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Arirang Korean Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Korean Korean [Edit]
32 W 32nd St3rd Fl
(between 5th Ave & Broadway)
New York, NY 10001
Neighborhoods: Midtown West, Koreatown
(212) 967-5088
- Nearest Transit:
-
34 St - Herald Sq (B, D, F, M, N, Q, R)
28 St (N, R)
34 St - Penn Station (1, 2, 3)
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 12 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
218 reviews for Arirang Korean Restaurant
Review Highlights
-
"The dough flakes themselves are simply addictive." In 60 reviews -
"but they have the BEST SEAFOOD PANCAKE in nyc." In 40 reviews -
"Perfect comfort food at a very reasonable price." In 16 reviews
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218 reviews in English
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Review from Allen Y.
Cambridge, MA
5/24/2012
After all my trips to KTown going to the usual suspects, I decided to actually Yelp the street and see what places other people liked...and I'm glad I did, because I would never have found Arirang otherwise!
The restaurant is hidden on an upper floor of a building, so you can see it from across the street but you would generally miss it if you were walking by the actual building. After you go up a sketchy, narrow staircase, you end up in a fairly neat restaurant with maybe a dozen to a dozen and a half tables.
The menu is a lot simpler than other KTown places and focuses on their specialty: the long noodles and the dough flakes. I got the seafood long noodles, and I have to say that the noodles themselves were really good (and I'm not even a big noodle person!). There was a liberal amount of seafood chunks in the delicious broth, and I couldn't even finish the whole bowl of soup at the end! All this for an affordable price of ~$13-14 post-tax and tip! I would definitely come back w/ friends looking for good food.
(Also, their kimchi is some of the best kimchi I've had in KTown!!) -
Review from Judd L.
4/24/2012 14 photos
SPICY PORK STEW NOT... MORE LIKE PORK NECK BONES
What seemed like a real bargain for a huge hot pot of spicy pork stew for $31.99 with two banchans seemed irresistable. Ha ha is on me. Turns out to be a very spicy deal alright. How about a big pot of boiled pork neck bones. Also included a dish of kalguksu better known as knife noodle (not my wife's favorite). Looking back, I did most of the pork bone picking.
I would have given out a three star but for some strange reason our order got lost on the kitchen's shuffle board. If it wasn't because we waited so long for a table, I would have walked out of here. Place is unbelievably busy even during the late evening. To me the best part of the visit was seeing the wall drawings in the stairwell. This is the first restaurant for me where the owner actually has an office desk on the floor of the restaurant. Reminded me of getting a visa at a third world airport.
Oh yes, we met another fellow and cool Yelper who pilots for United Airlines. Gave him some names of restaurants for him to try in the immediate area.
BTW the restaurant does have an elevator. But, you're better off to take the stairwell. I think the elevator requires a pocket full of quarters to make it go up. I think the guy behind the desk has a switch to control the power to the elevator. LoL -
Review from Tiffany T.
Manhattan, NY
4/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place is hard to find, it's the little door on the left of "32 W. 32nd Street". Take the tiny elevator up to the 3rd floor. Their menu is basic: Hand-made long noodles, knife noodles or combo w/ your choice of Chicken, Anchovy, Vegetable or Kimchee Seafood. Banchan included Kimchee and Radish. The noodles came out in a huge steamy bowl. The chicken kar-jeabe was soothing, broth was not very strong and the bowl had very few pieces of shredded white meat chicken. The seafood kar-jeabe came in a spicy kimchee broth. More flavorful, not too spicy, and came with juicy pieces of cut up octopus, a couple shrivelled mussels, shrimp, squid and one clam.
There is a special on their website that you can access with your phone for 1/2 off the kimchee pancake. I didn't think it was really worth it, maybe if it was for the seafood pancake..? (which they won't do, haha I asked). The kimchee pancake was large, with the crust crispy but the middle section doughy. Plus kimchee banchan, kimchee noodle and kimchee pancake was overload. -
Review from Claire F.
3/31/2012 1 Check-in Here
After reading the racing reviews on this secret hideaway I had stellar expectations. However after I got the seafood pajun I was really turned off. Too oily nothing special. Bland sauce. What is the deal here?
I'm giving it one more shot next time to try their noodle soup which this place is known for. -
Review from Gloria H.
