First time visit to a place that my spouse and I have eaten next door to so often.... The food makes our mouths so happy! Easy parking; great friendly service; love the wooden benches and booths--don't let the mini-mall exterior fool you, it's surprisingly delightfully inside, using the space well. Love the KPop playlist that was streaming. Based on other Yelp reviews, we knew we had to get the Chicken Katsu, which was perfect: it's clear they change the oil often, light, crunchy, flavorful--next time we want to try the Curry Katsu!! It came out first with the fresh and springy banchan. We knew the two of us were ordering too much food, but we really needed to try the Bibim Noodle... it took 5 min longer, the noodles alive and fresh. the flavors and textures mixing perfectly. OMG a new favorite spot: we cannot wait to bring everyone here since it's so close. But it also makes us want to go to the Garden Grove location, too read more

Dawa Kitchen - Chicken Katsu (underneath is a layer of rice and delicious sauce): the banchan is so fresh and delightful - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

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I've been here several times with my family and/or my friends and it's the closest comfort food when I'm by my parents home because it's literally across the street! The portions are ginormous and can feed a party of 3-4 for a very cost friendly price! Upon arriving, I was seated immediately while waiting for my dad and brother to arrive. I ordered the Jap Chae and the Army Ramen. Both very decent size for its cost as stated earlier. The food came out about 10-15 minutes after ordering. Which is a bit slow but not too slow. Jap Chae - 5/5 I love that the glass noodles are bouncy and chewy. The flavoring is just warm and comforting. It's not too salty and more on the slightly sweet side, which fits perfectly for my taste buds. Don't get me wrong, it does have some savory but not too salty. Army Ramen - 4.5/5 the instant ramen bonhomie with my childhood and then just elevated with the sliced cheese, hot dog sausages cut up, the rice cake seemed a bit redundant on the carbs but texture was fine, and the particles of meat. Overall very satisfying and a bit of a kick to it. Perfectly balanced with the banchan read more

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Been wondering when I would try this spot, since almost all the dishes are meant for sharing. Came with family on a Sunday afternoon. The curry katsu is so huge! It came out bubbling hot over rice. The sous vide tender pork belly is fantastic with the accompanying red pepper sauce, puréed garlic and sliced chives. It was the first time we ever had japchae noodles served in a lot of broth, also piping hot in a stone pot. I got the sliced beef in beef bone broth with added ramen, option to add more salt if you want, but it was just the right flavor without it. Seemed to have just one person taking orders and running food out from the kitchen. Wait time was not long at all, but there were a lot more customers at around 2 or 3 pm (usually the time Korean church services end). Overall great flavors, just remember the food portions are meant for family sharing. read more

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Had the absolute pleasure recently of attending this great Korean food spot. Their food is amazing. We ordered pork katsu and the bulgogi hot stone. Along with what I call pot stickers as I forget the name of them. As well as their Mac n cheese dish. The hot stone meal would be enough to split between two people, and the pork katsu would feed three people. Their service is very helpful and friendly. Their menu is very big for how small the location is. Great things come in small packages for sure. As with how small the kitchen looks, they are putting out huge flavor. It's a great meal, and was a great value too. We ordered way too much food, and left with lots of containers to eat the next day. If you're looking for absolutely amazing food and a cute setting to take your date or significant other, or even just a delicious hot meal table for one, this is the place. Also... that cheese pull for the Mac n cheese is not a lie. It's a MUST get. read more

Dawa Kitchen - We ordered way too much. Pork katsu was giant. - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

