Junkabok by Mokkoji

I wish the Korean buff guy sees this review because he should receive waiter/​host award for being so accommodating for my part of 14.
I’ll be coming back to this place for as long as I can because of the service and the food is pretty damn good! It’s a well balance of spicy and taste and I’m sure it’s not just the style of food being served.
My party and I ordered pretty much the whole menu, and one thing that shined the most was the korean bbq ribs. Second would be the kimchi hot pot rice. And a running award would be the spicy octopus.
In my opinion, you can never go wrong with this place. Good service, good food, and good vibe. I hope this place stays this way, especially when they get their liquor license. Then this place would be F**KING LIT, FAM!
Will be visiting this place very soon!

KIMCHI FRIED RICE W/​CHEESE. Yes, you have to get it with cheese.
Pork and potato stew — We got the regular size and it was the perfect amount. The mushrooms, potato, and pork were all great. Even the soup was pretty delicious too.
Pork kimchi and cheese rice — BEST THING. Who knew cheese and kimchi could work together? An elevated and tastier fried rice!
Kalbi pork rib — Garlicky goodness. Soft and tender. All their meats are cooked really well, whether in a stew or a stove top. The only thing I wished for was that their onions on the bottom were grilled instead of raw.
A really great Korean restaurant. First I had Mokkoji, and now this, Next, Buccumi!

This place is great, the food is fresh, tasty, and definitely different; furthermore, the staff is very helpful and friendly. Another point worth mentioning is the portion sizes, they are large.

The service is great!
The food is amazing!
¹⁰⁄₁₀ would recommend!
I recommend the pork and mushroom stew and the garlic galbi combo~

It’s a fairly new spot that has opened up in this plaza that seemed like it was dying but now is full of life once again.
Came here for lunch to try it out since so many people have been talking about this place. Lunch is 20% off even on the weekends. Pretty sweet.
Our server lady was pretty helpful in recommending some dishes to us so we decided to get the pork and mushroom pot and also a kimchi pork cheese fried rice.
Both dishes had a lot of flavor in them and I would say they stood out to be a really nice and filling meal. Trust me you will be stuffed by half of the way. We couldn’t finish one of the fishes and we were starving!!!
Overall the interior design and menu set up was pretty easy to understand and find what you want. I would say if you are coming here to get the pork and mushroom pot of you love mushrooms like I do! You’ll be in heaven.

As expected — delicious food, beautiful presentations, friendly and efficient staff, clean interior, modern yet casual atmosphere, I can go on and on. Mokkoji keeps their standards high and I’ve noticed that many shabu shabu restaurants have copied their presentation in an attempt to keep up with the trends. I’ve been to their shabu shabu restaurant in Arcadia many times. Their food and service have always been consistently good no matter how busy they are. I believe that this location is a new project. They specialize in Korean pork stew and have different varieties of it along with grilled and hot stone entrees. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think they serve beef, they only serve pork and seafood.
I came here for lunch and ordered the «Piglet» combo for 2 people. You get to choose between a small stew or a hot stone entrée plus a bbq item. We went for the pork stew with tofu and bbq’ed mackerel with garlic sauce. After we placed our order the banchans came. I counted 9 different ones. Most of them were delicious and well made, some were just basic. I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t serve kimchi but later realized that it makes sense not to since the pork stew is full of it. The stew was served in a pot with sterno similar to the pots used at BP. Both dishes were delicious and paired perfectly with each other. Since our stew had tofu in there, it tasted like a big pot of sundubu with tender pieces of pork and veggies. It hit the spot. The mackerel was perfectly grilled and charred which contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the garlic sauce. I definitely plan to return to try their hot stone items. Give this place a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Junkabok is one of the newer restaurants that opened up in Diamond Plaza, located next to what once was Genki Living.
The space is average size with maybe about a dozen 4 seater tables and very clean. When we arrived, the tables were all full but there was nobody else waiting (around 6 PM on a Sunday). We only waited about 10 minutes before we were seated.
Our server was very nice, but he did get our order wrong the first time around. Not a big deal and he corrected his mistake immediately. This is a relatively new establishment, so I must assume that the servers are equally as new. I just appreciated that he respectfully accepted fault and didn’t try to blame the kitchen or something!
We ordered one of the combination pots: Pork & kimchi stone pot with the BBQ mackerel and a side of the FIRE squid.
The pork & kimchi stone pot is a fried rice was a very interesting combination of flavors, adding together the sourness of the kimchi, the juiciness of the pork and the cheesiness of the cheese! It was very good considering I actually don’t like rice normally. The mackerel was nothing special. I was expecting it to have more of a BBQ flavor to it. Don’t get me wrong, it was still good, just nothing that was outstanding. The FIRE squid is a must try! There was a ton of flavor mixed in the stone pot and the spicy stew-​like sauce that the squid is swimming in! Be warned, though, it does have a nice little kick to it. The squid was definitely my favorite dish.
Next time, I definitely want to try the seafood rice and the pork ribs. I saw the table next to us order them, and it looked and smelled amazing.
Overall, definitely worth the trip out to try this restaurant!

