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Han Gang Korean Restaurant
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Classy
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Samuel H. said: "If you love pork belly, Honey Pig is the place to be. If you thought their pork belly was bland, it's probably because you ate it BEFORE the bean sprouts cooked down and they had a chance to mix it in with the pork and spray it with a…" read more »
49 reviews for Han Gang Korean Restaurant
Review Highlights
"The presentation of banchan (side dishes) is top-notch."
(in 11 reviews)
"The seafood pancake was amazing."
(in 3 reviews)
"...clean space, plenty of ban chan (sides), delicious, good..."
(in 4 reviews)
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49 reviews in English
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Review from C. F.
Annapolis, MD
11/2/2011
It was good but not mind-blowing. There were a lot of side dishes. And we had one server who was very friendly and spoke English but the others (and they sort of switched off) did not understand us.
A lot of people commented on the atmosphere -- it was alright, but nothing special I could see. Also, the food seemed to only come in large portions so it wouldn't be good for solo diners. -
Review from Fina A.
College Park, MD
12/10/2011
Ahhh, meh. Shouldn't have come with the fact that around this area there are many other Korean restaurant that, well, better and CHEAPER (please read it again, CHEAPER!).
I got, of course, their soon doo boo. Wow, so not impressed at all. I had way better soon doo boo in other places in the past with a bigger bowl with a cheaper price than here (I'm still living in a college-budget range).
My rule of finding a good place to eat traditional foods is never wrong: find a place that is not fancy. the less fancy place you get, the better the food is. trust me.
No, I'm not coming to this place no more. -
Review from Mark J.
Leesburg, VA
1/14/2012
Tried to order "ah gu jjim" and they say they dont have much bean sprout (major ingridient) and tells me dont expect good quality. Wtf does that mean? Kk and so I try to order another dish and they say they are out of material to cook that. Ah!!! But food is ok but!!! Way too over priced!!! For so so quality galbi and stuff
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Review from Patrick C.
Arlington, VA
12/28/2011
My wife and I received excellent service here on a Monday night. I ordered a beef bibimbap and my wife ordered a seafood bibimbap. Both dishes were delicious, and the banchan dishes were very good as well.
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Review from Maggie M.
Fairfax, VA
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
So we went here with a big group for a birthday party. The service was pretty sub-par and so was the food. I've done the whole korean bbq thing a few times and I just wasn't really impressed with this one. We got the bulgulgi and the ribs, they ribs were so fatty barely any meat on them and the bulgulgi was alright. Best thing I had were the sides.. and can I just say that this Korean BBQ place is much more pricer then the others around the area.
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Review from Cat D.
Herndon, VA
6/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been here twice with my family, and both times have been generally the same.
The servers are all Korean, which can get confusing if you aren't Korean (like myself) and they don't understand what you're trying to order or ask for. I'd recommend bringing at least one person who's Korean to help out. The first time I went here, the server spoke near perfect English, and was able to communicate properly. However, the second time, the server had to check to see if he thought we were ordering the right thing, another server came, and a few of our orders got mixed up. We went through a total of three servers, which prolonged our wait for food a bit.
The food was pretty good, though I personally thought the grilled meat could have been better seasoned (I've had better at Honeypig, though the environment here is quieter and more formal). The meat portions are really quite large - the combos that say they're for two people? Those could easily feed 3-4 people, particularly if you're ordering other food. One of the pluses here is that they give a ridiculous amount of side dishes - side dishes are traditional at Korean restaurants, yes, but there were a lot.
Some things I would try - the meat and seafood combo (for two), and the seafood pancake. My complaints would be the only-Korean staff (though it is in a mainly Korean area), the price (it is pretty expensive, but I think you're mainly paying for the environment), and the opera music they play (seriously. and it's louder in the bathrooms.) -
Review from Charlotte S.
Silver Spring, MD
3/5/2011
This place is an absolute no-no! The only reason that it got mentioned in the Post is because it actually has some sort of good interior/exterior decor, compared to other Korean restaurants. I went with my family because I had read it in the Post and wanted to see what all the hype was about.
The food was ridiculously overpriced. Korean restaurants mark up ribs/kalbi to the high heavens, anyway, but a limit must be drawn! The dumpling soup was nothing special - if anything, it was bland, compared to Gamasot. We didn't even bother ordering the ribs because of the price.