If you're the kind of person who enjoys a meal that's comforting, Dawa Kitchen definitely delivers.   Beef Belly Hot Stone Pot (5/5) The presentation alone was worth a moment of appreciation before digging in. It arrived sizzling in a hot stone bowl, with glossy slices of beef belly layered with rice and topped with onions, bean sprouts, corn, garlic flakes, and black pepper. As you mix everything together, the heat from the stone slowly crisps the rice at the bottom while the beef belly releases its rich, buttery flavor. The black pepper and garlic give it a subtle punch, while the bean sprouts add a nice freshness and crunch to balance the richness. It's the kind of dish where every bite tastes slightly different depending on what you scoop up. Highly recommended   Garlic Su Yuk (4.5/5) Another standout and felt like a completely different experience. The pork belly is sous vide for 10 hours, and you can absolutely taste the patience that went into it. Each piece was incredibly tender. Soft enough to almost melt apart with a gentle bite but still maintaining that satisfying pork belly richness. The beef bone broth adds a deep, savory backbone to the dish, while the house white and red sauces bring layers of garlicky, slightly tangy flavor that cut through the fat beautifully. Paired with steamed rice, it's indulgent but balanced.   The restaurant itself is simple and cozy. It's not overly flashy or trendy, which honestly makes the experience feel more relaxed and focused on the food. The space feels welcoming. Overall, Dawa Kitchen is a great place if you're looking for comforting Korean-style dishes served with a bit of visual flair. Between the sizzling presentation and the deep, savory flavors, it's definitely a spot I'd come back to when I want something hearty and satisfying. read more

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Very good, authentic Korean/Asian cuisine. Service was prompt and courteous. Very wide range of dishes along with banchan.

My family and I wanted to eat some Korean food. We stop by Dawa Kitchen around six o'clock and there was no line. The place was pretty nice and cozy. We chatted while listening to pleasant music. We ordered beef belly, curry pork katsu, mac & corn cheese, and spicy braised beef. The beef belly was served on a hot stone which you mix up with veggies before you eat. It was very delicious. The curry pork katsu was huge and the curry was a little spicy. The mac & corn cheese was really good. The spicy braised beef was flavorful but the beef was a little bit chewy. Overall the food was good!! read more

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It was a nice little hole-in-the-wall place! I've had this spot saved for a long time, but hadn't had the chance to visit until now. The plaza it's in was super quiet, at least when I went. I came with my family, since the more the merrier, right? More people means you can order more food! , The place itself is very small. It looked like there was one cook and one person working the front. There are only a few tables, so if it gets busy, you might have to wait, but when I visited, there were a few tables open, so no issues. I did notice there were a lot of to-go orders. I'd also like to note that there is a restroom, which is past the kitchen. We ordered a few items, and the portions were much larger than we expected. Of course, we had to get the pork katsu, since I saw the videos, and who wouldn't want a huge piece of katsu? We also ordered the mac and cheese corn, beef belly (bibimbap hot stone), and spicy galbi jjim (braised beef). Everything was good, with nothing really to complain about. Our favorites were a tie between the beef belly and the mac and cheese corn, as these were practically gone by the end of the meal. The curry was also really good and had lots of good flavor. They provided tongs and scissors to cut the katsu, along with mini ladles for the other dishes, which made serving and eating much easier. The galbi jjim was good and came loaded with vegetables and meat. While my parents liked it, they didn't enjoy it as much as versions from other places we've tried. Still, it was delicious overall, and we ended up taking a lot home. read more

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Walked in on a Friday night & was seated right away. It's a pretty small restaurant with limited seating. We ordered braised beef, pork, army stew and chicken Katsu curry. They all came with huge servings! I personally love the army stew, it has good flavor and came with a lot of toppings. The braised beef was also a favorite. The beef was very flavorful and came with such big portions! The pork and rice dish was nothing special in my opinion. It was a pretty standard dish, it kind of reminds me of pepper lunch. I wish it had more flavor though. The chicken Katsu curry was surprisingly just ok for me. While the presentation is impressive & the Katsu was crunchy, I just felt like it lacked flavor and so did the curry itself. If the curry flavor was more enhanced it would've definitely elevated the dish more! read more

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I've been here with my boyfriend multiple times and let's just say, if he ate here without me I'd be throwing hands. First of all, I loveee how everything comes freshly hot! The flavors here are superb and the banchan go so well with all the foods. I wish they had some of the same items at this location as their Garden Grove location but it's okay. Everything is still delicious and I'll still be recommending this place to everyone ‍ read more

Dawa Kitchen - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

I have actually eaten here three times now and like my last 5 Star review, the second and third visit was not any different. The one thing I need to change is not be a creature of habit, which usually I am not, but every time I've eaten here, I always get the gigantic pork katsu and the sous vide pork. I always forget what it's called in Korean. The most recent visit we did try something different. Instead of our usual bibimbap, we god the bibimbap noodles. Not bad. Something different. One other thing that hasn't changed here is their service. Fast, pretty accurate and never hesitating to refill our banchans. This was my third visit and definitely is not going to be our last. read more