Korean pork stew… hmm. this was a new dish for me to try and although it was good, I don’t foresee myself craving it anytime soon. It was okay. It’s like the Korean version of Boiling Pot. It came with huge chunks of pork, some veggies, and tofu. If you want rice, you will need to ask for it. I thought that was odd.
However, their pork & kimchi with cheese bimbibamp was delicious! I’d definitely order that again!
Also delicious was their drink selection! I choose the jasmine tea ginger ale. It’s so good! I’d highly recommend it.

I’ve been to Mokkoji in Arcadia once and I’ve been wanting to go back so seeing that Junkabuk is BY Mokkoji, it, of course, was added to my bookmarks. Arrived on Monday already knowing what I should get. So I heard portions are ginormous so my party of two, we decided on the Piglet which was a stew or hot stone dish with a BBQ item. We decided on the potato and pork stew and the garlic galbi. Being fatties and not listening to our conscience, we opted also for the pork and kimchi fried rice with cheese. Yup, way too much food so of course doggie bags were in our future.
As for the taste of the food, the pork and potato stew was mediocre. The potatoes were purple potatoes, which IMO are more starchy and didn’t meld well with the rest of the stew. The pork was tender and plentiful so at least you are getting your moneys worth. Overall the taste wasn’t very strong. Maybe missing more gochujang or whatever seasoning is used because it was more bland than I hoped. The garlic galbi was great. I love garlic in general so having cooked garlic so that it is now sweet is perfect to place atop the galbi ribs. The ribs were tender until to get to the bone and you will need to work your way to get all the meat. Luckily, you have some scissors so you don’t need to be too much of a savage tearing your teeth through the meat. Finally the infamous kimchi cheese fried rice. So it comes un-​fried, almost like a bibimbap that hasn’t been mixed. After a request to take a picture (don’t judge), the server mixed it all together and as he mixed it, you get this pungent smell waft towards you. I lie, it wasn’t a waft but more of a punch in the face. I have to admit, it didn’t smell great but then you grab a spoonful and you don’t care anymore. At first bite, it is like meh but slowly you just seeing yourself going back to more and more and more. The rice could be a bit drier like traditional fried rice but the mixture is packed full of flavor and not too kimchi-​ish, nor spicy, so it is safe for those eaters that might not like kimchi. (I had the leftovers for lunch the next day and the longer the flavors meld together, the better it tasted).
All in all the food was a solid 3.75 stars. Service bumped Junkabob up to a solid 4 stars. The servers were very attentive and helpful in choosing dishes. Water was always refilled and they were also helpful in ensuring that we had all that we needed. She even reminded us that we could use the little pail for the bones from the galbi.
I will definitely be back. For around $ 45, we had more than enough good. If you decided to get the Piglet between too people, I suggest getting the rice over the stews because it was definitely more flavorful. Remember there is also banchan.
I hear this place can get busy but I say any weekday evening is safe and you should encounter no problems.