It's so bland and there's nothing spectacular. It's not like the service is exceptional, either. One thing was noticeable - this is one Korean restaurant that actually uses *gasp* ceramic dinnerware! What a step up from the usual PLASTIC dishes! I still don't think ceramic dinnerware is worth all that much. The service is the typical Korean restaurant service - if you're a foreigner, you're in luck! They'll fawn over you while leaving Korean patrons high and dry. I've had way better food at Woomi or Yi Jo when it existed in College Park!
Save your wallet and go some place else instead. -
Review from Art P.
Annandale, VA
9/24/2011 7 Check-ins Here
Quality, Service & Cleanliness give HanGang the edge over the many other Korean restaurants in the DC area.
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Review from Henry M.
12/20/2010 1 Check-in Here
I wasn't so bothered about having a hard time getting the check, but the place is a little pricey.
I do very much appreciate being helped with how the whole Korean BBQ works, e.g. I've never had very thinly sliced pickled daikon with which to make little Korean parcels out the the barbecued meats. I particularly like the pork, by the way. Very tasty stuff, but as with most places, the chicken was a little dry.
What was that little bowl of gruel that they served us at the start of the meal? -
Review from Anh H.
Washington, DC
11/14/2010
This is Part I of an adventure....
Go to....
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
...for Part II
I was out with my parents and they wanted Korean for dinner. They thought about trying this place...again, even though they already tried it for lunch...and specifically told me that it wasn't that good.
So I thought to myself....why are we doing this again?
Whatever, maybe dinner will be better. I wish I could say that I tried the food to give you a verdict, but I opened the menu and saw insane prices. Like $30 for BBQ. $27 for soups. My mom ordered a coke, and by that time, I got my buddy E.Phan on the phone and gave me the location of Honey Pig.
We ended up paying over $2 for a can of soda. Damn! We still got ripped off. It took a little bit to convince my dad to walk out, which he rarely does.
I'm glad we did....
Move to Part II -
Review from Jessica H.
Arlington, VA
12/11/2010 1 Check-in Here
Good food, pleasant atmosphere, nice staff... minus one star for price, and another because I had to literally stalk the waitress in order to get the check. I stood 5 feet behind her and followed her around the room saying "excuse me. excuse me? excuse me?" for about 10 minutes before she acknowledged me, after 15 minutes of trying to get her attention from the table and failing. Super weird.
I don't eat Korean food often, and appreciate the servers taking pity and explaining how the BBQ should be eaten, i.e. put the meat on the daikon slice, put some peanut paste on top, add the greens, wrap it up, eat it. The dining room is very comfortable, nice decor, tables not too close together.
We had the mixed meat combo BBQ, and all the meat was tender and flavorful. I liked the banchan -- it's fun to see the table fill up with all the little dishes you didn't order. The beef jap chae was also good. -
Review from SaraSoda S.
Sarasota, FL
7/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
One of the best Korean restaurants I've been to. Authentic, nice/clean space, plenty of ban chan (sides), delicious, good quality kalbi. Service is hit or miss depending on who you get, but we've been lucky most of the time.
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Review from Donald P.
Updated - 4/24/2010 7 photos
Decided to come back to give this place a try again since it's been such a long time since our last visit. We decided to come along with Jake and his wife. This time around I wasn't so disappointed with the experience, and my wife even enjoyed her meal.
After re-reading my original review, I can't say much has changed in terms of taste, as I ordered the same thing. Perhaps I was just expecting so much more from the grand opening that we left disappointed the first time.
Although not the first place we'll think of coming to, we probably won't mind coming back here again if we want to try something different once in a while.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/15/2008 First to Review
This place just opened last week (Dec. 10, 2008)
Perhaps we were expecting too much but we were… Read more »
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Review from Eddie M.
Fairfax, VA
6/5/2011
When this place opened, their kalbi was super tender and extremely flavorful........no more. The meat was fatty and ridiculously bland....I'm wondering if they've made changes (for the worse) since business isn't good?
Won't ever go back......soooo disappointed because their kalbi was the best, for me, at one point in time. -
Review from Jake K.
5/6/2010 1 Check-in Here
I came here with Don and Cathy since Don wanted to get an update on his old Yelp review instead of hitting my staple Yechon. I will say this - go to Yechon. This place is just disappointing.
