Daheen Wang Mandoo - Long live the strands of flavor

On a day after J and I were shopped out, we decided to get Korean food in KTown. We were just gonna go to Food Gallery which consist of endless stalls of Korean food, literally a Korean food court until Daheen Wang Mandoo caught our eyes. It was grand-opening for them and we must try it. Not to mention they were right next to Mandoo Bar which we greatly dislike since our last visit.

The layout was very similar to Mandoo Bar but a lot brighter. Since it was pretty new, a lot of things were still in the making and it wasn't perfect yet. Our menus and water were brought to us right away though. The waitress came to us 3 times to ask if we were ready and each time we weren't (even though they don't have a big menu, it was a lot to digest since everything on the menu look so good!), finally we were ready but she was busy and pretty much ignored J...haha

They actually have another shop that exist in Flushing, the other real KoreanTown.

As always, starting off with some banchan. I find that mandoo restaurants don't give much banchan...
Here we just have pickled radish and carrots along with some kimchi.

Of course we had to order a mandoo. We got the Kalbi Jumbo Mandoo ($2), definitely something different than your average mandoo. Whenever we eat in the states and are exposed to mandoo, we think dumplings (the small ones) but in actuality, it's the bun like mandoo we're dealing with here. I really like how they served it inside a little bag and on a plate. It was nice and steamy hot, the bun was soft and pillow-y. I really enjoyed the mandoo, wish I didn't have to share it with J though...

Tofu GangJung ($7.50) was J's call. It wasn't too bad but it wasn't that great. When it first came out, I thought it was fish. The battered fried tofu was covered in a sweet honey sesame sauce, not bad but it was a bit too much on the sweet side for me.

Looking at this bowl gets me excited. The Daheen Ramen ($12.50), was the best ramen I've ever had. Quite pricey for a bowl but so worth it when you dig in.

It contains the wavy noodles that I love. The noodles was cooked al-dente and the best part is the egg-y-ness of it. Reminds me of the Hong Kong egg noodles but bouncier and better. The broth was also really good, not too spicy and felt like egg yolks were the base of the soup. Delicious!

My dish took the longest. I thought it being the Spicy Cold Noodles ($11.75) it would be quick but I was wrong. I was a bit disappointed when it came out because it looked like a salad plate and I didn't want that since I was starving. I was hoping something on the lines of naengmyeon, noodles in a cold broth...but once I bit into this, I was glad I ordered it. The noodles were seasoned so well, it gets spicy as you continue to eat but the balance of the greens and apples complimented it. Each ball of noodles were packed, so you would have to loosen them up, I was already full when I got to my second so J had to help me out on this one.

I would solely come back for their noodles. Mandoo, not too much.

Daheen Wang Mandoo
2 W 32nd St
New York, NY 10001
(212) 510-7332