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Chunju Han-il Kwan
Category: Restaurants Korean Korean [Edit]
3450 W 6th StSte 106
Los Angeles, CA 90020
Neighborhood: Koreatown
(213) 480-1799
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11 am - 11 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Valet
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
190 reviews for Chunju Han-il Kwan
Review Highlights
"I love the lil side dishes they have, love the Spicy B."
(in 58 reviews)
"It goes great with the purple rice."
(in 20 reviews)
"We had to try the kimchi pancake which was great."
(in 15 reviews)
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190 reviews in English
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Review from Rina L.
2/3/2012
This has made my list of Korean restaurants to visit whenever I'm in the mood for good Korean food. They have a wide-variety of Korean dishes and banchan. Everything we ordered was delicious! I would definitely recommend this place!
Some items we ordered:
- Yook geh Jang
- Boodeh Jiggae
- Duk Gook
- Bean Sprout BiBimBap (my cousin is a vegetarian and she LOVED this)
- Galbi Tang
Everything was delicious!! We once had to wait for a table of 5, and the waitress took our order while we were waiting so that when we sat down, our food was ready for us to enjoy. Yay!!
Too bad this place isn't 24 hrs. They do close at 11pm though. -
Review from Chip Y.
Los Angeles, CA
1/7/2012
the meal i had here was
my favorite of 2011. i had
the bean sprout bibimbap
with no meat (lots of vegetarian
options), kimchi pancake,
along with all their tasty
ban chan. comfort korean
food at it's best. it was so
good. -
Review from christine p.
Lake Balboa, CA
12/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
The banchan, bookuhgook, and rice here are very good.
Yul Moo Bibimbap is good too, but if you don't speak Korean you might never order it with its Soviet description: cold beets and rice.
The dwengjangjigae was a bit salty (and I love salty). And I smelled like the restaurant for the entire day. I even had to prematurely wash my hair.
This place is usually packed; I think it's because the prices are some of the best in Ktown for lunch. Two people can eat here for $20 tip included. I'd still rather go to the underrated Shin Jung next door. -
Review from SC S.
Los Angeles, CA
2/3/2012
This is one of my favorite Korean restaurants. I've been here for lunch and dinner so many times. Their banchan is out of this world, 10 dishes or more. The seafood pancake is delicious and great to share with others. I also really like their BiBimBap, so many different kinds of veggies. Of course the galbi is also really tasty too. And the staff is always very friendly. What's not to love?
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Review from Jayne L.
11/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Bibim Naengmyun Review Only.
The bibim naengmyun was too sweet. Yes, sweet. They added so much sugar in this dish and didn't even add any meat or a slice of pear for that matter.
I don't recommend anyone ordering the bibim naengmyun here.
However, don't be swayed by this review. I heard their budae chigae is really good. :)Listed in: Because I'm Korean, KTOWN, LA
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Review from Christy L.
Brea, CA
11/2/2011
This place has been around for a LOOOOONG time and that's the kind of Korean restaurants I like to eat at when I'm in K-town. The ones that actually survives this boring debt climbing recession economy tells you that they are doing something right to keep their business thriving without going into bankruptcy.
This place serves authentic korean food and not one of those wanna be fusion dishes that are slathered with ketchup mixed in with spicy red pepper sauce. No, they only use ingredients that are meant to be used for korean cooking. And the menu consists of popular dishes that pretty much can satisfy any cravings and appetite.
If you want snack food or something that goes with your soju, go to Hodori because you won't find such appetizers here. This place is for solid korean food such as stews, soups, noodles and casseroles. It's for those who want to eat a good hearty comforting Korean meal.
The waitress do not speak English very well so take someone that knows how to speak the language. Otherwise, just point and at the end of the meal, ask for the check. The side dishes are all free refills just like any other korean restaurants so ask for more! Their side dishes change so don't expect the ones you see posted on Yelp. -
Review from Howard T.
10/12/2011
Chunju is one of my favorite lunch stops whenever I'm out in Ktown. You get more for your money and the food quality is excellent. Its a nice change from the AYCEs.