Bookmarked this place after reading all the great reviews and made a point to eat here. It wasn't an easy task since the restaurant is well hidden up in a building. We walked by a few times, walked in to one restaurant by mistake before we found the entrance leading to the elevator. The elevator ride itself was interesting - so small and slow.
We were the first customers so we had our choice of seats. What we had:
Seafood with handmade long-noodle - cuttlefish, clam, shrimp, spinach. mixed seafood - $10.99 - ok, the soup was too thick for my liking
Seafood Pancake - $13.99 - a bit oily, also thinner than most places we have tried. Also, they only had very little calamari and some green onion - there were no other ingredients.
It was ok, we were a bit disappointed.Listed in: All things Korean
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Review from Harrison K.
Richmond, VA
3/18/2012
EXPERIENCE: 1/13/12 20:58
A friend and I caved to Yelp reviews and managed to find Arirang atop a creepy stairwell on the 3rd floor of a building that I believe was part of an apartment building. We were the only non-Korean patrons at the time and had a short wait in the awkward stairwell carefully dodging tenants. Once an opening was available we were quickly seated and tended to.
We each got the seafood bowls with handmade noodles that everyone raved about and decided to split the seafood pancake, which was also raved about.
***Spoiler alert, there isn't much to rave about.***
The noodle bowls was loaded with mussels, oysters, calamari, plump noodles, and a couple beady-eyed crawfish. At $10.99 this is a huge value, but ultimately it only satisfied our stomachs not our senses as it was void of flavor.
The seafood pancake followed suit with the noodle bowl as it also pretty flavorless and very filling for just $13.99. The biggest drawback with the pancake was that it was incredibly saturated with grease and had very little calamari, let alone other seafood.
AFTERMATH:
Now, I'm not going to point fingers, but within 5 minutes of leaving Arirang, my bowels went to DEFCON 1. It wasn't a nuclear attack, but it was "imminent." The affect of something I ate resulted in the most dire 15 block walk I've ever endured. I will spare you further details, but watching Dumb and Dumber should fill in the blanks.
PRO:
- Value
- Price
- Staff - They were nice to us
- Lethal Portions
CON:
- Lethal Portions
- Weak on Flavor
- Waiting in very narrow, busy stairwell
- YOU CANNOT FLUSH TOILET PAPER DOWN THEIR TOILET, so pray you make it home without any problems
BOTTOM LINE: If you're a starving student; this is better than microwave Ramen, but you may have to miss class the next day. -
Review from Felicia K.
Bloomfield, NJ
I'm vaguely amused by how the waitresses at nearly all Korean places in Manhattan are vaguely amused by and worried for the non-Asian people who come to eat in their establishments. At another place we went to, the waitress flat out told my fiance that he would not like what he was ordering. Little did she know that he eats nearly anything, including gelatinous fish balls and frogs and other potentially unsavory items.
In any case, we sort of got that treatment here, although it leaned more towards the "worried for" rather than than "amused by" variety. We ended up with the chicken and veggie shabu shabu, which I believe is an originally Japanese dish anyway, along with a delicious Korean-style pancake. Wow, that plate of veggies for the shabu shabu was about the size of a sombrero, and shaped like one too. An entire chicken, albeit small, also disappeared into the pot, along with noodles at the end. The meal was grand, and the beers cold, although being sourced from a limited variety. Perfect for a warming, filling winter meal. -
Review from Yan T.
3/16/2012 1 Check-in Here
It's very easy to miss this place as it's on the 3rd floor of one of those K-Town "stacks" where they seem to fit 5 restaurants, 4 underground bars 3 massage parlors, and 6 karaoke joints (rough estimate). The specialty here is their house-made noodles, which are incorporated into a number of ridiculously large-serving soup dishes.
I liked that the menu options are relatively contained in comparison to some of the other K-Town joints. We started with a kimchi pancake, which came 1/2 off courtesy of Arirang's website coupon. It was really rich and chewy, basically a thick fried rice crepe. If you're going to get one, try the seafood version, though the kimchi is not bad. We all got the giant noodle soups. I went with the spicy seafood combo. It was full of generous chunks of squid (cuttlefish), shrimp, clams, and some other forms of sea life that were pretty fresh and firm on the tooth. The spice level was mild-medium for my taste.
Overall, not a bad place and I'd come back try a hot pot. The portions are just way too big to be manageable. Try getting through half by yourself! -
Review from carlie c.