First, the decor looks great and the food looks pleasing to the eye as you pass other people's tables. However, that's about as far as the good part of the review will go.
After we ordered our food, the bowl of squash soup came out as an appetizer. It was ok - nothing remarkable and wasn't the worst part of the meal by far. When my soup came out (I order kalbi soup), I was disappointed with the lack of meat to start. Being a carnivore, I'm a fan of a place that is generous with the kabli when pouring a big bowl of soup. Here? Nope. I had two bones and some meat - that was it.
My wife's dukboki that she ordered was also ok - but certainly an appetizer that is out of place on the menu for the type of establishment that it is. Finally, at the end, they did give us coffee/shikhye but I wasn't in the mood.
Oh - the prices. Easily $2 more per dish on average than Yechon - and for the amount and quality you get, I'd say head somewhere else. I know I will be. -
Review from Ina C.
1/13/2009
I was here last weekend for a rehearsal dinner. There were probably close to 60 people filling up the private room and an entire row of tables at the back of the restaurant. The private room was treated to some less Korean appetizers that looked pretty fancy, though I didn't get to try them. But everyone said that they were delicious and they were gone before I knew it.
Other than that, ban-chans were passed around, and they were pretty good. I'd give them a 7/10 for tastiness and variety. We were also given a choice of dduk mandoo gook, galbi tang or yookkeh jang. I ordered the galbi tang, and it was pretty good.
The service was pretty good. If we needed something, someone was always around to help us out. And not only did they bring us what we needed, but they brought it with a smile. Even amid all the chaos and confusion of all of those people, the staff managed to bring out everyone's food and have a great attitude at the same time.
So as it goes for large groups, Han Gang did pretty well. Nothing really jumped out at me as being particularly awesome--this restaurant is alright. -
Review from Silvia C.
Annandale, VA
6/30/2011
I came here with my family (7 people) for lunch over the weekend because it was recommended to us by my aunt.
First off, compared to other Korean restaurants the side dishes were to a minimal... I mean, we got the standard kimchi, mook, kongnamool,oh eeh kimchi, lettuce, and ssamjang. We placed an order for 5 galbee, a medium order to sashimi, and 5 orders of the naengmyun. The galbee wasn't all that good, it wasn't seasoned properly and way too sweet for my taste. Also, compared to other Korean bbq restaurant, it was overpriced. We literally got a strip of beef for about $25... Its a bit of a rip off to me. Usually restaurant quality meat is supposed to be a little better than what you get at grocery stores, Han Gang's was probably the same quality if not lower than what I could get at say Hmart. The sashimi wasn't fresh, although the portion was slightly larger than other Korean restaurant, you could see the quality of it wasn't up to par. the naengmyun was too sweet again for my taste and you couldn't taste the broth like you're supposed to.
Overall, the service isn't too bad compared to other places. The waiters/waitress speak understandable English and they were pleasant. The ambiance and decor of the restaurant is of "higher class." There are tons of seating in the back for groups with big parties. I would probably only bring older, non Korean guests here to get "homey" Korean food.
I only gave Han Gang 2 stars for the service and the overall cleanliness of the restaurant. As for the food, I'd give it 0 to 1 star. -
Review from Jesse B.
Alexandria, VA
7/6/2010
Overpriced.
Food is inconsistent, Service is consistently bad.
Seafood pancake was the best part of the meal.
I'd reccomend Sorak or Gom Ba Woo before this place. -
Review from Hosun L.
Mountain View, CA
1/20/2009
Han Gang is where the old H.I. Ribsters used to be in Annandale. You may not even see Han Gang because you're so busy looking for the Ribsters sign.
One of my biggest regrets in life is never having dined there. I chose to eat lunch at Han Gang partly to deal with my guilt, and partly because I like upscale Korean restaurants.
The only upscale Korean restaurant in this area is Woo Lae Oak. I love their food, but I love competition more.
Unfortunately, Han Gang is a poor competitor.
The best way to put it is, they charge Woo Lae Oak prices for lesser quality food.
The restaurant is decorated in the style of most Korean restaurants (heavily laqured wood, random ancient art) with a bit of black and shine to make it seem just a little bit upscale. Excessively clean.
We ordered the Kalbi, both on and off ribs.The ribless Kalbi was extremely mild, to the point of tasting like unmarinated steak. The Kalbi on ribs tasted better, but it wasn't mouth-watering.
