sub-​par and not worth it. The buffet is actually decent though. The sushi is not the best and there is not much variety, but the other Korean food is very good. The slices of pork and tempura are very delicious. Overall, this place is good for the lunch buffet and also a good price compared to other comparable lunch buffets.

I gave it a three stars because my spicy tuna roll sucks (wasn’t spicy at all and the tuna wasn’t fresh). However, the tofu pot that I ordered was delicious. The service was great and I love the side dishes.

It’s hard to find good Korean food in Maryland. Most people just drive to Annandale, Virginia. This would probably be considered one of the better options if one was desperately craving Korean food in Montgomery County, MD and didn’t want to drive too far. On the other hand, it would probably be considered nothing special or average at best if compared to the Annandale restaurants. The dishes were decent and pretty good, but the prices were extremely expensive for the quality and portion sizes. The setting was lovely and the service was good.

So yesterday and today I’ve been doing my Christmas shopping. Yesterday I ate half a slice of gross cheese pizza before shopping. I felt like crap the whole time. Not sick, just blehhhh. Today, my pre Christmas shopping lunch consisted of two small bowls of delicious miso soup, tons of kimchi, some delicious sweet clear noodles and some sort of egg patty from San Woo Jung’s buffett. Not only was it delicious and nutritious, but I power shopped like i never knew I could. I need me some more Sam Woo.

There are two things that I love more than anything, eating and friends, but never eating my friends. Sam Woo is the perfect place for going to eat fun food with small groups. The menu consists of a sparse offering of alternatives to the Korean grilled entrees, like noodle soups and rice bowls topped with meat, but I always opt for grilling. Basically, if you have never had Korean food heres the short and skinny:
Pick out one of the meat entrees per person, two can share one sometimes if you get an appetizer. The entrees come with miso and rice. The server will bring a large assortment of small dish appetizers before your meal that vary by the day you go but kim chee, fried tofu, bean sprouts, seaweed salad and other picked veggies are the norm. Shortly before your meal is served, a staff member will come fire up the grill thats at the middle of the table, then bring you a plate of raw meat and will add the first round of meat to cook for you. Flip the meat with the tongs and let it cook until done, if you act like you arent paying attention the friendly staff will tend your grill for you. My personal faves on the menu are the bulgogi (marinated beef), galbi (short ribs), and the samgyeopsal (thinly sliced pork belly, much like a bacon that cooks into a super tender juicy slice of meat). If they dont bring it with the meat, request the lettuce from the server, they season sliced lettuce, that you grab a clump of with your chunk of meat and eat together (think lettuce wraps).
Overall this place is a really good deal for what you get, its a fun, social style of eating that is an adventure in foodieism. Just watch for cross contamination of the raw meats, I always make sure everyone uses the tongs for putting meat on and flipping, but use their chopsticks or forks to take the cooked meat off the grill.

First time I went there it was quiet and in general the korean servers are not very friendly. My friends and I thought it was rather expensive for the portion. The bbq meat is not doubt delicious. I gave this place a few more shots during the day for sushi buffet lunches and I find myself enjoying the joint much better. The buffet offers a wide variety of Korean dishes and lots of sushi. Severs are more friendly during the day Hahaha.

Wow, this place is one of my favorite Korean places. And I know Korean food, having lived in Korea for quite a bit and visiting fairly frequently. I just moved to San Francisco, and boy do I wish I could take Sam Woo’s with me! The lunch buffet is to die for. They have really good cold slivered radish kimchi, which is just the thing to cool you down on a hot day. They also have good juk (porridge), with interesting flavors like red bean or pumpkin. If I am in Montgomery County, I always find an excuse to go to Sam Woo.

Really good Korean food. The bbq meat entrees like short ribs or bulgogi that you can cook at your table-​top is around $ 20 depending on what you get. I’m used to paying that sort of price for all you can eat Korean bbq, but it was pretty good. I like going for their lunch buffet (something like $ 12) where they have a small set-​up with some bulgogi, stiry fry chicken, noodles, tempura veggies, rice, and sushi. Service is always good and kimchi is aplenty!