2/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
Grab a bunch of friends and come to Arirang to order the Chicken Ginseng Soup special. It's a little hike up the stairs on the third floor, but definitely worth your while. This piping hot pot comes out and the waiter pours vegetables then noodles in your chicken soup. The noodles are handpulled and comes in two varieties.
*Tip: Add the Kimchi to your soup to give it a kick.Listed in: places i heart in nyc
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Review from Phil L.
4/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
Came here on a Friday night on a whim after being told we had to wait an hour to eat at Pasha 32. Was seriously craving some meat but I guess on a cold night noodles and soup would do. The service was not particularly attentive and we were seated at a four top and to separate us from the other two individuals they put up what appeared to me to be two book ends. Not exactly the most ideal situation and definitely not cool when you can clearly understand everything they are saying. Noodles were a little overcooked and the broth was pretty ho hum. I think you can get a better bowl of noodles elsewhere.
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Review from Connie A.
East Orange, NJ
3/2/2012
I love Arirang!! To be honest, I'm a very cheap person (haha). I feel like I get my money worth when I come to Arirang. The handmade noodles is sooo good! A huge, and I mean HUGE (yes, that's what she said) bowl of noodle soup is worth the money I spend. The kimchi pancake is so big! I've had kimchi pancake at other Korean restaurants (in Jersey) and they were small and overpriced. But at Arirang, they do not disappoint their customers.
The staff are good. I received great service. I must say, it is tricky finding the entrance and going to the 3rd floor. But once the elevator doors open, you are walking into Korean food Heaven ^^ -
Review from Tiffany K.
Astoria, Queens, NY
3/26/2012
To.. S.K.
Hi
Since I'm a BIG fan of Arirang and as far as I know, they don't have a barbeque memu. I think ur confusing with NY Kom Tang on 1st and 2nd floor.
Thanks. -
Review from Lyn C.
New York, NY
3/13/2012 1 Check-in Here
The food was so-so. Or maybe it was tarnished by being treated rudely by the waitress. We only ordered 2 things from the menu for 3 people because we can barely finish a bowl.
We asked for water, twice, the waitress rudely ignored us (no, she heard us and came to our table BEFORE we asked for the water) and kept staring at us the whole time like she couldn't believe we wanted water! It wasn't like we didn't order drinks for the 3 of us.
We weren't rude at all to her in the beginning. I decided to give her a 10% tip and not surprisingly, she was not happy with it an started a fight with me. Yes, a full-blown argument.
Can anyone tell me, is it not allowed to share a bowl between two people? If it was, they should have told us politely. Instead of ignoring our requests for water and an extra spoon and bowl. We were POLITE when we were asking for these things. I don't what her problem was, it wasn't like we walked in the restaurant smelling like alcohol and screaming like wackos.
She called me on the small tip and I called her on her bad service. In the end she got her tip.
Horrible. -
Review from Ah-Hyun C.
New York, NY
4/22/2012
3.5 stars. Every now and then I get a hunkering for some kalguksu, or thick flour noodles served in a thick broth with veggies, particularly on rainy days. When that mood strikes, the place to go is Arirang, which specializes in this dish. The place is a bit of a hole-in-the-wall and super casual but is more reminiscent to neighborhood restaurants in Korea. The chicken kalgajebi is my favorite (noodles + flour dough flakes). I also love the kimchi pancakes here - love the rice cakes in them - it's the small things in life. Oh and the kimchi here is great, perfect complement to the broth.
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Review from Monica J.
2/19/2012
Please sir, can I have some more? SERIOUSLY!
Came here with a couple of malaysian girls, a thai girl and a genuine Texas girl for an early dinner. The place was a little difficult to find - as is any place in K-Town but when we finally found it and made our way to the third floor we were happily surprised with a bright, clean restaurant with ample space and ONLY ASIANS (thats my meter stick for how good the place is going to be)
They had a barley and corn tea ready for us at the table which was lukewarm -meh, and really not my favourite flavor of tea. They didn't refill it until we asked and at that point brought out a pitcher with ice cold tea - which is exactly what we needed with all the deliciously spicy goodness. They also set out an assortment of pickles - including kimchi and I think potatoes. You don't have to ask me twice to eat kimchi, love that stuff, could eat it everyday. Nom!
Two of the girls and I ordered the spicy chicken stew that was listed for two and one of them also ordered another dish on the side. The remaining two girls each ordered their own soups.