I love this place for the banchan variety. You really can't go wrong with any of the meat dishes. A decent meal will cost you about $10. Heck, get a bottle of soju and go back to work happy. Chunju is a great place for business lunches or a nice dinner with the family.
This place is a little hard to find. Its in the corner of a small shopping center. Parking can be a pain on the streets. Just pay the $1.50 valet, it'll save you alot of time and frustration. -
Review from Wendy G.
Los Angeles, CA
1/27/2012
This is where I discovered my love for Korean food!!!!!! We actually had been to a lot of Korean BBQ places and we had done the whole unlimited thing too but I had never enjoyed it and I actually had no respect for Korean cuisine.. :c We visited the big K-BBQ place in the same plaza and were very disappointed we should've known better I mean the place was almost practically empty; so as we left talking shit about the place we passed by this hole in the wall where there were all these Korean people eating like they were P.O.W's tat had just gotten their first meal in months... so we decided to com back the following and check it out...OMGEEEEEE!!!!! I fell in love!!! We tried several of their dishes; including their spicy beef stew, bbq beef ribs, beef bulgogi, bbq pork and chicken bulgogi... all I can say is that there was 3 of us and we licked every plate!!! The banchan were so good that I tried all of them (I'm very picky and dislike many things) I even ate the little fish cakes without knowing they were fish (I hate fish)... if you get a chance to take a look in the back you"ll see there's all these older Korean ladies (in charge of the cooking) and just two Hispanics (in charge of the dish washing) so you know it's authentic Korean cooking!!! I fell in love with this place and their food and culture however maybe it was the language barrier but we felt like they were a little mean and racist. However we literally came back for almost an entire week straight but it that all ended when we left one night and forgot to leave a tip one of the ladies came running to us asking for tip and we were so pissed & vowed to boycott the place however the food was so good we decided to give them another chance.. and after a while now they're not so racist with us anymore!!! :D LOL! JK!! Amazing food though!!
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Review from Eunice K.
9/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
When my foodie friend JT said that he would take me to one of the best Korean restaurants in K town.. my expectations were set very high. Fortunately, Chunju did NOT disappoint and I've already been back a few times without him :)
Whats so great about Chunju? First off, the side dishes (ban chan) are ALL delicious and you are given a wide variety. Since side dishes make a good portion of your meal in Korean cuisine... you are guranteed to have at least a decent meal experience just from the side dishes alone.
Ive also tried several main entrees that were all really delicious:
--Mixed Rice in Stone Pot (Dolsot Bibimbap) ($11.99)--
One of my favorite Korean dishes, so I order it whenever I see it on a menu :) Key things to a good Dolsot Bibimbap is the temperature of the bowl and quality of the ingredients. This one had them both. The stone pot was so hot that the rice formed a crispy layer at the bottom of the bowl, the raw egg was able to fully cook, and the entire bowl of mixed rice was piping hot in my mouth. The ingredients were all well marinated and juicy. I can't really comment on the seasoning because I pretty much drench the entire bowl in hot sauce :)
--BuDae Chigae--
This is the stew that was commonly made with left overs by the men in the Korean Army. Its a spicy stew that contains.. well.. left overs: spam, sausages, ramen, rice cakes. You must order for at least 2 people. It is one of the more popular dishes at Chunju. They serve this stew on a stovetop burner placed right on the table - so you can eat it piping hot!
--Green Onion (Scallion) Pancake (Pajun)--
I love Korean Pancakes! The green onion pancake is PACKED with green onions and cooked to crispy perfection! With the soysauce dipping sauce - so delicious!
--Black Cod--
This is a dish that I've never had at a Korean restaurant before - but one of the best dishes at Chunju. Like most black cod dishes, the fish was incredibly soft, juicy.. tasted like it was slow cooked. Every inch of the cod was marinated through. Though for the portion.. a little pricy.. but worth trying at least once!
Chunju has quickly become one of my favorite Korean restaurants in Ktown. Everything I've eaten here has been absolutely delicious!
$1.50 for valet parking in the lot. Located in the same plaza as Holly's Coffee. There is usually a wait.... :( but its worth it! -
Review from Katherine P.