We also ordered the Hae-Mul-Pa-Jun as appetizer. It was crispy, and full of vegetables and seafood, so it went down fast.
The Ban-Chan was nothing special.
I did not have their lunch specials. I went there exclusively for their Kalbi. So I don't know if their soups or stews are any good, but my hunch says no.
Now, I will say that the service was great. They were training a new waitress on us, so maybe that was it. But we were pretty much attended to during the whole time we were there.
I don't think I'd go back to Han Gang. It's not because I hated the food, but it's mostly because if I want to pay $30/person for lunch, I want the meal to taste like it's worth $30. I wish I had gone to H.I. Ribsters though. I'm going to miss that sign. :-( -
Review from E E.
Arlington, VA
1/11/2011
Overpriced, mediocre Korean food. Do the owners believe that putting a pond justifies the low qual - high price combo? You'd need Georgetown Waterfront to pull this one off.
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Review from M N.
Springfield, VA
3/7/2010
Others have already reviewed the important aspects of the restaurant. Would I return? Probably not - my wife and I went to Han Gang because our first choice, Yechon, located a few blocks down the road on Hummer was packed and it was about a 30 minute wait.
Compared to Yechon (and most other Korean restaurants), the decor and quality of the physical layout of Han Gang (table, restroom, etc to include the individually packaged stainless steel chopsticks) surpasses is superior. However, as many have mentioned, the quality of food is similar, a bit more pricey, but it does not explain the smaller portions and slightly costlier prices. Yes, they start by serving a chilled red bean paste soup (yes red beans - the same beans that is used in Asian pastries) and end the meal with a chilled cup of sweet rice soup. Not bad...main meal is adequate, but then again, quality good, portion/servings not so good. I had the monkfish soup (with 1x shrimp, 1x clam) while my wife had the teriyaki salmon, yes, I know, not very ethnic, but she does not care for spicy food too much.
The banchan (small side dishes) are adequate, nothing special - not much selections (about six dishes). Service seems to be about par - hard to get refills on water/banchan, etc. Han Gang serves Korean bier, Cass and Hite - refreshing pilsner, in addition to the usual American fare (Bud, Bud Lite, Miller, Lite, etc.)...
Clientele seems to be a mix of non-Koreans and Koreans (about 40/60 split). For some reason, I feel more comfortable eating Korean food when there are more Koreans in the restaurant; same with Chinese restaurants; Mexican restaurants; etc. When more of the customers speak the "local lingo," the better - it means that the place serves authentic (and good) ethnic chow!
Located on a main thoroughfare, its a real estate broker's dream - location, location, location...for those that really do not know good Korean food (and want to "impress" a non-Korean date), it would be okay...for others that want good, authentic, affordable Korean food, go elsewhere. -
Review from Sam H.
Tacoma, WA
2/3/2009
From talking to the waitress... you come here for only two reasons. Nang Myung and Gal Bi. The service is excellent. They come by often to refill your ban chan if anything is empty. And all of it is pretty good too. They have some shi gum chi mook which is unique.
But as for the Gal Bi... I won't really necessarily recommend the Hang Gang Gal bi. (It's a relatively new way of marinating the meat right before they grill it) so... it's kind of on the blander size. Secondly, the portion is small. The waitress said it would be. The reason being it is USDA choice grade beef. So if you'd like to eat I'll go with the other style of Gal bi. -
Review from Lily Z.
11/13/2009 7 photos
Han Gang's interior is more upscale compare to most Korean places in Annandale, however, the service isn't any different. You still have to wait a long time for water or tea refills. The flat metal chopsticks they use at this place were slick and heavy, and proved to be a challenge to even veteran chopstick user like myself.
The food at Han Gang was pricey and the portions were not very big. We started the meal with some amuse bouche made from beans. It was like eating congee, not much flavor, but nothing offensive either.
The banchan spread is average size with a total of six dishes. I enjoyed them all except for the napa kimchi, which was presented as a perfect rectangle, but was too fermented for my taste. The cucumber kimchi and the eggplant dish were incredible. The cucumbers had a subtle addictive spiciness that catches up with you later. The radish rounds that came with the grilled meat were tasty, with a hint of citrus note.