Our big soup "for two" came out first in a gigantic pot which the waiter cooked at our table. Literally, I think we finished about half of it. It could have fed the entire table! Most of the girls individual dishes also ended up being only half eaten. Let's be clear, that is not an indicator of the quality of the dish, only the quantity.
I stuffed myself full of soup and veggies and chicken and still couldn't finish. Soooo good.
Ok also, be warned, this is a korean place, not an americanized korean place. This means - you guessed it - weird pieces of meat. I am a white meat kinda gal so upon first glance I almost dismissed the meat altogether but so glad I didn't. Oh boy, the chicken was perfectly moist and amazingly seasoned. SO GOOD! I have had plenty of dark meat that has left a weird taste in my mouth (no intended double entendres going on here, I am speaking strictly food) but this was some seriously well cooked meat. Mmmmm.... I want some more right now!
Oh right, they also hand make their noodles. F*CKING DELICIOUS. The texture and level of cooked-ness was perfect.
And I, of course, love spicy food. My friends had to ask for extra napkins bc their noses started running, but personally I could have used a little bit more spice... but I'm not complaining.
None of us got drinks aside from the complimentary tea and my grand total came out to $13. WOW. Blown away.
Don't come here for the service because, although they are friendly, they are a bit inattentive. However, if you're looking for a good korean noodle place, look no further. -
Review from Anita C.
4/16/2012 1 Check-in Here
We ordered Korean handmade noodles with soup. And Kimchi pancake. The noodles in the noodle soup seemed very very soggy. Perhaps that is the style, but I was not a fan. The soup is also a bit bland as well. The kimchi pancake was great though and I would highly recommend getting one if you were here.
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Review from Isabelle Z.
Albertson, NY
1/29/2012 1 photo
BEST, KALGUKSOO/SUJAEBI in new york! It's the best when you eat this on a very cold, windy day, and the soup just warms up every part of your body... :)
The handmade noodles are cooked to perfection, with a texture that's both chewable and swallow-able. The soup is not too salty, and tastes very unique (different from the kalguksoo's I have had before). The sujaebi is soooo addicting, and it's so chewy! I love it!
AND, the portions are HUGE...definitely worth all the money that you spend here.
I would have never know about this place, if my friend had not relied on yelp in order to find good and awesome Korean food in Ktown... (thanks friend).
I will definitely go back again and again and again.... total fan now! :) -
Review from Tianjiao G.
Troy, NY
3/5/2012
Only tried their seafood noodle. the noodles are hand made. the soup is just soso. Overall i m not a huge fan of it. maybe because i m not a korean.
3 stars given only to their noodle. -
Review from Heather T.
Brooklyn, NY
1/15/2012
After a photography exhibition at a coffee shop near Madison Avenue, I headed to Korea town with some filmmakers (and the photographer whose show we were at). We all went for kimchee cakes to share and the specialty - soup.
I had the seafood combo which is a combination of long noodles and "dough flakes" which are square flat noodles. I liked the noodles but there was way too much broth and the squid was a bit overcooked. I'd try it again mainly because I was jet lagged and food never tastes quite right when you are out of sorts. So I'll reserve my main judgement for another time but will rate it 3 stars for my experience that night. -
Review from Holly C.
1/7/2012
4.5-5 stars
One of the better Korean restaurants in Ktown. The service is fast, food is great, selection of food is pretty decent... and it's open until the wee hours of the morning. I've had hwae mul pahjun (seafood pancake), spicy jogae tang (clam stew), kalbi, and a bunch of other dishes & have always enjoyed it. They give good banchan (side dishes) as well. Service is good & not rude (even when most waiters & waitresses are at their ends wit late at night with the drunken crowd).Listed in: Restaurants (NY)
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Review from Valerie L.
New York, NY
1/6/2012
It's one of the friendliest Korean restaurants in NYC, though that might not be saying much.
After a slightly humiliating debacle at Kun Jip (and a prideful determination to never return--we'll see how that goes), I needed a new place to get my Korean fix.
My friend invited me to Arirang, an obscure little spot on the 3rd floor of a building. Once you find your way in, you're set. This is quintessential comfort food packed with spice and flavor. Their "dough flakes" are like thick dumpling skins, surprisingly filling with a great texture. Their soups are enormous, ideal for sharing, and mine actually gave me three meals for the week. I went with the spicy seafood noodle soup with dough flakes, mm mm good.