Beverly Hills, CA
Updated - 12/15/2011
Budaejjigae!!!! And their hae mool jungol (spicy seafood casserole) is really good too.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/17/2008
Some serious home cooking is found here at Chunju.
My sister and I pigged out on eundaegu jorim… Read more »
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Review from Phillip H.
Garden Grove, CA
12/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good tofu soup. I also like the purple rice which is healthier but not too common. We also ordered the bulgolgi and it was good. The side dishes were ok although they didn't have Kim chi. Place is a older and not as clean.
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Review from Ami S.
Los Angeles, CA
12/27/2011
One of my favorite Korean joints in LA! Everything I've had here has been so delicious. This is as close to my parent's home cooking as I can get!
If you go, you have to try the ddak dori tang, which is like a spicy stew with chicken and potatoes. Any of their jigaes are good too like their kimchee jigae and soon doo boo jigae.
It's usually pretty packed here, but they turn people over pretty quickly. You can even put your order in as you wait so that your food is ready when you sit down, which is great!
This is a great place y'all. I come here weekly! -
Review from Fia R.
7/29/2011 3 photos
If you're interested in Korean Seafood Pancake...unless you know the Korean language, you better bookmark this place, b/c I know I could not remember the name of this HITW K-Town jewel.
It wasn't easy for Daniel L & me finding it b/c we relied on the intersection via Yelp app. It turned out that Chunju Han-il Kwan, or CHK, is settled in a strip mall where we had shabu shabu at Shin Jung--and yes, I had to bookmark this for the exact, same reason ^_^. I couldn't say much about the minimal décor, but as soon as we're seated I was completely honed to that Korean Seafood Pancake ($15.80). So, we chose that, along w/ a 212 plus-degree Fahrenheit, large Spicy Crab Stew ($12.99)--full of crab, a few fishcakes, tofu pieces & pretty chrysanthemum leaves--to share. And just like KBBQ restaurants we got unlimited [10-item] banchan throughout our ghastly gastronomical dinner.
But before I ramble about this gastronomy, I do wanna get the alrighty Spicy Crab Stew out of the way. That "soother" was neither yum nor yuck, but it reminded me more of a [spicy] Seafood Sinigang, which is Filipino Seafood Tamarind Stew. It had such a strong seafood essence that I don't recommend to customers who even could care less about seafood. Plus, I had to use that elongated soup spoon, my jaw & bare fingers as my weapons of demolishing those time-consuming crabshell parts to reveal the pretty tasty meats.
Yet what I DO recommend to--at least--those nonchalant seafoodies is that Korean Seafood Pancake. Especially if, like me, love a BUNCH of snipped scallions, mixed w/ the sumptuous egg batter & equal ratio of perfectly cooked & chopped shrimp and squid to green onions, this pancake teased my tummy & my mouth so freakin' madly. As I savored piece by piece w/ my fluffy white rice & dipping sauce, to me it was so ambrosial & so irresistible--albeit a little flaw of some of the seafood bits falling off from the "cake"--I seriously wanted to keep gobbling this glutton, where Daniel already guzzled half of that dish x/, the size of a typical hors d'oeuvres platter. But sigh; the addition of the stew & the banchan unfortunately made me surrender barely a quarter of my seafood pancake side, no matter how hard I tried -_-. Yep, food won, pretty much...
Our waitress, finally, was polite, never giving a fit about us asking for more of that fabulously delicious Japchae, seaweed, kimchi & eggplant. All in all, dinner at CHW was a 3.5-star experience, and since I've only eaten that pancake twice in my entire lifetime, I think by itself it's close to a 5. Or maybe TOO close........
As for parking you have 3 options: street, valet, or a parking structure that validates an appropriate vendor--which isn't CHW... -
Review from Martin L.
9/11/2011
Parking is a pain in the area. Don't worry though, valet here is only $2. Interior is decorated w/ rustic village like look. A Korean version of Cracker barrel if you will, but significantly smaller. Its like Korean version of a country barn :-). Restaurant isn't too big, but decent.
Had the Budae jigae (Spam stew), seafood pancake and bossam (cold pork w/ cabbage). Spam stew had in it top ramen like ramen. Yes, looked and tasted like a infamous brick noodles college students are so fond of :-). Turns out this dish is from war times. A time when all people could afford was ramen and spam. Was pretty good and salty like I like it :-). Was a bit expensive for what it was.
