Mo Ran Gak

Garden Grove is a Korean stronghold, where the shopping plazas are lined with Korean bookstores, chess shops, grocery stores, and barbershops. But the biggest line you’ll find here is at Mo Ran Gak, where people will wait for an hour outside every day (or even two on weekends) for some of the best samgyupsal (pork belly) and chadorbegi (microbrisket) in the LA area. So it’s no surprise that the naengmyeon is excellent here - and it’s even beautifully presented, with a neat mound of buckwheat noodles topped with long julienned mu radish and high-quality beef in a succulent beef broth. The bibim naengmyeon leans toward sweet rather than too spicy, though the broth is beautifully red, and comes with pollack. If you’re torn, order the large bibim naengmyeon and get a free mini mul naengmyeon on the side. For takeout orders, you can grab a bargain combo meal of naengmyeon and kalbi for $22.95.