The only cons: everything comes in metal containers which leaves a slightly metallic taste. The cups and bowls are all metal. Also, the side dishes are minimal and not as impressive as other restaurants in the area.
But a big pro, aside from the generous size and quality of the food, is how a woman I'm assuming is the owner came out and greeted each table. Even though we didn't speak a lick of Korean, she humorously chastised us for not finishing our food and packed up everything herself.
It's times like these I wish I were Korean, so I could tell her "Thank you for not chasing me out for not tipping even though I did tip like that other Korean restaurant-that-shall-not-be-named and I really enjoyed the food here."
But you know, a nod and a smile will do. -
Review from Hong L.
1/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
During the winter, this is a favorite spot because of their enormous soup bowls and their homemade flaky dough noodles. It keeps drawing me in.
What is great is that recently Arirang put up their official website. I recently signed up and received a 10% off for the whole meal as well as 50% off their kimchi pancake. An additional plus.
My group of friends go and usually get a seafood pancake (6 pieces) and I usually get their seafood flaky dough and long noodle soup bowl. The soup bowl is packed with seafood and noodles and soup that I find that I have to share with a friend or two because i can't finish it. -
Review from Mel S.
Mountain View, CA
4/5/2012
Found this place on Yelp, decided to give it a try! It's really good, great handcut noodles and delicious thin kimchi pancake! I can't to go back again! Portions are decent for two ppl so you can easily share! Friendly staff and overall great!
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Review from Tiffany L.
New York, NY
1/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
3.5 stars. But I'm rounding down because it's a little inflated at 4 stars right now. I came with the hubby and his korean family to this small, 3rd floor restaurant, on Sunday for lunch. I appreciated how there was no wait, and they were able to seat our large party so quickly. The kimchee was good, but other than that, there were no other small dishes (panchan) offered. We ordered both the seafood pajun and kimchee pajun, which were both good. Then our party shared several of the noodle soups.
The Chicken Sujeabe With Handmade Dough Flakes (chicken, potato, onion, green onion) had a tasty broth, and the dough flakes (almost like chinese knife cut noodles) were a great texture. My one complaint is that there was barely any chicken in it - maybe about 3 small pieces.
The Seafood With Handmade Long-Noodle (cuttlefish, clam, shrimp, spinach. mixed seafood) was tastier and had more vegetables and meats. I'd order this again.
The noodles soups are about $10 a bowl, so very reasonably priced for k-town. However, if I'm ever craving a noodle soup in the future, I think Chinatown still has k-town beat! -
Review from Valerie G.
New York, NY
12/21/2011
YAYYYY I love this place!
Having bookmarked it for a while I finally had a chance to try it out the other night w/ Jimmy C.! We walked down 32nd st with my 5'2" self scanning all the upper floors of the building for the Arirang sign. It's located on the 3rd floor (the 2nd floor houses some restaurant with amazing smelling KBBQ... omgah). We came around 8:30ish and were immediately seated.
The menu is quite simple with the left side displaying all the noodle dishes and the right side with all the extras. Dude, the portion sizes here are laaarge. We ordered a bowl of the Seafood mixed noodles (DOUGH FLAKES...uh maaayyyy zhingggggg) and a seafood pancake - thinking that we didn't want to stuff ourselves but dang when that bowl came out, I knew we were in trouble.
Banchan was standard fare of kimchi + radishes. The seafood pancake was really big and nice and thick. But can we get to the noodles now? The noodles were the perrrrrrfect consistency. Doughy, chewy, and all around delicious. The broth wasn't too overpowering (actually I wish it was a tad more flavorful), and there was a ton of seafood inside there so they def don't cheap out! The dough flakes were def my fave part of the meal and the entire place was very reminiscent of homestyle Korean cooking.
Bottom line - come here and bring a friend to share or else you'll be going home with 2 extra meals and 2 extra notches on your belt!Listed in: My Faves!
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Review from Ravi J.
11/7/2011
Samgyetang, people, samgyetang!
I am surprised that so few reviewers here talk about Arirang's take on the hard-to-find delicacy of samgyetang (chicken ginseng soup). I can't think of a better cold weather cure (or sneeze-and-sniffle remedy) than samgyetang. Imagine piping hot chicken broth, spiked with generous cuts of whole ginseng (which is expensive: hence the $18 price tag per soup), sweet rehydrated dates, red mushrooms, and a mini chicken stuffed to the skin with glutinous rice and you have Arirang's version of samgyetang.