Seafood pancake was bland and didn't have much flavor or seafood. Would skip it next time. Bossam was the most interesting dish. Cooked, cooled, and sliced pieces of pork. Was served w/ kimchi marinated w/ raw oysters and cooked cabbage slices. To eat, put a piece of cabbage on your plate. Add a slice of pork and some kimchi/oyster. Roll it up for a bossam burrito. Was pretty good.
Of course, there are side dishes. Loved the selection and variety provided. One of the best selections.
Would definitely come here again. :-)
p.s. valet closes at 10pm. Don't worry though, they will bring the keys to you at the restaurant. -
Review from Daniel L.
7/25/2011 5 photos
Fellow Yelper Fia R and I spotted this Korean restaurant on Yelp, and decided to visit after seeing impressive photos of their massive seafood pancake. The vibe is homey, hole in the wall with antiquated wooden décor and three rows of booths vertically arranged that created the two narrow walkways. The place was pretty crowded, but quiet and unassuming. It's one of those hearty, home-style Korean eateries that I crave for every so often.
We started off with an order of Seafood Pancake ($15.80) that came with tiny shrimps, squid, and lots of green onions embedded. It was presented to us like a deep dish pizza, where the inch-thick texture was heavy, soft, flavorful, and greasy delicious. I was hoping the shrimps could be bigger but the amount of seafood and the dipping sauce was outstanding. Too bad there were parts of the pancake that falls apart too easily for me to consider the very best.
We also shared a large pot of Crab Stew ($12.99) that came boiling hot accompanied with lots of crabs, tofu, fishcake, and chrysanthemum leaves served in a spicy broth. This dish was good but not great. I enjoyed chewing on the crab meat but thought the broth could be better served with a deep sweet crab flavor.
The 10-item banchan was generous and tasty as I especially enjoyed nibbling on the eggplant, steamed egg, japchae, chrysanthemum leaves, and kimchi to go with my bowl of purple rice.
Service was helpful when called upon. Other reviewers have also raved about their Budae Jjigae and Galbi Tang which I would love to try in the future. Price, value, and portions were good. One of the go-to places for comfort food in Koreatown. 3.5 stars for the dining experience. I'd be interested in coming back. -
Review from Paula L.
HISTORY OF BOODAEJJIGAE:
Back during the Korean War, everyone was poor. Instead of throwing away left over food, they would make one giant spicy stew and throw in all sorts of random foods.
Spam & sausage (brought by American soldiers) was often thrown into the mix since they lasted so well over time. same with instant ramen noodles.
Thus the boodaejjigae was born. Spam, rice cake, instant ramen noodles, beans, sausage, and of course kimchi all stewed together.
Its hard to find this stew in ktown but my favorite place to go is Chun Ju.
The place is humble, small, quaint, but the food here is amazing. Boodaejjigae is sold by servings and you can't order less than 2 (Approx. $15 per serving).
Like all korean places, side dishes (or banchan) are plenty and each one made well.
Parking is a pain. Its a tiny lot and its almost ALWAYS valet.Listed in: A-Z-N, Seoul Flavors
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Review from D H.
Arcadia, CA
10/22/2011
Great banchan because of variety, quality and quantity (free refills). Dislike the parking although valets are polite and responsive.
Food: Kimchi pancakes, fried fish, purple rice and bulgolgi. But the lightly fried fish is the best.
Service: responsive but reserved (possibly because they're very busy), except for the very friendly outgoing owner who greeted us and asked if all was to our liking.
Site: not big, but tables arranged so you feel comfortable and not crowded.
Value: good value for what you get, not cheap but not expensive. Total tab for fish, pancake, rice and shoju about $40.
Wife and I are fans of the banchan. -
Review from Amy K.
9/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
My bf and I were craving budaechigae so we went in one night. It was crowded, and there was a waiting list too. We put our names down but were seated fairly promptly, and they asked us to order while we were waiting so we could have the food as soon as we sat down. We ordered the budaechigae and it was a lot of food! My bf and I ate like we've been starved for days and we still had leftovers so ended up taking a doggy bag.
