So Kong Dong
| Address: | 130 Main St, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, USA |
| Phone: | +1 201-585-1122 |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 9
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Robin Miller
The food here is really great - very small menu (a half dozen types of spicy soft tofu soup in a hot stone pot, and BBQ ribs) but they do it so well. Its consistent and delicious, and the little side dishes are very good too. The decor is nice (typical Korean farmhouse interior so common in Korean restaurants), although when its crowded youll find yourself elbow to elbow with strangers on adjoining tables. The service, however, varies from brusque on a good day, to downright unpleasant, especially if you flag down the waitstaff for anything (which is also an issue if you dont speak Korean). Bring your own bottle of water, because you wont be getting your glass refilled, especially if its crowded. The last time we were there, we had just been served the rice and given rice bowls, when another table nearby asked (im guessing) for an extra bowl. The waiter turned back to our table, snatched my not yet used rice bowl from in front of me, slammed it on their table, and left! I assumed hed at least bring me another bowl, but nope, after waiting several minutes we had to argue with more waitstaff to get a bowl to eat out of, which they seemed to consider a rather outrageous request! Weve been going there for long enough that we were neither surprised or even annoyed - its just part of the experience of eating there! The food was great, as usual. Anyway, highly recommended. Just be prepared for the staff.
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Melanie Tam
My cousin had mentioned that she really liked So Kong Dong, and it happened to be in my boyfriends hometown, so I bookmarked it. But like most of the places I save, it went into the Bookmark Blackhole. That was until months later, we happened to be in his hometown and he suggested this place for lunch. I actually didnt realize it was the same place until after we left and I tried looking for the place on Yelp. To start, they give you a few plates of their banchan - kimchi, bean sprouts, broccoli, and cucumbers. The cucumbers were probably some of the best pickled cucumbers I have even had in my life. Most places have had it pickled too long and it becomes soggy. But not at SKD. It tastes really fresh. It wasnt until we were long gone that I found out from my cousin that she used to take home quarts of it for $5 each! For food, we had the seafood/beef soondubu, pork dumplings, short ribs, and bibimbap. Everything was great! I especially liked the dumplings because you could tell they were freshly made, and not frozen. We shared all of this between three people and had tons of leftovers. Next time were in town, Im gonna make sure we go pick up some of those cucumbers!
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Samer Abraham
Talk about value. You can leave this place pretty full off of any one tofu soup. The soup comes with tea and rice, although I recommend not eating all the rice as youll regret it later when the bloating kicks in. All the soup is priced at $9 regardless of if you get plain soup or seafood soup so splitting bills is rather simple. They also offer BBQ short ribs at $15 which are rock star as well. One order of the ribs for 2-3 people is plenty particularly if youre planning one getting soup as well. Im not sure if this place is officially BYOB or not but I only comment that Ive been allowed to have a beer or two without any questions. One last comment, while I cant tell you this factually, I think this place went under new management and a drop in service quality can surely be felt. I dont think the food has dropped in quality but the service has been sub-par. Ill suffer through it given the price and food quality though.
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A Private User
pros: it is quick to order as you preorder. simple to order as the menu is simple(tofu,bbq ribs), food comes quick. great ribs. great tofu(you can order what level of spicyness and different types like seafood, mushroom, beef, kimchi, etc) cons: long waiting at peak times (30-45 min) no waiting area. parking lot is small-better off parking across the street at the muni lot. rushed service(its a simple place, eat and leave, dont plan to linger). cafeteria style eating( you might end up sitting near a stranger) depends if you hate that or not. really great food. dont go there if you are unwilling to wait and hate crowds. dont go there for a date, its not romantic. go there with your friends. im pretty sure you can bring in your own alcohol as i have seen it done.
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A Private User
I brought two of my closest friends with me for a korean lunch. There is an easy english menu, in which around 12 or so items can be ordered. The waiter was very patient and generous. We ordered three different variety of soups, with thinly sliced, cooked barbecue ribs.All three soups ( I ordered kimchi jigae) were awesome. My friends both ordered seafood soups, of which they also added were delish.Of course a spread of four side dishes (banchan) and rice bowls were provided in the meals. IIts hard to find parking in front of the lot, but a kind person was nice enough to help us find parking. We were directed to the opposite side of the street, were we found easy parking as well. After much eating, we had full bellies at a very reasonable price.
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A Private User
Did something change??? The cook?? The owner?? This used to be our go-to for soondubu and kalbi. It had been awhile since Ive been, and I thought it was strange that the parking lot was only half full, when I had been bracing myself for a line. And then, I had the soup, the kalbi ... and it was terrible! Even the soondubu wasnt really soondubu -- it looked like they used soft tofu, not the silken/extra soft that its supposed to be. Everything became bland/tasteless. To top it off, I found this nasty plastic thing in my soup. To their credit, they made me a new one, but it ruined my appetite. Dont know if I want to risk going back.
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A Private User
My girlfriend and I wanted to try this out for lunch. I had the Kalbi Short BBQ ribs and Steph had Seafood beef tofu soup mild (in terms of hot sauce). We couldnt even finish it was so much food for lunch and the food/taste, atmosphere, ambiance was spot on! They serve you right away and wil bring out the food as quickly as possible. After that they are busy with other clients and unless you wave at them, they probbaly are too busy to come over to ask if everything is alright or a ice water refresher. We give them 4.5 STARS.
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Tim Faustini
So Kong Dong is a local hotspot for some delicious Sundubu Jigae (순두부찌개) a tasty Korean tofu stew that is usually very spicy. This place was featured way back on the 3rd ever episode of Anthony Bourdains No Reservations. Not much has changed since, except perhaps the prices. Order a Kimchi Beef Stew (Very hot, of course) and some BBQ to split, and snack on some delicious Banchan (반찬) while you wait. Parking is very limited and it can get crowded at times, but if youre in the area, its worth the trip.
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A Private User
Ive been going her for years. now that Im not in the area anymore Im not there as much as I would like but I still make the effort. Anyone whos been here knows that this place is Amzing. Sometimes there is a a small wait but its well woth it. Like any American at first I just liked the ribs. But after a while I truied the soop and my mind chnged right away. the soup is by far the best thing there. Oh and the appetizers theat are on the table oh sooooo good. Any one who likes spicy food should go here.
