Nak Won Jung Korean Restaurant
| Related: | giant eagle southland |
| Address: | 1010 S 10th St a, McAllen, TX 78501, USA |
| Phone: | +1 956-994-8155 |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | Closed 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 12–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
CL
Clay Young
My whole experience eating here was one of the most enjoyable eating experiences Ive ever had in my life. From the moment you walk in its clear that the owners are, in fact, Korean and that they wished to fill the restaurant with as much as they could that reminded them of Korea. The decor is nice, the TVs are on a Korean station, even most of the writing and menu is in Korean. I could not think of a way to make the place more authentic. There are no fountain drinks or water so the water you ask for is bottled. Just a fair warning I suppose. Service seemed pretty ok, Im unclear why others on here have given low ratings based on that. In Korean culture youre usually left alone at a restaurant unless you REALLY get their attention. I chalk this up to ignorance of other cultures from the patrons point of view. For the vegans that saw fit to get into a lengthy discussion with the owner about their food not being vegan, what did you expect when you walked in? They serve authentic food as it would be served in Korea. It would be like walking into a local Italian restaurant and asking for gluten free pasta. It just isnt how things are done. But, I digress. I ordered jah-jang-myun (black bean sauce noodles) and it was a heavenly dish. The noodles were perfect and the sauce was nice, thick, and tasty. I also had a side of dumplings and those were just as well-made. The sauce was a little hard to dip into My roommate had spicy squid which I got to try and that was delicious as well. It had a very unique combination of sweet and spicy that worked heavily in its favor. It also came with a variety of side dishes, including something like daikon, bean sprouts, jalapeño, spinach, pickles, and dried squid. Overall we greatly enjoyed the restaurant and will be coming here again as well as recommending it to anyone that goes.
LI
Lillian Kim
Taste-wise, this place is average. Slightly overpriced. What I have a problem with is the service. People may say that the owner is friendly and everything, and she might be. Thats not my concern. What Im angry about is that she lied to my face. First, let me start off by saying that I am a vegan, which means that I do not consume or use any animal products. Weve known the owner for quite a while now, and she knows that my sister and I are both vegan. We also always order the same thing, with no meat, dairy, or seafood on it. She also knows this. So there is no excuse for what she did. She gave us a "special side," and she told us that it was ok for us to eat. She said there was no meat. Trusting her words, I bit into it, only to find that there was in fact dead cow inside of it. Thats not even the worst part about it. When we pointed out that there was meat in it, she said "only a little bit," and proceeded as if she had done no wrong. All I wanted was an apology, some sort of acknowledgement that shed done some wrong on her part. But all she did was continue to berate us about our lifestyles. She also asked why our mother raised us like this: to be so picky. I just dont understand why I couldnt eat a peaceful meal, and not be attacked by the restaurant owner. She attacked us based on our young age (Koreans believe respect is gained by age), and she discriminated against us based on our beliefs. If you want to eat in such a discriminative environment, then go ahead, but I myself am never going back there. If I could give this place zero stars I would have. The average-tasting/overpriced food is not worth being attacked for your beliefs.
AV
Avery Rios
First of all, let me educate you all on Korean Beliefs and Service. In the Korean belief, when an adult offers you food, even if you dont like it, you take it and you eat it either way because that is a form of respect in the Korean Culture. Ive read some of the reviews here about my 할머님 (Grandmothers) restaurant about her ways of service and pricing and I must say that a lot of what Ive read is completely untrue. In terms of spicy foods, Mexican spice is nothing compared to Korean spice! When she warns her customers about the spicy food, dont take it in a rude way, shes simply telling you because she knows that some cant handle it. Secondly, please remember that she is the only one cooking in the back! So please respect the fact that she is trying to get the food out as fast as she can. As for pricing and portion, if youve ever order jah jang myun or Bim Bi Bap, its served in a great portion along with small side dishes. In other words youre getting charged for less than what you ordered because the side dishes and rice are not charged. Overall, Nak Won Jung is actually a great choice if youre looking for authentic Korean food and I highly recommend you come to visit for some friendly service and amazing food!
OT
Otto Boneta
I spent over 3 years in Korea. I love Korea and I love this place because of the ambiance (reminds me of small family owned restaurants in Korea) and especially the owner. The owner is an extremely delightful ajuma who takes great pride in her cooking and is overflowing with boundless Korean hospitality. She works very hard to train her wait staff who is not Korean but they are coming along albeit slowly. As ajuma is doing all the cooking, she cannot be out front constantly supervising the waitstaff - you need to have a little patience. Im OK with that. I want ajuma in the kitchen as she is a great cook and serves up authentic homecooked Korean cuisine. Well, I must admit I greatly enjoy when she does come visit tableside - she is a most delightful and gracious lady. If you are looking for "Americanized" cuisine, this may not be the place for you. But, if you want to experience great authentic Korean food you must come here to eat.
IV
Ivan Yudhi
Im in town this week for work, and was craving for some Asian food. Decided to try this place out. Was quite surprised what this place looks quite authentic. They serve some Korean dishes that arent regularly available anywhere else, like jajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodle) and kimbap (vegetable rice roll). I tried both and they were both really delicious, pretty close to the ones I had in Seoul. Unfortunately, the service wasnt that great. The server didnt speak much English, so it was really hard to communicate. I asked for tap water, but he kept bringing me bottled water. At the end I gave up and told him to just not bring me any water. It wasnt really a big deal though. I know he tried hard, and with good intention. The food was great, and considering the location, I thought thats pretty impressive.
JA
Jacqueline Kim
I am a vegan and have visited this restaurant. The lady who runs the restaurant knew that we were vegan and offered us some dumplings saying that they were meat free. I ate it and realized that there was actually meat in the dumplings and told the lady about it. She said its ok because there was only a small amount of meat and that we shouldnt be so picky. She went even further telling my mom that she shouldnt have raised us to be so picky. She tricked us into eating meat because she disliked the fact that we dont eat meat (as older generation Korean people do). I honestly feel so offended and cheated and definitely do not recommend this restaurant to people who wish that there dietary beliefs stray away from being attacked.