The service was really great, they kept asking us if we wanted any more banchan and the tiny grammy in the tie-dye shirt was SO full of energy and bouncy and happy, it was infectious. I walked out super happy and well fed feeling like I ate at grandma's.
And this place is walking distance? Will def come back again! -
Review from joe j.
Los Angeles, CA
1/19/2012
always love this restaurant in Koreatown.
my wife have an issue with msg, she never has problem in this restaurant.
love tates and feels like we are in my aunt's house. -
Review from Casey M.
Torrance, CA
11/30/2011
Chunju used to be the go to spot within walking distance from my work. The portion was on the skimpy side compared to other Korean restaurant but they made up with many good ban chans.
My coworkers and I headed Chunju last night expecting a decent dinner.
We ordered three dishes.
1. Bul Nak Jeon Gol (Bulgogi and octopus stew)
VERY DISAPOINTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why the heck did they put intestines and squid into bulgogi and octopus stew????
Can't the cook tell the difference between octopus and squid??
Can't the cook tell the difference between meat and intestine??
The should tasted bland at the best. It needed salt and there were perhaps too much ground peppers or too much jalapeno in their spicy sauce.
2. Spicy pork BBQ
Surprised at first due to its portion. I still think they mistakenly put more meat on this dish.
3. Seafood Pancake
They better change the name to Squid and squid only pancake. Please!!!!
The food had gradually degraded at this joint. It deserves 3 stars at the best from me. -
Review from Jan D.
8/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
RECOMMENDATION: Kimchi jjigae, seafood pancake, and Budaejjigae.
I do not know what to say..I LOVE THIS PLACE!! Every meal is served with banchan. This place has the BEST..the BEST banchan ever!! They also mix it up here and there so it is never the same 'ol tasteless banchans.
The service is also wonderful, especially if you get the old lady (who is probably the owner there), she is like your grandma..the nice and loving hospitality (even when I do not speak Korean). :) -
Review from Weixin D.
North Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA
8/15/2011
I wasn't feeling well, but wanted a nice soup to warm my tummy. My boyfriend suggested hot pot and we wanted to do a Korean-styled hot pot. We decided to try this place based on the yelp reviews.
We came here on a Saturday evening for dinner. We got seating right away, but then the place started to fill up right after us. It's a nice little cozy place with wood decor, but there are dividers everywhere to allow privacy.
The menu is mostly in Korean, so it's hard to order what you want unless you already know. By default, when you sit down, you are served iced barley tea instead of water. They leave a jug of it on your table so you can help yourself. We ordered the Boon Dae Jiigae, or Military Soup, and as they were preparing that for us, we started with a few plates of banchan. One note of interest is that they do have mini salted sardine banchan, but it's not the orange-red kind that we've been looking for. If anyone knows of a place that has it, a kind note in the right direction would be much appreciated.
When the soup comes out, it comes in a big wide pot and they place it over the small table gas stove, turn it on, and lets you know that it'll be ready in five minutes. The military soup has cabbage, green onion, sliced onion, carrots, sliced potato, rice cake, spam, hot dog, and is topped with a few dark greens in a kim chee broth. The broth is flavorful without being too spicy, and even though the meats are cheap, they give you a lot of it. My only complaint about the soup is that there isn't enough dark green vegetables; it's mostly cabbage and onion.
It is served with their special purple rice that is like sticky rice--which I do enjoy--; I like to scoop a spoonful of it, then scoop a bit of the kim chee broth, and eat it together.
Service is helpful and friendly even though they don't speak a lot of english and the military soup is great. It's about $30, but can easily feed 2-4 people. Since it was just my boyfriend and me, we packed up the rest of it, and cooked it with new ramen noodles the next day for lunch. We'd like to come back next time and try the Seafood Pancake. -
Review from Jessie M.
7/27/2011
Purple rice! Fun.