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Imagine a place that serves a dish with a piece of chicken bigger than your head. . .well, almost as big as your head. That's Dawa Kitchen. There were 3 of us sharing the chicken curry plate, a spicy ramen, and a side of cheesy mac, and we still had a lot of leftovers (the chicken leftovers served two of us for lunch the next day). The food was good here, tasty and well seasoned. My daughter especially liked the cheesy Mac dish. The spicy ramen was overall good, but not overly special. The sides were good quality, not a ton of variety (4 kinds), but as many refills as you want. So a good place overall, friendly service, large portions, nicely decorated. But most of all, impressively humongous breaded chicken piece. As big as Rhode Island, almost. read more

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I had bookmarked this place a couple months ago. Finally got to try it last Saturday. We got there after 1:15pm, and the place was pretty empty. Decoration was very simple and modern. We had problems connecting to their WiFi, and their menus took forever to load via 5G. They didn't have any printed menus, but they're able to show us the menus on an iPad. It's a little strange that ordering and paying was still via our server even though the menus were online only. For the 3 of us, we ordered curry chicken katsu, beef belly ramen and mac & corn cheese. Portions were very generous, and we had quite a bit of leftover curry chicken and cheese to take home. I liked that they provided scissors and tongs for us to cut the gigantic katsu into smaller pieces Korean style. The mac & corn was flame-torched table side. I usually didn't care for mac & cheese, but this mac & corn was creamy, hot, and super tasty. The ramen was delicious as well and a good balance between the other two richer dishes. There're 4 kinds of banchan, which were basic yet solid. Our server was very nice and kept checking on us to see if we needed any refills of banchan. Price was very reasonable. It's really great value considering the huge portions. Would love to come back and try their other dishes next time we're in the area. read more

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Service was really good .... One guy seemed to be handling it all. It's a small restaurant and luckily wasn't crowded. We got the Chicken Katsu Curry (it was chicken breast too) .... It could have had a little more flavor but they have seasoning on the table so it made it easy to personalize (I don't eat spicy). The salad was fantastic.... And the kimchi sides were tasty and NOT spicy so I enjoyed them (usually I skip them). The best was the Mac and Corn Cheese.... It was very delicious. I would head back just for this. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Chicken Katsu Curry, Mac and Corn Cheese, kimchi sides - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

Katsu the size of a pizza, perfectly crispy with Japanese curry sauce. Spicy tofu soup with flavors bursting so vividly they don't need to be hidden with chili or salt. Pork belly that melts in your mouth because it's been marinated and slow cooked for hours. I was a huge fan of this Korean Japanese restaurant in garden grove and was so excited to see them open a new location! Will come to this one from now on! read more

Dawa Kitchen - Tofu soup, pork curry katsu, pork belly - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

Kpop Demon Hunters and Bon Appetit, Your Majesty got me craving Korean food!! Dawa Kitchen was soooooooo gooooood!! I hands down will already say that I will go back. For this double date night, we ordered: * Pork Katsu * Braised Beef * Jap-Chae They are known for their HUGE Katsu. You can order it with Chicken or Pork. The katsu sauce and curry that accompanied the schnitzel. Surprisingly though, I enjoyed the Braised Beef and Jap-Chae more. It was because of both dish had similar, but different umami. I loved the beef for the stewed vegetables, the actual stew, and the meat was so tender. It fell right off the bone. The stew was sweet and savory. The vegetables of potatoes, carrots, and onions (Oh, my!) are the food trifecta for stews, curry, and soups. These vegetables hold in flavor so well especially when they cooked perfectly. The Jap-Chae (JC) was unique! Instead of a stir-fry, it was soupy. I think I have a love for dishes that are soupy, saucy, etc. I mean my comfort food is white rice with a hearty soup or stew. Going back to the JC -- the flavor pepper forward and sweet. The sweet potato starch noodles with the vegetable medly, which included carrots, mushrooms, onion, and spinach was delicious. The vegetable that held in the flavor for this dish were the shiitake mushrooms. I love mushrooms, so this JC had my name on it hands down! Of course at the start to the meal, they gave Banchan -- side dishes: * Kimchi * Pickled Radish & Veggies * Spicy Cucumber Salad * Mac Salad The look of the interiors of the restaurant were simple and modern... almost industrial meets rustic with tromp l'oeil painted walls with landscape or cityscape of Korea. The booths were wood benches that gave it a traditional Korean home vibe. Dawa Kitchen is located in a strip mall, so parking was very convenient and the service was great! Our server refilled us on the banchan and our pitchers of water were filled. It looked like there was only one server and busser for the small restaurant, so good them for taking care of a dozen of tables all on their own! As Taiwanese-Chinese people would say, ADD GAS!! Can't wait to try Dawa Kitchen again! Maybe the next time I will try the Garden Grove location. read more