My kalbi dolsot bibimbap needed more sizzle. The kalbi on top were marinated well and very tender. Overall, it was tasty, but kind of pricey at $14. The bulgogi was similar to the kalbi. It had a nice marinate and the meat was of high quality. Again, the portion was small for $22.
I liked the sikhye served at the end. It wasn't too sweet and had some ice slush in there for a refreshing finish to a mostly spicy meal. -
Review from Sandra K.
4/28/2009
Please don't go...
Everything looks pleasing to the eye but the seasoning is off:
Naeng Myun---not enough salt
Daegu MAEUNG TANG __WAY TOO MUCH RED PEPPER
Pah Jun---no flavor
Please avoid this please. There are many more tasty Korean places to go. -
Review from Jina k.
Alexandria, VA
7/21/2009
It's pricey!!!!! But, the best "Seng" (Fresh/un-marinated) Kalbee I have tried in this area. The marble on the beef was just beautiful! Service was OK, the rest of ban-chan (side dishes) were OK too. Naeng Myun (cold buckwheat noodles) were not good--tasted like just water with noodles.
The restaurant makes me feel like i'm dining at an aquarium, I guess due to the blue decor. It is also dark! -- Which I find very annoying when you're trying to make lettuce wraps.
They gave us syrupy pumpkin porridge sort of like-- as an amuse bouche, but man did my teeth hurt. -
Review from Marivic L.
Alexandria, VA
1/13/2010
Just got back from Han Gang.
We ordered the pork korean BBQ and some spicy noodle dish that contained beef and asian pears.
We started with something complimentary, that I can only describe as sesame paste. I don't know what the server called it, but I heard the word SESAME maybe? It was very gray, very thick and so very not good to me. Maybe it's an acquired taste. In any case, I don't want to acquire any more of that stuff - much less a taste for it. They must be used to that reaction, because the server knew the hubs and I were done with it, even though we each took the smallest 2 bites you've ever seen. Thankfully, it was complimentary, so we didn't care too much.
The complimentary panchan (small dishes of various items like various veggies) was good enough, but just didn't have the variety of flavorful dishes that other Korean restaurants have. Then came the miso soup. It was on par with any other miso soup I've had. Not too watered down, not too much miso. It was just miso soup.
The star of the meal was the pork BBQ. They must've marinated the meat for days, because the flavors were strong, and I mean this in the best way possible. We also asked for it spicy and they got spicy just right, without being overpowering.
I never order noodle dishes at Korean places, but I may just have to start doing it from now on. I asked for spicy on the noodles as well. They were also good and flavorful. The meat was tender and the crunch and flavor from the asian pear "sticks" was great.
All in all, it was a good dinner with great, friendly service. I'd go back for the pork BBQ any day. -
Review from Lor B.
Alexandria, VA
7/1/2009
Solid 3 stars from me.
A friend and I went when it had it's "Grand Opening" - she wanted to go to Yechon but the place was packed to the gills. So we drove around, saw this place, and decided to check it out. We were just ok with the food - nothing stood out as spectacular, the banchan was plentiful and was the true star of the meal.
We had interesting freebies (one thing we didn't like was this cold soup thing they offered as a dessert/palate cleanser. I THINK it was supposed to be cinnamon flavoured drink w/pine nuts. Well...it tasted sort of like redhots were dissolved into a bucket of soapy water. Not.Delicious.) They didn't float our boat, but at least we could say we tried it.
We did like the nice looking space, the ample parking, clean bathrooms and really helpful staff. But we walked away, thinking that it was a decent restaurant to take people who were not very familiar with Korean food and were not ready for the hole-in-the-wall, skeevy yet deliciously authentic experience.
On Father's Day, I took the family here for a late lunch because 1) we were a large party and 2) they know nothing about korean food outside of bbq and 3) the prices were pretty reasonable.
Same friend came along for the meal, and we were both pleasantly surprised that the food was better! Trying to keep it tame - my filipino family aren't huge fans of super spicy food - we ordered different kinds of bbq, seafood/green onion pancakes, a few soups to share, jap chae and some grilled fish.
The pancake was delicious: crisp on the outside, melting on the inside with tender squid, plump shrimp and very fresh, sharp green onions. The soups were a revelation: I ordered a beef bone soups with rice cakes that was so thickly beefy the broth was almost jelly like in the mouth. Awesome! Well played, chef dude.