This place has a huge selection of banchan with stuff like little sardines (?) with peppers and oh (I'm assuming house made) tofu. We had to try the kimchi pancake which was great. I could eat this everyday. Very light and delicious. Then we got the mackerel and kimchi boiled dish thing that my Korean friends couldn't translate exactly for me so I'm still not sure what it's called. It's like, "Mackerel Cooked For A Very Long Time" or something. Anyway, it was good, especially with the purple rice. I think I'd go with a different fish though next time because the mackerel was pretty salty. But it was a spicy dish so it helped balance out that saltiness. -
Review from Ching T.
Whittier, CA
Came here with Fellow Yelper Frederick G at his suggestion right before the holidays to try this place since it's one of his favs; I'm glad I did cuz he really knows his shtuff! I really really dig it!
THE ORDER:
- Spicy Crab Soup
- Seafood pancake - def one of the best ones I've had. Full of octopus and shrimp, green onions, etc. in scrambled egg batter.
THE YUMMY
This is what I call a banchan spread!! My favorite thus far that I've encountered which include steamed egg custard, kimchee (almost perfect), pickled squid in chili, jap chae, shredded potatoes, fresh seaweed, and my fav steamed ennochi mushrooms with greens. There were a few others that I don't remember though. So far, it's one of the impressive ones I've come across with the exception of Genwa's offering.
Spicy Crab Soup was impressive. Close up of the spicy crab soup - there were at least 5 crab halves in this sucker - not so spicy that your mouth was on fire but a good flavorful spicy.
Seafood pancake - def one of the best ones I've had (surprisingly the one at Seoung's was disappointing). Full of octopus and shrimp, green onions, etc. in scrambled egg batter.
THE OVERALL:
Service was on point and they serve alcohol here!! Definitely a favorite of both of ours now in KTown and I'll be back soon.
NOTE: They have a small lot for $2-$3 Valet parking that they share with Holly's Coffee, another favorite of mine.Listed in: a little bit 'o Seoul, KoreaTown
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Review from helen k.
Los Angeles, CA
6/23/2011
I don't know why I just discovered this place in the past year after all the years of hanging out in Ktown. It's quickly become my favorite Korean restaurant of all time.
Pros:
-so much banchan! this is the #1 reason why I love this place so much. I can just eat rice and their banchan and be happy :)
-Their spicy pork is to die for. MUST order!
-Mackerel + Dwen jang jji gae combo is good and a great deal
-Boo dae jji gae!!!
-Great customer service
-Owner is the cutest Korean grandma ever!! :D
Cons:
None.. even when it's packed, they take your order ahead of time so your food is ready by the time you get seated.
Gonna miss this place when I move to NY! -
Review from Ben L.
Los Angeles, CA
6/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was in the mood for Korean food one night but didn't feel like the usual BBQ or soondubu so decided to give this place a try as its budae chigae and pancakes are raved about. And it didn't disappoint!
The budae chigae a.k.a. army stew ($30) is a spicy soup made with kimchee, hot dogs, spam, ramen noodles and various other veggies. It was delicious and easily fed three hungry Koreans.
We also ordered the seafood pancake ($15) and it was probably one of the best Korean pancakes I've had in my life! Lots of octopus and shrimp in it. Portion size was very generous too.
I would have given them 5 stars if it weren't for the price of the soup. It was good but I couldn't help but feel that it should be cheaper given that the main ingredients aren't expensive at all. Nothing made of ramen noodles, hot dogs and spam should be $30. Except if it can feed an army, which despite its name, it can't.
Would I come back again? Yes, but only for the pancake. -
Review from Mariko T.
Los Angeles, CA
12/26/2011
came here strictly for the budae jigae. was so curious after i saw pics from my bff's trip to korea. anyway, pretty tasty, but it'd be great if chunju could include the whole instant ramen square instead of half. thx.
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Review from Lili C.
Los Angeles, CA
4/30/2011
Disclaimer: I am not very familiar with Korean food.
We were walking around K-Town looking for somewhere to have a late dinner and stumbled upon this cozy little rustic restaurant that was full of people. I did a quick Yelp search on my Droid (the wonders of modern technology!), and all the reviews were good so we thought Yeah!
We ordered two dishes: Pork sauteed with Kimchee & Bulgogi Beef. We were very impressed with the large number of varied side dishes and the purple rice. (Why is it purple?)The beef was good but our fave was the sauteed pork.