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Great overall experience, came around 1pm on a Saturday, inmediately got seated. Parking was also decent to find a spot. We got the pork katsu (huge and not dry, nice), beef belly bowl (large, just a tad salty), and dawa chicken. Dawa chicken was a little underwhelming in comparison, felt like half of the pieces were mostly breading sadly. They have QR scanned menus posted up along the walls but we also received a physical menu which was nice since the online menu didn't really load properly. read more

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Dawa Kitchen is a Korean fusion restaurant with large portions and great value. There are ten tables total in the restaurant, so there may be a little wait at dinnertime. The waiter was busy buzzing between tables, but very attentive. The banchan comes out at the same time as all the food, and there are unlimited refills. Almost every table ordered katsu, which can be prepared mildly spicy, and the portions were enormous. The mac & corn cheese was creamy and flame-torched tableside. The dduk bok ki was also comforting and rich. The two of us purposefully over-ordered to have leftovers, and I think we'll have enough for a few days. We really enjoyed our experience and will definitely be back. read more

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Ginormous size cutlet and curry! Love the stone pot curry with cutlet. Stone bibimbap was good but charge extra for fried egg and k meat. Spacious but uncomfortable seats. read more

What a find! We're not familiar the Los Al area, so we were so stoked to find Dawa Kitchen while searching for a dinner spot. It was a bonus to hear from friends that this restaurant is a popular choice among locals. If you've never been, Dawa is described as a cozy, casual Korean restaurant serving small plates and comfort food. My wife and daughter split the Bulgogi. I saw online photos and videos of their katsu curry so I of course had to try it. Customers can choose between pork or chicken and curry or without. My Curry Pork Katsu arrived piping hot served with rice on a sizzling hot stone skillet. The portion size of the katsu was beyond generous! If you don't believe me, check out for yourself the big mamma jamma in my video. The skillet really helps the entree retain its heat, so I recommend eating slowly and cautiously or risk burning the inside of your mouth. All food orders are accompanied with standard banchan - we had three side dishes including kimchi and spicy cucumbers. Overall we had a great experience at Dawa Kitchen and look forward to our leftovers when next we eat! read more

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Food was yummy and hot, and service was quick. Ambiance was also nice. We got the tofu soup, army ramen, chicken curry katsu, and garlic su yuk. read more

Dawa Kitchen - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

Okay, okay, this little no nonsense restaurant has my attention with it's simplicity and great food. Walked in on a Yelp suggestion and as usual, ended up being pleasantly surprised. Service was really great, no problems there but a few things really stood out. First, all of the banchan had amazing depth and flavor. It left such a mark on me I went to go and ask about it and sure enough they make it all in house and fresh. Second, the curry pork was like a GIANT slab of juicy, crispy and flavorful pork that was large enough for my entire family to try. If you look at my pics, I put a dollar bill down just so people can see the size comparison. I personally was not a fan of the "Army Stew" although the wife said it was good, not great. To me it was like a bachelor's version of ramen and adding in literally everything you have left over. A kitchen sink, hoagie kind of situation. Flavor was good overall, just was not that impressed and it certainly was not like the banchan. The last subtle challenge that I am sure they will work out is the menu. They had QR codes on the wall and in the location, on my phone, I could not access the menu and got an error message. Overall, reasonable prices, great service and food. Will be back read more