The bill was VERY reasonable, the family was happy, and I think I'll keep this restaurant on my list of places to take non-adventurous guests to get their feet wet.
Location: at the corner of Little River and Ravensworth. If you're coming from 395, it'll be on your left. Keep an eye out for the CVS: it should be on the next block over. -
Review from Shen Sheng T.
Arlington, VA
Updated - 10/18/2010
Han Gang is my favorite Korean restaurant.
My wife and I have been coming to this restaurant at least once a week since July, 2010. We like the place, food, and service. Most servers know us now and are eager to accommodate our requests. Kim chi and ga du gee are great condiments. We find salmon lunch box a great value. Sometimes, one of the item in the box is grilled eel and that is my favorites. My wife will call ahead before we go so we always get a good deal.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/27/2010
Good Korean Restaurant
My wife and I drove past this place on the way to a counter top shop. We… Read more »
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Review from Paul W.
Arlington, VA
5/4/2010
Solid 3.5 stars. This place breaks the mold of unmemorable, new Korean restaurants in Annandale by providing a thorough menu with a subtle, different spin on dishes (and banchan) and a slightly upper-scale dining atmosphere. As a result, the prices are higher, but the dining experience is consistent, reliable, and unique enough to want to come back.
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Review from vicki d.
Washington, DC
8/30/2010
Dined here for the first time last evening and our group of 6 thoroughly enjoyed it. Service was really, really good. Very friendly and thoughtful. Prices reasonable for the quality. (More expensive than Yecheon but the quality of ingredients much higher here, especially noted in beef and seafood.)
Bulgogi was great as was bibimbap. We had both the usual beef one plus the seafood version which was chock full of great stuff. Tofu also delish. Side dishes really good too, especially the squash porridge. Will definitely come back. -
Review from AC A.
Arlington, VA
8/12/2010
Fantastic service. Food was quick, fresh and well-seasoned. Looking forward to going back.
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Review from Alice C.
Alexandria, VA
8/6/2010
Me and my husband usually go to Yechon in the weekend for our tofu pot and galbi tang. It is just a little far from Alexandria. So we decided to randomly picked another place one time and came across Han Kang.
First of all, this place is brand new with incredible decor. All the tables are made with granite! It is spacious and very clean.
The staffs there are really polite and friendly.
We ordered our regular, seafood tofu pot and galbi. I think my tofu pot was a little salty, but the seafood in it was awesome! You get a hold big shrimp with head on, 2 giant scallops that is perfectly cook and many other stuff that is not from a seafood mix package. My husband could not stop eating his galbi and almost finished drinking up all the soup!
The sidedishes, however, I found a little disappointed. You get 5 different types of pickled vegetables. I actually enjoyed having more varieties, with some fish cakes, eggs and seafood. On the other side, it did not bother my husband too much as he does not like seafood at all.
The price. although is a bit more pricey compare to other korean restaurant, is still pretty reasonable, and you feel like you are eating at a 5 star hotel. -
Review from Kyle H.
Fairfax, VA
2/7/2009
wow its a brand new joint called Han Kang (Han River) very clean restaurant not suprising since they recently opened at former BBQ ribs joint place next to cvs. Nice decor to it very upscale restaurant. Nevertheless taste same as seoul house in fairfax. good food good service. This will get popular soon hopefully to non-koreans. i'll definitly come here again.
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Review from Sam S.
Falls Church, VA
9/5/2010
I didn't like it much b coz they said they don't use MSG so it's good but then taste ...... I Dunn know restaurant should have better taste than I cook even though they don't use MSG
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Review from Debby P.
Washington, DC
1/12/2009
I went to this restaurant on Jan. 10, 2009 to celebrate my dad's birthday with family which included 6 adults, a toddler, and a preschooler. First of all, the place was not kid-friendly at all. The aisles were narrow and no place to put a high chair. The tables were equipped for tabletop grilling, but no ventilation system to accommodate such dining experience.
Each adult ordered an entree, including a serving of Gal-bee. We also ordered a medium size Sashimi Platter ($70) in addition to the entrees.
Soft Tofu Casserole (aka. soon-tofu jigae) was the worst I have tasted around the area. I order this dish at almost every Korean restaurant we visit because of my kids.
$70 Sashimi Platter had neither quantity or quality. I would give 2 star for presentation. It was filled mostly with salmon and tuna. A $70 Sashimi Platter at other Korean restaurants we visit has A LOT more to offer.