There was perhaps way too much food for two people considering the large quantity of sides, but it was all so good... such tasty comfort food, that we stuffed ourselves anyway. No doggy bag.
Will be back! -
Review from helen s.
Los Angeles, CA
9/7/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Food is consistently good here. Of all the times I've been, I've never had a bad experience. Definitely love the budaejjigae here :)
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Review from Cindy C.
I was led here yearssssss ago when I first move to LA (pre-yelp days) and had the best army stew (spam, hot dogs, ramen, kimchee, veggies, and all kind of goodness)! And I've ever since had the hardest time trying to find my way back, due to it's hard to remember name and it's all-so-similar looking store front in an all-so-similar looking ktown plaza. HOWEVER, thanks to yelp's search filter programmings... Reconnected me and Chunju Han-il Kwan!
Cravable soup base with cravable banchans... I mean you just can't help wanting to polish the whole pot. It's perfectly spicy and so flavorful! Worth stuffing yourself. On that note, they have the best kimchee in my opinion. Now I know everyone has their preferenece on kimchee, some like the spicier ones, some like the more fermented, and some like the less fermented. But try this kimchee, it's just good! No, not good... THE BEST.
Service is wonderful. Why the 4 stars? I think they could use a little renovation for the price of food, just saying... -
Review from Connie L.
This place is one of my favorites in K town. They provide a large variety of ban chan that change daily, and they are quickly and happily replenished by the efficient and friendly waitresses here. The budae jigae (spam+hot dogs+kimchi stew) is a must get, as is the seafood pancake. Even though the items might look pricey on the menu, portions are huge! These two items plus the ban chan can easily feed 2-3 people with left overs. I also love that they serve free cold barley tea with every meal. This place gets really crowded and fast, so arrive early!
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Review from liz m.
4/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
Bf and I were at the SC library studing when one of our stomachs started to growl, yes it's that time again, time to feed our hungry bellies. I gave my bf the honor of choosing a place for dinner Saturday night but w/ all the choices on Yelp he couldn't decide what he wanted. During our study session we noticed it was chilly outside so lo and behold bf thew out Chunju Han-il Kwan, I've never been here before so me being me, obviously I wanted to try it. Piping hot noodle soup, with hotdogs and spam, yes SPAM, what's not to love. I know not all ppl are a fan of SPAM, but I love me some SPAM.
We got there pretty late so there was no wait at all, and it's located in a strip mall so they ususally valet but since it was late enough we were able to save a buck cuz they let us park ourselves, SCORE!
We got the ususal banchan, ones that stood out were the eggplant, jap chae (sp?), and of course the kimchi. Our order spicy spam casserole and scallion pancake, both were yum. I also like the fact that instead of normal water they give barely tea like other korean est, it's a nice change from the taste of regular water.
Nothing to complain about here, but I can see that if this place is well known one may have to wait, and their tables can fit about 4 ppl comfortably so try not to come in large groups. Other than that, I'll be back again. -
Review from Maggie C.
11/20/2010 4 photos
Nick H found another Korean restaurant because he was craving Korean soup. I wanted more yuk gae jang after getting that from the Korea House @ Little Tokyo Shopping Center.
Banchan was great. I couldn't stop eating the fish cake and didn't really share with Mr. Bolsa. He looked away and I ate the whole thing =P
My yuk gae jang was meaty but not as flavorful as I expected. 3 stars.
Chunju Ha-il Kwan is kinda yummylicious!!Listed in: K-Town Restaurants, Coffee…
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Review from Aris L.
Los Angeles, CA
5/8/2011
I like their military soup and the seafood pancake..the staff are also friendly
CONCLUSION = RECOMMENDED! -
Review from Ellen S.
2/16/2011
3.5 stars
I came here for the first time to try their budae jjigae - spicy soup with sausage, spam, noodles etc. It was pretty good. It was around $27 for a two servings (the minimum). A little bit expensive for budae jjigae. All the banchans were pretty good.
Chunju Hanil Kwan is located in a little plaza. You can valet your car for a couple dollars. It was pretty crowded during dinner time so seems like a popular place to eat in Ktown. -
Review from Susie K.