It was super delicious in that healthy-food sort of way. The flavors are light and medicinal tasting, and the experience is restorative.
The excessive personality in me did crave for a little more bite from the ginseng. I also thought the broth was a little too lipidy for a sick person's soup (must have been due to all that glorious chicken skin/fat, being reduced). But I liked it. And I felt fantastic afterwards -- must've been all that ginseng! -
Review from Christina T.
Manhattan, NY
1/18/2012
I've come here twice, and decided that this place is only worth it for the chicken noodle soup. (The first three dishes on the menu). Once I came here with my friends after a freezing concert, and they were sold out of the chicken soup so we settled for other menu items. Definitely not as great. I'm personally more a fan of the regular handmade noodles than the dough flakes, but I know people who looove them. I will probably only come back for the chicken noodle soup. Portions are HUGE, and usually last another 2 more meals after I take home leftovers. Mind you, my stomach is also usually filled to the brim by the time I force myself to put down my spoon & chopsticks.
Let me know if you laugh at the artwork on the wall. -
Review from Jeannie H.
Boston, MA
11/26/2011
ATMOSPHERE - It's on the 3rd floor but easily accessible by elevator. The place is clean, comfortable, spartan. There were murals on the walls, paper plates advertising specials etc.
SERVICE - Very fast and friendly. I love family run businesses. Grandma proudly brought her 2 granddaughters to our table to say hello. It was adorable.
FOOD - We ordered 2 items for the 2 of us - seafood pancake and bowl of mixed noodles in anchovy soup. $25 later, we were stuffed beyond belief and could not finish the pancake. The soup had a mix of hand made long noodles and what they call dough flakes. Next time, I'm just going to have an entire bowl of dough flakes. They remind me of Chinese knife cut noodles - thick, wide, chewy, delicious. She tried to explain to me how they make the dough flakes (her broken English and my lack of Korean language knowledge) and I gather there is some wooden tool involved. The broth was a little salty so next time I might opt for something other than anchovies.
This is one of the best Korean restaurants I've ever eaten at and I would definitely return. -
Review from Jenny S.
10/28/2011 4 photos
SEAFOOD PANCAKE & DOUGH FLAKES & DELICIOUS FREE BARLEY TEA INSTEAD OF WATER!
arirang was so hard to find! NOTE: its actually one of the upstairs shops in k-town & you get there through a side stair or elevator
they don't provide much banchan here, just the minimal kimchi & radishes, but we still walked out of there STUFFED
-----seafood pancake: think 6-slice pizza, ITS HUGE, way too much to share w/ two ppl if both ppl are getting their own entrees! liked the crispyness & flavor!!
-----Seafood SuJeabe w/ handmade dough flakes: soup was GOOD, the flakes are basically noodles but flattened out into irregular frisbee shapes.. chewy but if you don't eat em right away they get SOGGY... the soup bowls are HUGEMUNGO so share!!
staff was so nice!! but totally underestimated our ability to handle spicyness, so don't hesitate if you can handle the heat!Listed in: NYC's K-TOWN or should i say…
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Review from Yuansheng T.
East Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
Good and cheap
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Review from Jennifer L.
New York, NY
2/21/2012 2 Check-ins Here
kal. gook. su.
if you like kalgooksu (korean "knife" noodles), go here. hands down my favorite is the chicken kalgooksu, a HUGE bowl of deliciously chewy thick handmade noodles in garlicky chicken broth of epic garlic proportions. oh the broth is so rich - slightly thick in a starchy way (i think it gets that way from the potatoes they boil in, which i never actually eat) and full of that nice sweet garlic aroma. i'm korean, and i'm telling you it is GARLICKY. but the nice, sweet, slightly pungent cooked garlicky, not make your eyes sting raw garlicky. which will still make your burps smell, but chew some gum, apologize to those around you, and know that it was worth it. (on a sidenote, if you get the kimchi broth, it's game over. go home afterwards and spare everyone else from your flaming kimchi garlic breath).
the noodles are amazing. i just wanted to reiterate that. as are they sujebi (cousin of the kalgooksu, which are hand-torn (vs. knife-cut) and come in flat broad pieces, which are equally chewy and delightful. i like everything better in noodle form, so i prefer the kalgooksu, but i think it's a matter of personal preference. and if you can't pick between the two, you can always get the kaljebi, which is a bowlful of both!
