Living in LA away from home can be tough. It's a big city and sometimes you just need something…read morethat reminds you of home. Umma Kitchen is like having your own Korean Umma. Located in a strip mall in K-town, Umma Kitchen is a bright beacon. Upon entering, I was welcomed by a very kind and nice lady. She started by recommending different dishes and explaining various options. Frozen soups, ready to heat dishes, kim chee, banchan, and everything you would need for a wonderful home style meal. It was hard to decide what to get because everything looked so good! I wanted to get so much more but my tiny refrigerator and freezer couldn't fit everything. I ended up getting fresh kimchi, dried radish fried seasoned tofu, chwinamul, radish kimchi, seaweed soup, kimchi stew, and soybean paste soup. So far, I've only had the banchan and fried tofu. All so good! I've purchased various Korean banchan, kimchi, and prepared food at local Korean grocery stores. They are ok but not nearly as good as Umma Kitchen. The store is clean, well organized, and offers so many options. Prices are so reasonable. I'm hooked and excited to make my way though all the soups! Umma Kitchen is the real deal and I'll definitely return. LOCATION: 4/5 FOOD: 5/5 SERVICE: 5/5 VALUE: 5/5 AMBIANCE: 5/5 CLEANLINESS: 5/5 PARKING: 5/5

Customer service isn't good. I don't feel like their really care about their customers and I've had…read morerepeated issues with them. I once got really sick after eating here too. Would not recommend

Such a homey spot. Everything here felt very homemade and made with love! The chicken kalguksu…read morebroth was so hot and comforting, not to mention a huge huge portion. We shared this dish and still had a bunch left over to take home. The chicken in it was super tender! We also ordered the steamed dumplings and they were packed with chives and other goodies. Paired perfectly with the kimchi and radish.

First off, their kimchi was the best I've had, besides in Korea…read more We came here for lunch to try their chicken Kalguksu. This was a piping piping hot bowl of chicken noodle soup! The noodles were cooked perfectly with a chewy texture. The broth was thick and milky. The chicken surprisingly was tender. I definitely expected it to be dry from the intense heat of the soup. The fresh kimchi was sweet with good umami, not too spicy. So good! We had an early lunch - midweek. While the small restaurant was pretty packed, we didn't have to wait. No frills or thrills service. But that's ok.

Great service and home kitchen vibe. The servers are so on it! I ordered 6 items and wow! They…read moreprepare it right in the front counter. And i can't stress enough how great the texture is on the dumplings. Must try! you won't regret.

Tasty hand made mandoo and buns. You can't get any fresher than this because they were making it on…read morethe spot. This is a nice, small shop that has good service and reasonable prices. Look at the pictures, this was delicious!

Best kimchee in LA! We found Yang Ga Neh because of an article on Chong's Sesame Oil shop closing…read more In the article, it was mentioned that Chong's sesame oil would be sold at Yang Ga Neh so we made it a point to visit. We were thrilled to find Chong's roasted sesame seeds ($5/ea) and sesame oil ($13/ea). The prices seem to be the same and the quality is excellent. Since I'm also a huge fan of kimchee, I bought the smallest bottle of napa cabbage kimchee ($9/ea). The kimchee is seriously addicting and delicious! I add a couple drops of Chong's sesame oil to my kimchee and I'm in heaven! I'm definitely planning on trying the other types of banchan (radish, sesame leaves, etc). Everything looks so yummy! The owners are very friendly and so helpful. The location is not in the safest neighborhood, so I think they lock their front door on a regular basis. Call the shop and ask them to open the front door. They don't speak much English, so be persistent. Parking is very difficult to find since there is only street parking. But it's worth the hassle to get delicious kimchee and Chong's sesame oil!

It's a bit confusing how to place special orders but the sashimi we picked to have cut was awesome…read more Being able to get some cooked rice, pickles, ginger and other sauces and condiments is so convenient!

