Mostly Photos: Dae Myoung Ok Korean Restaurant, Irvine, CA
One of the many Korean restaurants (I think I counted 4 last time I checked?) on Culver Dr. in Irvine. We’re faithfuls of Kaya, but this night we were faced with a 15 person-deep waiting queue and we were already starved. So off we went down to the plaza next door to try our luck at Dae Myoung Ok.
What I like about Dae Myoung Ok is the banchan (complimentary, refillable side dishes that always accompany a Korean meal); plentiful, well-seasoned (read: not so incredibly spicy or salty that you couldn’t finish more than one plate) and they give you generous portions. We ordered two noodle dishes (the white noodles is a hot seafood broth, the brown noodles is a cold, spicy broth). Again, portions are huge. We liked the cold noodles the best, while the seafood soup noodles lost their charm once the noodles started to get soggy and melted into the soup. We also got a soondobu (hot tofu soup). Standard fare; not great but not bad.
I’d say that Kaya is still my favorite, but Dae Myoung Ok has its charms. It’s definitely got it’s banchan going for it and it has some home-style dishes that the other Korean tofu and bbq places in Irvine don’t have (sujebi and mandoo anyone?). Another plus is that the service is super friendly; the woman who owns the place constantly makes rounds of the tables, asking customers how they are and how their food is; it’s akin to eating at your favorite Korean auntie’s house.
Dae Myoung Ok Korean Restaurant
14250 Culver Dr., Suite B
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 651-1177
Note: It may be a bit tough finding this restaurant; it’s a tiny place tucked in a fairly large plaza. Also, its signage doesn’t read “Dae Myoung Ok”; just look for a place called “Korean Restaurant” with mostly white interiors.
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This looks delicious! I love, love, LOVE Korean food. In fact, I had it just today… there are actually a lot of Korean restaurants where I live!
I think the cold noodles are called nungmyeon, or 넝면, or just 水冷麵 in Chinese. It’s delicious for summer and if today was as warm as it was GOING to be (grr it’s cold again) it would be perfect.
My favorite part of Korean restaurants is always the banchan.
Kimchi FTW!
oh man, what a night. glad we ended up here after being disappointed with all the other crowded restaurants!
@Wei-Wei: My favorite part of Korean restaurants is the banchan, too! I always tell my family that I could just make a complete meal from just the banchan and a bowl of rice alone (but obviously you can’t just waltz into a restaurant and order nothing, haha).
@Mei: Our search of a non-crowded restaurant was epic that night. Don’t think we’ve ever been shot down that many times before.
Nice photos. Everything looks yummy. I like their Gujeolpan (not sure) I think it literally means “nine-sectioned plate.” This dish consists of a number of different vegetables and meats served with thin pancakes. They usually serve it at special occasions such as weddings, and is associated with royalty.
@Kathy: I’ve never had gujeolpan before; it sounds delicious! I’ll be sure to give it a try the next time I am there.
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