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After arriving in L.A., we were hungry, wanted a bite to eat for lunch before checking into our hotel room, we saw an amazing reviews here and OMG, it didn't disappoint by a long shot. HolyMoly!! Their delicious portions of curry kastu's were behind large was even an understatement. Not only both kastu's looked liked one huge large piece but there were two other pieces of kastu below too lol. Just one order could feed a family of two or three for sure. Hugely recommended place and thank me later. read more

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My family stopped by to try this place after an escape room. I believe this place just opened recently but wow I'm impressed with how efficient the staff is here. They have a smaller dining area and the place only had a single server but even with a full house that server paid such good attention to everyone we all felt taken care of. Our food arrived quickly despite the our larger order and it was made to exact request! The food was pretty amazing too! We really loved the Pork Katsu with curry and the DAWA chicken! We also ordered the bulgogi bibimap and mandu dumplings. All of the above were excellent. Flavorful but not overwhelming! I will say I am impressed and I highly recommend a visit! Have a feeling this place is going to start to get busy pretty soon. read more

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I will absolutely say that I will return to this restaurant because the customer service was fantastic. I didn't get his name, but he was always checking on us and ask if we needed anything else or if we had questions. So that's a plus+. So this location opened up about 6 months ago and I'm glad to support. I ordered the Bulgogi bowl which was good enough to have leftovers to take home. The meat was marinated very well, hint of sweetness and not salty. It came along with the side dishes of kimchi, Mac salad, cucumber and radish. The cabbage kimchi was crunchy and tasty. I absolutely love everything I experienced and will definitely return. My friend had the Bibimbap bowl and she said it was really good. Beef soup is next to try for my next visit. Try them out if you haven't yet. Support small businesses because they support the community. read more

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What an amazing experience! Went to the Dawa location in Los Alamitos last Sunday evening for dinner with a buddy. We each ordered the giant katsu plates as hunger set in. Outcome was walking away full with leftovers. Bang for the bucks, yes. Tasty food, yes. Give Dawa a try, absolutely . read more

Dawa Kitchen - Pork and Chicken Katsu plates. Those katsu pieces are gigantic! - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

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Dawa Kitchen is a great addition to Los Alamitos. I've always wanted to go to the Garden Grove location, but I've seen how long the wait gets there. Since this location is still new, it's fairly empty and we did not have to wait for a table. I doubt this will last long. I'm sure it'll be busy soon! It's tucked away in a sleepy shopping center with plenty of parking. The interior of the restaurant is nicely decorated and everything is very clean. The food is awesome. Warning: the beef belly ramen is super spicy, but delicious. The chicken katsu with curry is massive! We also ordered the mac and corn cheese, which complemented the spiciness of the ramen very well. Do yourself a favor and order it! read more

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The portions here are huge, most of the dishes seem shareable between two people. We finished our Katsu Curry and were stuffed. The banchan is very solid too, I liked that it was simple and a nice acidity for our meal. We came on a Friday night and there was no wait. There was only one server and he was very nice. ig: @cravingswithcat read more

Dawa Kitchen - Pork Curry Katsu & Banchan (ig: @cravingswithcat) - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

We had the mixed rice- EXCELLENT, chicken katsu, dumplings, and corn cheese. All very good! Happy to have a good Korean place in Los Al!! read more

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We went here for Mother's Day with my Mama, my husband, our daughter, husband's parents and brother, his fiancé and her mom. The food is always great, the portions are big. First time trying Braised Beef. We ordered other stuff but I forgot what they were lol. We'll definitely come back again. The staff are really nice. The place is small but can accommodate big groups because a large group came while we were there. Can't wait to go back again next time. read more

The biggest Katsu you've ever seen! Everything is delicious! We had BiBimBop, bulgogi, na pork belly Service is fast and friendly. Ambiance is very basic read more

My wife and I came on a quiet Wednesday, but it definitely started filling up as the night went on. Cute, simple restaurant with a nice and attentive waiter, we appreciated all the advice of what to get! The katsu was enormous, and really well cooked. The curry tasted awesome. The beef belly was 11 out of 10, so so good. The mandu were good, not great, and the cheese corn unexpectedly tasted like Mayo, which is not my thing (but a very cool dish). We will be back! There is so much we want to try. read more