Really great place for groups! I have come here a few times already and I am in love with their food!
So far I have tried:
1) Pork and Mushroom Stew — This is my favorite stew. They are very generous with the mushrooms they have in here.
2) Pork and Potato Stew — I love this one because it comes with purple potatoes. Pretty unique and very hearty. With all the stews you get plenty of pork and the broth is really amazing.
3) Pork and Seafood Stew — The seafood is a bit much so this is for people who can truly appreciate all the seafood they have in there. There are mussels, crab, and shrimp
4) Pork Kimchi and Cheese Rice — This rice is so addicting and the kimchi flavor isn’t too overwhelming. The cheese is a very nice addition to this freshly cooked rice dish!
5) Seafood Green Onion Pancake — Along with the previous item, I also love getting this item. I don’t know if I could ever make it the same but I enjoy this item a lot. The pancake includes shrimp and octopus, and the texture has a crunch outside with a soft texture inside. Perfection! :)
6) Kalbi Pork Rib — Love the ribs as well. I have tried Mild and Garlic flavors so far, and you can’t go wrong with either. There is plenty of meat on the bone and these ribs are so flavorful!
It can be pricey here, and easily be $ 20 – 25 a person for lunch so I recommend coming in a group so you can try everything. The drinks are pricey too; my jasmine tea ginger ale was $ 4 though I know you can get it cheaper at BevMo. Overall, we love this place, but just make sure you bring a big group and a big appetite! :)

Parking in this plaza could be difficult if you come at the wrong time, but if you aren’t looking for princess parking, it could be a quick find. There were still plenty of tables available on a Friday at 7 PM sharp, but as the night progressed, it was packed. Service was fast as I was surprised to see how quickly our food came out.
My friend and I ordered the piglet combo to share. A small size would be $ 19.99, but for another $ 9 (totaling up to $ 28.99), you could get a large like we did. Lunch is only a dollar cheaper. You have the option of either a stew or a hotstone, each provided with a small BBQ. We ordered a mild pork & potato stew along with a garlic kalbi pork rib. Our two friends got the same soup with a mild kalbi pork rib. Since the large is meant for two people, each order comes with two bowls of purple rice! (I’m one of those people who like it, because purple makes it more fun to eat.)
The pork & potato stew was rather delicious. The soup was warm and tasty, and the pork was very tender. It comes with so much meat that we had to take it home. However, I would say that the potato, itself, lacks flavor. Next time, I would probably try the potato & sausage stew instead.
As for the kalbi pork ribs, both were delicious, but I would have to say that I preferred the mild more than the garlic. Although the garlic calmed the craving for salty food, there were pieces that weren’t seasoned enough, causing it to taste plain. The mild kalbi pork ribs, on the other hand, had a killer, on point, satisfying, flavor. It was not something I expected from a simple description of «mild».
Overall, it is a great place to eat all year round, especially winter.

Came here on a Thursday night and was seated promptly.
Mouth was already salivating upon seeing what the other tables was feasting upon. Decided upon the pork and mushroom stew along with the pork and cheese kimchi fried rice and the kalibi ribs.
Everything was delicious, and the banchans were some of the best I had. The ribs were def a thicker cut the most places and the meat was tender and flavorful. The kimchi fried rice mixed with cheese was also an awesome combo. The cheese and the kimchi flavored mixed really well! The stew was also delicious filled with a huge piece of pork with three types of mushroom and assortment of vegetables. Def do try one of their craft sodas (got the black cherry Coke) as it compliments the meal really well.
Service was top notch, will def be back after my 23 Rd attempt at sticking to my diet plan.

Food: pork kimchi & cheese rice. The food was decent, it was served in a stone pot. It does get spicy when you eat it overtime.
Food rating: 3.5÷5
Service: the service here is quick and good.
Service rating: ⁴⁄₅
Price: expect to pay about $ 13 per entry
Overall: the food here is decent with pretty good service.

KIMCHI. CHEESE. FRIED. RICE.
YOU MUST GET IT!
This was my second visit to the location and I will definitely be coming back!
FOOD: was amazing!
We ordered the kimchi cheese fried rice and it was soooo good! +8/​10
We also ordered the small lunch portion of the pork and potato stew. Despite it being «small,» it was still more than enough for me and my SO. They also give out around 10 side dishes too! As a Korean, I definitely approved of all the side dishes because they tasted so fresh and almost like my mom’s. :)
SERVICE: was okay. There were only two other parties when I went in for lunch on a Monday but it was still difficult to get the 2 servers’ attention for water and more soup.
PARKING: was plentiful — given that it was a Monday morning.
Until next time!