8/17/2011
K-town has tons of restaurants, and most of them are specialty houses. Sometimes you need a spot with variety because one person doesn't feel like soup, and another wants meat, etc. Han-il Kwan usually satisfies all cravings. Service is good, the owner is super nice, and the food is very yummy. I love their army base soup, but their various meat dishes are also tasty.
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Review from Gyu K.
Los Angeles, CA
4/19/2011
Good food. Variety of dishes. They specialize in nothing but do everything pretty well.
Good place without the fancy nonsense -
Review from Vivian J.
12/9/2010
This is a GREAT place to take your non-Korean friends to when you want to show them Korean food that's not AYCE bbq or soon tofu. Mix it up a little bit for them, ya know? Show them that there's another dimension to good homestyle Korean cooking.
For one thing, the service is REALLY good. The ladies were really on top of refilling our banchans and giving us more barley tea whenever we asked and sometimes we didn't even have to ask. They just asked us what we wanted more of. THAT'S awesome K-Town service for you. Also, I don't know what's this business I've been seeing in the other reviews about separate menus for Koreans and non-Koreans. THERE IS ONE MENU with both Korean and English on it with ONE price that clearly says what each dish has in it.
Now on to the food - We ordered the boudae chigae (sort of like army stew with ramen, kimchi, sausages, and rice cakes in it) and the nakji bokkum (sort of like a spicy squid casserole) and our non-Korean friends LOVED it. Coupled with a plentiful and delicious selection of banchan (the side dishes), those two dishes filled up 5 of us girls who have sizable appetites.
Reason why I gave this place 4 stars instead of 5: boudae chigae IS a little overpriced. (Note: If you ask for another packet of ramen to put in there, it's only $2 more for each packet.) Also, I thought the portions should have been slightly bigger. We left happy nonetheless.
P.S. It's right across from Gaam. You can have dinner with your friends at Chunju Han-il Kwan and then hop over to Gaam for some more good times.Listed in: Proud to Be Korean
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Review from Christal Y.
Syracuse, NY
3/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Came here for a friend's birthday.
Everything was delicious. From the budaejjigae to the bulgolgi to the banchan, Chunju Han-il Kwan has not ceased to amaze me. We drove out here after yelping this place and had reservations, but the waitress/host quickly smashed together a long table for us and gave out free seaweed soup for my friend's birthday. The staff is so motherly and kind you can't help but think you're eating from home.
When she found out that the food was too spicy for some people, she gave them two free dishes of bulgolgi.
Personally, I thought my budaejjigae lacked a bit of taste in the beginning, but by the end when the soup had thickened, it was perfect. So I'd say, let the budaejjigae sit for a while (it also serves about four people, so don't eat that on your own!).
I haven't tried the scallion pancakes, but I'm DYING for some right now... It seems to be all people are taking about. -
Review from Kelly C.
Beverly Hills, CA
4/11/2011
I talked my mom, who is extremely picky and critical when it comes to Korean food, into trying this place. We've now gone back a second time, based on their pork belly/kimchi "stir fry" and the seafood pancakes (hae mul pa jun).
I have little tolerance (read that NONE) for spicy food, but I couldn't stop eating the pork belly/kimchi dish. Man oh man it's good stuff! The taste is kinda evocative of the kimchi chigae from Soban. You get the full kimchi taste, but mellowed out by the porky goodness of the pork belly. And mind you, my mom's not a fan of pork at all but she loves this dish.
The hae mul pa jun is chock full of seafood bits and green onions. Not like the runny all-batter stuff at some other Korean restaurants. We had the buchu version this time. The beauty of both is that they're served (and cooked too maybe?) on cast iron pans so the underside is nice and crunchy/crispy. Be careful of that first bite, as I've now managed to burn my mouth both times.
And the waitresses are on top of it. Mindful, but not overbearing service. I think this place is definitely getting more popular. We've been lucky both times to not have to wait, but both times, people that came in just behind us had to wait, but not too long.
Valet parking in the small parking lot, but not bad considering it's I think $2.. better than a $50 parking ticket you risk parking on the streets, if you can find a spot at all.
