wonjo seafood restaurant

wonjo seafood restaurant
17303 pioneer boulevard, artesia, CA 90701
tel: 562) 809-0057

what was consumed: hae mul tang (of course), bossam

some of the best korean food is in LA (sometimes even better than korea! i know, i know - blasphemous) ... wonjo heh-mool-tang is one of those places.

when i go home, there are a few korean restaurants that i ask my parents to take me to - sikdorak (or an equivalent), out for soondae, and here - wonjo heh-mool-tang.

the first time i heard about wonjo was when my dad told me about a restaurant that one of my parents' church members ran. he told me that he had gone with some other church people and told me that when i was back in town, he would take me ... and he did! hurrah~

after being seated and orders made, our meal began with all of the bahn-chan that is characteristic of korean restaurants. wonjo has a number of different dishes that are fresh and delicious (and they will bring out more if you'd like - niiice!). i always love it when they have variety, which they do here. i think my favorite is the miyeok (seaweed) that you can dip into the gohchoojang (hot red bean paste). it's so easy to make and i'm sure i can make it for enjoyment at home. unfortunately, i don't. i will, though! i tried to make the potatoes before, but totally messed it up (i am NOT good at following directions!). i wish i had the patience (and the time) to make more bahnchan at home ... but alas. anyway, the downside with yummy bahn-chan is that you end up eating so much of it and you're all full before the main courses come up. then again, good bahn-chan is a great sign of yummy-ness to come - woohoo!

and now, for the reason i come here - the hae-mool-tang. i love seafood (seafood, not see food ... hahaha). like really love it. i will eat seafood in all forms and shapes. when a variety of it come in a sort of soup, it's just another way to enjoy deliciousness! here at wonjo, the server brings out a big pot of the tang, turns on the hot plate, and lets it boil right on the table. once the spicy soup gets going, she'll come back and cut up the big pieces with scissors (a la korean style - ha!). and once the seafood is cooked, she will ladel out individual portions of you to enjoy. contents of the hehmooltang include squid, shrimp, clams, mussels, crab, fish, and some veggies. there are some other things, but id on't enjoy them as much, so i pass it on to others who do enjoy those pieces (hee hee). rice also comes with the meal, but i usually end up passing the rice over to my dad or leave it uneated. i know, i know. but i would much rather prefer filling my belly with seafood and bahnchan. delicious!

the last time i went, in addition to the heh-mool-tang, we ordered bossam. so so delicious. the pork was nicely boiled and was delicious - not too dry, not too mushy. and when you make a little wrap roll with the delicious kimchee, it will melt in your mouth.

the restaurant is not that big, but as is the korean way, people generally tend not to take a long to eat and jet. or maybe it's just that i go at odd times so there are tables available. no matter - i would totally wait to eat here!

it was funny - i was taking photos of my food and our server asked if i was going to write a review ... and that if i was going to write a review, to write a good one. i hope this review is good enough!