The weather has been gloomy, so I was really craving a warm…read morebowl of soup. Shinchon Seolleongtang totally hit the spot. I had the spicy mixed seolleongtang, and it was rich, savory, and so comforting. The broth had a deep, hearty flavor that reminded me of Korean intestine soup in the best way. Prices were also very reasonable for Koreatown, (The marinated shrimp was around $8, seolleongtang was good price too) which made the meal even better. I saw a lot of people ordering dumplings, so I'll have to try those next time. I'm also coming back for the galbi jjim! It's such a cozy spot with very friendly staff. For me, it was the perfect place for a comforting solo lunch.

Visited Shin Chon recently and honestly was impressed by both the food and the prices…read more Their seolleongtang being only $13.67 in LA is kind of wild, especially considering how hearty and satisfying it is. The broth tasted rich and comforting, like it had been simmering forever (in a good way). Perfect comfort food. I also tried the spicy haejang-guk, galbijjim, and soy-marinated shrimp. Everything was flavorful and portions were generous. If you're looking for solid Korean comfort food in Ktown without spending a ton, this place is worth checking out.

For me it was more of a homestyle korean food albeit a little bit too sweet, such as the stir fry…read morebeef bulgogi with onion. (The kids liked it a lot though!) They even liked the traditional style kimchi stew, which was tasty and made with sour kimchi, the way it should be. The food was not that "wow" but the prices were low ($13.99 for a combo of bulgogi with kimchi stew and barley rice) and wondered if their business can stick around long enough with just their 5 small tables? But luckily found out that their main business is making kimchi (their green onion kimchi was very good) and the restaurant was more of an after thought. The menus were only in korean and I doubt if anyone spoke English there, but google translating the menu worked. (See photo) What I liked most about this place was that I felt like I was in a small restaurant of a small korean village, with the friendly ajummas walking in and out of the restaurant (the kimchi making station is just outside on the patio) wearing their brightly colored rubber aprons and rubber shoes.

Very good Korean food Meat dumpling and kimchi was great…read more Spicy squid mix with rice is amazing

Been coming back here for multiple times already, trying out different kinds of their kimbap and so…read morefar most of them have been a hit. Probably the only one that I could say didn't really suit my palate well was only the beef. All the others I tried got me hooked, including Tuna, Anchovies and cream cheese, and Spicy Squid. I would say the first two were hard to choose from as they're each good in their own way! My biggest highlight would be their stuffing to rice ratio was certainly so so generous. All ingredients were also so fresh and tasty, and price-to-size ratio was such great deal. They unfortunately only offer to-go option despite the space did have some tables and chairs. Not sure why, probably back then they're open for dine-in and not anymore. The lady at the store was super nice, always look cheerful and very attentive in serving. I've done both online pre-order and order on the spot, and they have both been extremely quickly.

Overall had a good experience. The restaurant has two entrances, one from the street and another…read morefrom the hallway. My first impression walking in wasn't the best because there was an unpleasant smell inside, but the food itself was good. I ordered three kinds: beef, shrimp mayo, and spam. My favorite was the spam because it was served warm and tasted really satisfying. The shrimp mayo was also very flavorful and enjoyable. I liked the beef one too, but it was very cold and crumbly, which made it a bit messy to eat. Despite a few negatives, I still enjoyed the food overall and would come back to try more items.

by far my favorite Korean restaurant, even in a city that far from lacks quality korean food, this…read morereally really impressed me. menu has all the basics but must-get one of the massive stews!!! cod stew is truly cooked to perfection. the fish and tofu and radish (which are generous chunks i ate so much i'm gonna be so stinky) are so tender and silky it fully melts off the bones. the aromatic leeks and onions are fully submerged together heavenlyyy kalkgusu is QQ and broth is rich and savoury, better than hangari. i like the purple mixed grain rice too

U know when u pull up and nobody speaks English ur about to have a fire meal…read more Interior also checks all the boxes for an old school Korean meal, AND there's THREE halmeonis cooking. Black cod and seafood kalguksu were incredible. No notes. The naengmyeon and the seafood pancake were good but weren't very special. Yummy, cheap and good service, I'd come again