Been meaning to give this place a try for about a month now. It did not disappoint my taste buds at all. I came through with a friend of mine and we were both famished. She’s a fan of Korean food too so I assumed she would like it. Couple of months ago I had tried Mokkoji and was madly hooked on their food that when this place opened up I knew I had to give it a go. I swear everything in Rowland Heights is always busy. Its in the diamond plaza and parking too can be bad but its definitely a must try.
We came through and glanced at the menu, ordered the pork stew and pork ribs. Maybe I should have asked if my friend liked pork or not… oh wells too late. Turns out she did so that worked. The pork stew with potatoes was so flavorful. I was in dire need of some stew since I have to fend for myself for the time being loll. The broth was marvelous and so tasty. The potatoes were a bit much and filled me up quick but they were on point. The pork meat was tender and very delicious. The pork ribs were so good too. As for the side dishes, nothing beats this place. They serve some pretty fresh side dishes. Some Korean places I’ve been too have the dishes but they taste all stale and nasty but Junkabok definitely delivers in that category too.
Overall this place is solid for me. My friend really love it too so that works. We came through on a week day and it was a bit busy already, I can’t imagine how the weekends must be. Service was super nice and the ambiance was warm and friendly. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ chance I’d return to this place no doubt.
PS I’m still dreaming about the stew!
PPS huge portions!

Came on a Friday night and not surprised to see it pretty crowded. But luckily, service was fast and it turned out only to be about a 15ish minute wait.
My friend and I shared a combo with mild pork ribs and tofu & pork soup. We also ordered the squid fried rice a la carte. Our waiter suggested we add cheese, which initially I was skeptical about because cheese doesn’t go well with seafood, but it didn’t affect it too much. Actually, I’m glad it made the whole dish less spicy (since I can’t handle too much spice).
Everything separately tasted amazing, but when eaten altogether, there were too many flavors competing against each other. All 3 dishes had varying levels of spice, but at one point, my mouth was on fire lol. I needed to add more regular rice to balance it all out. My friend didn’t have this problem though, so it’s just me being overly sensitive.
They do have a great selection of banchan, such as seaweed, cucumbers, bean sprouts, potato salad, etc. I recommend taking a few bites of the cold dishes throughout the meal to also help balance the flavors out better.
As mentioned earlier, service was on point. I’ll be back to try their other combos and menu items!

Came here for lunch and was surprised with the big portions!
No one was here besides our party so service was quick and attentive.
I tried the pork and potato stew and it was super flavorful. It was a big portion so I had leftovers.
My friend got the regular size and that portion was even bigger.

Second visit on a Friday night and came with a bigger group this time too. We each got a dinner combo and then we shared a pork and kimchi fried rice with cheese (server said the cheese was a must-​get). I went with the pork and intestine stew and the pork galbi ribs, mild flavor since I got the soy and sea salt last time (almost was the servers favorite one).
Funny story to share, I knew that the table of four wasn’t going to fit all the food we ordered (since it barely fit the 3 of us last time). We saw that a table of 8 was opened so we asked if we could move there to get more space. The server laughed and said, you guys can’t move right now, maybe if it was after 9pm, it would be okay. We all look down at our phones, 8:55pm. Luckily the server came back realizing what he just said and let us move. The table for 8 barely fit our food as is, I can’t imagine how bad it would have been if we stayed at the same table.
Back onto the food, the pork and kimchi fried rice with cheese was amazing, I think I would be able to eat this on my own with the ribs. I got the pork and intestine stew since I was craving for some intestines. Really enjoyed it in the beginning, but towards the end, the innards of the intestines got all in the soup, so I didn’t drink all the soup. Favorite dish of the night for sure was the mild pork galbi ribs, much more flavor than the soy and sea salt (although those were both good as well). Will definitely be getting the mild moving forward.
Service was still great throughout the night, really appreciate how attentive they were. Next time, I’ll be getting the fire squid rice and ribs combo for sure, I think I can go without the stews for now.