they have little jars of soy sauce mixes with pepper and scallions, which you can mix in with your noodles - i like to mix the noodles in with little amounts of this stuff in a separate rice bowl, and keep my broth PURE, but you can add it to the soup if you'd like. just be careful, because a little goes a long way!
oh, and if you're ever sick and in need of chicken soup - their samgaetang is the cure for the common cold. korean chicken soup is the best chicken soup. it's a massive bowl of soup made from an entire chicken stuffed with herbs, garlic, and sticky rice. it comes topped with black sesame seeds and scallions, and a side of salt to add to taste.
the only downside is that at busy times, you can end up waiting 20-30 minutes for just a bowl of noodles - but alas, that is the price you must pay sometimes for homemade noodles. thankfully, the actual prices of the food here are quite cheap, so it all kind of evens out in the time=money universe.
other things to note: no frills here - just tables set up to seat as many as possible. service is brisk and simple, side dishes are kimchi and kkakdugi. your utensils you can find in a box at the end of the table. cash is appreciated. the place itself is difficult to find (on the 3rd floor), with only a little sign on a door at the front stairwell, amongst a whole lot of other little signs. just remember, it's 32 on 32nd st - easy enough.
basically, this is a little korean comfort food place, with wonderfully comforting home-style dishes. ah, i want a bowl of kalgooksu now. -
Review from Michelle Y.
New York, NY
2/28/2012
This is real Korean comfort food.
Though hot soups like these are traditionally and masochistically eaten during the summers to confuse you into cooling down, they're delicious any time of year.
The handmade noodles here live up to its implied homemade taste.
This goes for the ddeok (rice cakes) as well.
Ban chan (side dishes) were kakdugi (spicy pickled white radish) and kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage) but they weren't anything to rave about.
But of course, I save these guys for adding into my soups.
Between two people, we ordered the ddeok mandoo gook (rice cake dumpling soup) and the kimchi hwemul kaljaebee (spicy seafood knife and hand pulled noodles).
You better come here hungry because these soups are huge!
Regarding the ddeok mando gook, the mandoo were enormous, plentiful ddeok, shredded chicken and the garlic chicken broth seemed to alleviate any ailments I had. Refreshing.
I was surprised the broth was chicken as this dish is usually made with beef, however, it was a very delicious surprise.
The kaljaebee (both knife and hand pulled) noodles were tearjerkingly tender and fresh. The broth was rich in its level of spiciness and was riddled with copious amounts of seafood: shrimp, clam, mussel, octopus, squid.
The sweating burns so good.
We also ordered the kimchi pajeon (spicy vegetable pancake) which is a must and be warned, it is a very generous serving and so it costs more than the noodle soups.
It's crisp all around with happy little slices of ddeok pinwheeled in the center.
The service is super friendly and helpful.
Our server was hilarious as he talked me out of ordering the samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) for myself as it's apparently a full meal for two, easy for three.
Fortunately, the elevator was working so I didn't have to deal with stairs.
Gotta go back for the samgyetang!
FOOD_: Just how mama makes it
VALUE_: Big portions, smallish price
ATMOSPHERE_: Questionable folkish decor
CUSTOMER SERVICE_: Attentive, cheery and nice -
Review from Geoffrey B.
New York, NY
11/5/2011 2 photos
Arirang really reminded me of a small restaurant I frequented when I lived in Korea! The folksy painted murals and overall casual ambience really contrasted to grittiness often seen in New York. I ordered chicken kalguksu and shared the kimchi jun with others (even though I wanted to dive head-first in it)...
The chicken kalguksu was HUGE and I'm glad I shared it with one other person. The noodles were delicious and the broth made me home sick. However, my friend ordered the dough flakes and I much preferred the flakes to the noodles. The kimchi jun looked like a margherita pizza, and the dduk (rice cake) in it was a nice, albeit unusual touch. So delicious. I am definitely coming back again during a cold day~
Note: If you go on the website, there is a coupon for 1/2 off of the kimchi jun! -
Review from Florence Y.
Brooklyn, NY
Call me ignorant but I never knew Koreans did noodles! A friend wanted soupy noodles but not ramen, so I yelped for help and found this secret gem!