I absolutely love their food here! The service is super attentive, helpful, and friendly. I come here very often with my family when we can and we absolutely love their curry pork katsu, beef belly, and garlic su yuk but my personal favorite is the beef belly. It is pact with delicious flavors and you can tell that every thing about it is prepared fresh. This place is definitely one of my favorites and I love how the food always comes out hot, fresh, and delicious. The interior is also very clean and colorful. Overall, I would definitely recommend coming here for a delicious meal! read more

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I first heard of Dawa Kitchen awhile back but would never be able to make it to the Garden Grove location since it was out the ways. I was so happy to hear that they opened a location closer to home in Los Alamitos! Friendly service and food tasted delicious. We ordered-- PORK KATSU with Steamed Rice, SPICY TOFU SOUP (BEEF), Spicy soft Tofu Soup served with Steamed Rice, DAWA CHICKEN, DDUK BOK KI, and BEEF BELLY. Food portions were great-- I had plenty of leftovers to take home. Will definitely be back! read more

Dawa Kitchen - PORK KATSU with Steamed Rice SPICY TOFU SOUP (BEEF) Spicy soft Tofu Soup served with Steamed Rice DAWA CHICKEN DDUK BOK KI BEEF BELLY - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

Found this hole in the wall after trying to find well reviewed Korean spots near me. After some searching, I came across the photos of the food here and at first, I could not believe how huge some of the meals were so of course, I had to find out what the hype was all about. My small party only had to wait about 10 minutes before getting seated. I will say that once we got seated, I immediately noticed how slightly uncomfortable the seating was since there is no cushion on the seats. It wasn't the biggest deal in the world and plus, I was more distracted by some of the familiar menu items this place had. I opted for the curry chicken katsu while my brother ordered tteokbokki (w/ ramen for extra $) and soondubu. Once we received our meals, I was pleasantly surprised with how consistent the size of the meals was with the photos I viewed prior to our visit! Portions were HUGE and I thought for the first time that there is no way I am finishing even my own meal alone. After some time, I was right! I did not finish my food and decided to take about half of it home. In terms of quality, it was very tasty and part of me was thinking that because of the huge portions, it would not taste as good as a result. In the end, I could not be more wrong, and I found everything to be excellent quality. Even the banchan came out delicious as it complimented our meals quite well! For reasonable prices and arguably some of the largest portions of food that I have even been given, I can easily say this place is definitely worth trying out! As for my next visit, that can be expected very soon! read more

Dawa Kitchen - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

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Food: portions were huuuuge!! The best thing we ordered was the tteokbokki. everybody at the table agreed that the fish cakes were delicious and unique. It also comes in a hot stone dish, so if you let them sit, the rice cakes become a little charred and chewy (so good!) If I came back, I would 100% order the tteokbokki again. The waiter recommended the katsu and there were 2 pieces, bigger than my face. they were good, thin slices so maybe a little dry. Service: It seemed like there was one person who was waiting, bussing, and hosting. He was very patient and attentive despite this. Ambiance: Clean and open, the interior was small and decorated with pretty murals. There was no wait to be seated on a Friday during early dinner time. Price: considering the quality and amount of food we got, it was an amazing deal. read more

Dawa Kitchen - tteokbokki - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

If you like Korean food, this a place to check out. We only did pick up but it was very nice inside. The menu is a QR code on the wall. The service was fast for pick up. read more

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Damn, the pork katsu cutlet was insanely huge, tossed like a giant pork blanket over my curry sauce and steamed rice. We also tried bibimbop which was delicious. Shave beef over rice, yum! Two dishes here is good for 4 people . We each ordered our own dish and got leftovers for days. Very good service, still waiting on beer & wine license. This place is great! read more

Dawa Kitchen - Pork katsu curry - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

Chicken Katsu for the win! Huge serving, I got full at dinner and had lunch for the next day. Worth it!

Service is fast ! Portion of food is humongous!! Delicious!! Ambiance is good.. Must try!! read more

Dawa Kitchen - Chicken KATSU - Korean Near Me - Los Alamitos, California

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