Best Korean in Santa Clara (or in general South Bay/Peninsula)?

Question

What are some of your favorite, authentic Korean places around Santa Clara/South Bay/Peninsula area? I'm visiting family in LA right now, and am spoiled by the Korean food here, which got me thinking.

One place that I always go to is Choi's in Santa Clara (on El Camino near Lawrence expy). In Korean, the sign says "Chae Ga Nae" (Not sure why Choi is the transliteration.) I live in Palo Alto, but its worth the drive. No BBQ tables here. It's very homey with really authentic cuisine. Very mom and pop. The ssam-bap (DIY lettuce wraps)and haemul pa-jun (crispy seafood and scallion pancake) are excellent here, as is the "galbi woo-guh-ji tang"- a rich brothy stew of short ribs slowly cooked with turnip greens and dwaenjang (think Korean miso, but richer and not sweet). This last one keeps me coming back time and time again!

Answer

in santa clara, i like to eat at jang su jang for bbq and soondubu -- try yukejang kalgooksu (handcut noodle soup)
seoul gom tang for gom tang soup
ilbunjee #1 for nice ribeye and brisket tabletop bbq
so gong dong palo alto for soondubu (great potato panchan)
wish i could find a kyochon chicken equivalent (not like 99 chicken)

Answer

Saw the title and was going to recommend Choi's. But you've already found them. They used to be located closer to San Jose: near Lafayette. Maybe the Choi's transliteration is from their old name? The old one was much closer to where we live, but we like them so much that we usually willing to make the longer trek to their new location (which is bigger and has attracted more customers -- good for them, though we miss the quiet cozy prior location).

There are other Korean places we like, but I wouldn't say they had better food. When we want quiet and don't want to travel to Choi's, we'll go to BarbBQ on Saratoga near 280. The food is ordinary (though they do offer pork belly for the grill), but it's run by the nicest older couple and the $6 spicy pork lunch plate is a steal. We mostly go for the quiet, unrushed setting and sweet service rather than stellar food -- no Sambap or seafood pancake here, though.

-----
Choi's
3530 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95051

Answer

Choi's is terrible. The food is mediocre, but the service is awful. The best Korean food in Santa Clara is Myung Dong Grill on Halford, behind Burger King.

Answer

It's super low-key, looks like an Asian Chipotle, and even has dish names dumbed down for Americans, but both the Dolsot Bibimbap (called Hot Stone Bowl there) and the Soondubu (called Tofu Soup) at Bibimbowl in Sunnyvale were quite excellent. Even their kimchi was great.

Full write-up: http://winstonwanders.com/2014/03/31/bibimbowl-sunnyvale/

Answer

Secret Garden is the better than Jang Su Jang. The food is delicious, cheaper, and the service more friendly.

Answer

I recently went to a place called Chungdam in Santa Clara that just opened a couple of months ago, and I think it's the best Korean food in Santa Clara, and better than a lot of places in LA as well. It's a little on the pricey side and it has some "fusion" elements, but the place is clean and modern, a bit upscale, and the service is amazing. Dishes were shared with the people I was with, we ordered the yangnyum galbi, pork bulgogi, haemoolsoondubu, and chungdam bibimbap. Everything was good and I wouldn't hesitate to re-order any of the above, but they have other menu items I want to try first. One other thing that stood out was that the freshness of the banchan compared to many other Korean places I've been too. Maybe another person on this board can check them out and write a more detailed/foodie type of review, but this place is fantastic.

http://chungdamsv.com/

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Best Korean in Santa Clara (or in general South Bay/Peninsula)?

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