Came here for an early lunch on Sunday at 12pm and thank goodness we came at that time! There was no wait for a table for 3, but by the time we left (around 1pm) there was a line out the door! And the restaurant is pretty small so I’m assuming the wait was pretty long.
Things we ordered:
The spicy kalbi pork ribs (⁵⁄₅). WOW. SO MUCH FLAVOR!!! I am sososos glad we ordered this. Me and my two girlfriends devoured this. It was juicy, super flavorful, and the perfect amount of spice. I’m salivating right now.
The pork and potato stew (3.5÷5). We ordered this since it seems to be a very popular dish. Maybe I just wasn’t craving this soupy type dish during a hot day, but I thought the dish was just okay, nothing amazing. It soup was very flavorful and had a good kick to it, but I also felt like I was swimming in MSG. The pork was very tender and fell of the bone easily.
The Kimchi Fried rice w/​cheese. (4.5÷5) ANOTHER WOW! I love kimchi fried rice in general (who doesnt???) But the cheese added a whole other dimension. The rice had a perfect mixture of crunchy yet cheesy and spicy all at once. It was like a korean party explosion in my mouth. Definite must order.
Service was a ²⁄₅ that day. There was about 3 people running the show and the service was pretty sloww. We had to ask multiple times for water, utensils, and even the check! I definitely think they should hire more workers.
Prices are reasonable, but much cheaper at lunch. (20% off the entrée dishes) compared to dinner prices.
Moral of the story: definitely must stop by! But try to come during non-​busy hours around lunch! :P

Located in the Diamond Bar Plaza. It’s all the way near the end of the plaza, near Gen KBBQ.
Parking is a hassle on a weekend. May the odds be ever in your favor of finding a parking space. It took me over 40 minutes to find a parking space on a Saturday night. My friend and I became very hangry. It was not pretty.
The restaurant itself is pretty small, but we were able to get a table right away, which is surprising. Guess they are still new. Good for us, we couldn’t wait to get seated and have our order taken. We ordered the Dinner for 2, and upgraded to regular size for another $ 8. Totally worth. Got the Pork & Potato Soup (Large) with the Kalbi Short Ribs (6 pieces). The soup was okay, tasted like soybean soup. Kind of wish the potato was a bit softer though. As for the Ribs, they were amazing. It’s so tender and packed with flavor. I ate all the ribs before touching my soup. BTW don’t come here for a date, it’s not pretty when you are eating the ribs. I’m just being honest, it was not pretty when I was eating it .
As for service, they could work on it a bit more. It was hard to get someone’s attention to refill our water and other needs. Also, one of the waiters gave us a bit of attitude when we asked for another round of BanChan sides. I’m sorry we are hungry people. –_​-​” Other than that, it was a good experience. My friend and I had major food coma after finishing everything.

I wish Unilocal made it so we can put half stars because this place really is 4 ½. I’m a big fan of Mokkoji so when I heard they opened a Korean style restaurant, I knew it was next on list of places to try. I came on a Thursday night around 7PM and was seated right away. Junkabok was off to a good start. I came here expecting to wait close to an hour because that’s typically how long the wait for the Mokkoji in Irvine is. The staff was incredibly friendly and is eager to explain the menu to you if you have any questions.
All orders come with ban chans and you can request for a bowl of rice. Their ban chans are ON POINT. There wasn’t any kim chi, but no complaints here. Every single dish was delicious. The rice isn’t your typical white rice. It is what I believe is Japgokbap (all you Koreans out there, correct me if I’m wrong). It’s pretty much a purple multigrain rice. It complimented my sea salt kalbi really well. My friend ordered the soy salt kalbi. Both were very flavorful, but I felt like the soy kalbi was more moist. My third friend was the smartest one and ordered the combo. It came with a soon du bu like hot bot and a side of kalbi (or fish if you want).
The reason why I can’t give this place the full 5 stars is because of their prices. The plate of kalbi itself was $ 15.99 and the combo was 19.99. The prices for these dishes are cheaper during lunch (I believe the combo is 15.99) so I suggest people who want to dine on a budget, come during then!
Overall this place was great. I definitely see myself coming back with more friends.