A serving of Gal-bee (supposed to be for 1 person) is priced at $27. We ordered the one without bones which amounts to roughly 15 bite-size pieces of meat. 1 piece of meat measuring less than 3/4 inch by 1/2 inch in size. That's $1.80 per piece! The meat wasn't even high quality - too fatty for my taste.
Now the side dishes. No outstanding remarks here. Average to mediocre. Their kimchee is definitely mediocre as you could still taste the raw greens as a result of not being salted enough during the initial preparation.
Had my preschool son not slept through the dinner, we wouldn't have had enough food to go around. We couldn't even save some food for him later since there was barely enough food for the adults. My 13-month-old girl had some rice porridge which was offered as an appetizer.
After paying $180, we left the restaurant feeling bitter and vowing never to come back. What a way to end a birthday dinner! -
Review from J. K.
Fairfax, VA
1/1/2009
I ate here after a co-worker recommended this place. He told me it just opened a couple weeks ago. The place is pretty fancy compared to other places in annandale and the prices of the entrees were a bit more expensive. The menu is more traditional korean menu, not much japanese/chinese influence. I went for dinner with my family. The side dishes were not that good. The kimchee was sour, not my taste. The dish i liked was the potato salad which looked like ice cream ^^. The service was kinda slow for a place that wasnt crowded that night. The dinner entrees were pretty standard- kimchee jigae, soon do bu, bi bim bap etc. Overall it was okay, but i prefer yechon.
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Review from Kathy P.
Rockville, MD
1/15/2009
To be fair, I will always eat at the restaurant twice before giving my two thumbs down, but this restaurant has to be four thumbs down since I went twice. The food... so, so. The price... too high for Korean restaurant. Service... way to inexperienced, I don't look for good service at Korean restaurant, but they were just terrible. In all fairness, they were at least polite.
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Review from Randy C.
Arlington, VA
7/18/2010
Went today with friends for a late lunch/early dinner. The seafood pancake was amazing! Really delicious. The mandoo was also very good. Then we started with the Korean BBQ--the short ribs were so tender and delicious, the chicken good, but the spicy pork (while good) had a hint of liquid smoke flavor that I didn't really care for. We had lots of food and it was all good. The overall experience was much more upscale than I'm used to at a Korean restaurant. I'll be back!
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Review from Anonymous P.
Fairfax, VA
4/9/2011
It was a rainy Friday night and I was extremely hungry. I wanted Korean food so I naturally went to Annandale and told my GF that we'd wing it. We passed by Cafe Ara and it was packed as were the other popular places. But then we saw Han Gang and I noticed it was pretty empty and the exterior looked very nice. The decor is very nice, it was the first thing my GF noticed. The tables are marble or quartz and the tableware is all stainless steel as opposed to disposable chopsticks. The service is 10/10. Food was received quicker than expected. For all the people who say it's overpriced, where the hell are you eating? The prices are normal and not high at all. Beers are $4 for domestic and $5 for imports. The bathroom is very modern and clean like the entire restaurant. Parking is plentiful. Most importantly the food was extremely good. I'm definitely planning on going on with more people this time.
1. warm tea and/or water is offered
2. the usual korean style side dishes are offered. i felt it was more authentic.
3. sweet rice water is served at the end of the meal. my favorite part.
Also, there are private rooms for parties or whatever. -
Review from Davi K.
Alexandria, VA
11/25/2009
I felt compelled to leave a comment while I'm sitting here, waiting for the waitress to bring me my check. As a Korean myself, I'm pretty picky about the Korean restaurants I go to, and the inordinate amount of restaurants in Annandale permits me to do so.
Like I said, Korean restaurants abound, and so price, as well as taste, are very important factors. That being said, Han Kang' decor is very sleek and well designed. The presentation of banchan (side dishes) is top-notch. However, the taste of the banchan and entree (I had bulgogi bokkeumbap, marinated beef with vegetables and rice) were not enough to justify the price. The kimchi was bland and the bulgogi deopbap was good and comparable to other restaurants.
On average, it seems that Han Kang is about $1-3 more expensive than the other restaurants. Considering these facts, I'd suggest Yechon, located down the street, as a more enjoyable alternative. That is, if you can get a table.
Would I come back? I don't see a reason to, with so many other choices in Annandale.