The portions are hugeeeeeee...the noodles came in bowls the size of face basins! My friend had the spicy noodles and polished it all up. I had myself the ginseng spring chicken soup which was really...'bland' in the good healthy way. I am drooling just writing this review. It took a while to prepare but so worth the wait, they stuff the chicken with rice and then boil/stew/cook it in this ginseng soup. Soooooooo good!!! It comes with salt, peppers and garlic. I just used soy sauce for the chicken. The seafood pancake was very nicely done too...alot of spring onions but I ate it anyway.
Definitely my new favorite Korean/noodle spot in the city! Oh, ginseng chicken...I am coming back for you!
Tip-bits:
Only 5 people in the elevator- skinny ones at that.
Bathroom is off to the left, by a desk/table/register?
Cold barley tea is what they serve by default, but you can ask for hot one too -
Review from Jonathan C.
New York, NY
1/2/2012
It's comfort food. This place is good all year round, but it's especially good in the winter b/c the hot broth is that much more satisfying when it's cold outside and you need something to warm your insides. I always have the same thing, sujaebi (dough chunks) in their delicious hearty, garlicky chicken broth.
Unlike other traditional Korean restaurants, they only give you one side (banchan)--kimchi. And my one complaint I have about this place is that their kimchi is consistently subpar. There's just something off about it... -
Review from Sophie Z.
San Francisco, CA
11/28/2011
Yay (ish)
-The noodles are fantastic and the portions are huge. Always a big plus in my book. The seafood broth is amazing. The chicken broth is also very flavorful, but there's not much else going on in the bowl.
-The seafood pancake is delicious, but sorely lacking in the "seafood" department
Nay
-The kimchi broth tasted like it had Campbell's tomato soup in it. Really. Plus, there was nothing else except for noodles. I didn't see a spec of kimchi in my bowl.
-The side dishes were kind of sweet. Kimchi should not be sweet. -
Review from Dennis J.
Updated - 10/23/2011
Went back with friends and was very disappointed that what was a "10 minute wait" then a "5 minute wait" became at least a 30 minute wait overall. I don't mind waiting, but I expect a semi-reasonable estimation of wait time.
Food was again okay although rather lacking in chicken. Seafood pancake was pretty good. Overall, decent value.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/20/2011
Not too bad overall. Went with a few friends on a weekend night, and the kimchi pancake was tasty,… Read more »
Comment from Chris C. of Arirang Korean Restaurant 7/25/2011
Thanks for the fair review Dennis, and hopefully don't… More » -
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Review from Terry B.
White Plains, NY
10/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
B+/A-
Great Korean noodle dishes for great affordable prices!
Probably the best "value for money" place in K-town.
Generous portions. Order just 1 order for 2 people.
Their gakdoogi radish kimchi is delicious too!
You can't go wrong with any of the noodles so don't worry about making a wrong choice here. Just order a noodle dish.
I got chicken rice porridge here for my mom when she got sick. She loved it. It was real home-cooking style.
I will come back and bring my out-of-town friends here definitely. -
Review from Eric H.
New York, NY
12/13/2011
If you're looking for comfort Korean food, come here. There isn't much variety, but what they do serve is delicious. Each of their dishes are served with handmade noodles, which come as either long noodles or dough flakes (almost shaped like raviolis with no filling). The noodles are fresh and smooth, and you can never go wrong with handmade noodles.
Korean style chicken stew: Definitely try, especially if you like spicy food. The stew has tons of flavor and has a mix of chicken thighs, wings, vegetables and handmade noodles. The chicken by itself absorbs all the flavor from the broth and is very tasty.
Chicken Kar-jeabe with handmade long-noodle & dough flakes: Again, it includes the handmade noodles and small pieces of chicken. The broth is on the thicker side, and you can really taste the chicken.
Seafood Kar-Jeabe with handmade long-noodle & dough flakes: Loaded with various kinds of seafood and handmade noodles. The broth has a bit of a smoky flavor, and although good, I thought the chicken noodle soup was better.
Although the wait isn't too bad, you may want to make a reservation since it does get crowded. -
Review from Melody H.
Manhattan, NY
10/12/2011
Solid sujaebi at Arirang. I was craving chicken soup so I got the chicken version instead of the classic anchovy version. Still a win.
Saw that they have chicken kalguksu shabu shabu and I am EXTREMELY excited. This is going to be a Rendezfoods dinner for sure!
Also, I think their samgyetang (chicken ginger rice soup) is going to be delicious. The chicken broth for the chicken sujaebi was awesome, so I'm sure the samgyetang will be good, too.
They deliver to my office on 35th! Love.
