Mandu Rang Kimbob Erang at 7217 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA

[Gary Tanigawa]

Wanted to try this place since seeing it on Tyler Cowen's current favorites. Tiny dining room (15), small kitchen with three family members, limited menu, and most items were below $8. I was told by a friend that this is typical snack food eaten by schoolchildren in South Korea on their way home. Yelp has photographs of the place and some dishes served. No bbq dishes like what is served across the street at Honey Pig.

I would recommend the round (Chinese-style) mandu over the more usual scallion-stuffed mandu, but both have nice thin wrappers. Only a couple banchan (kim chee and danmuji), but the kim chee seemed to be crisper than what is usually served. The soup served as a starter was a flavorful broth. Also recommended are the jjolmyenb (chewy noodles) and I suspect most of the noodle dishes would be good (the udon and ramen, however, are only okay). I preferred the spicy tofu stew here to what I had at Lighthouse Tofu, although the latter had more variety in the other ingredients added to the stew, because the flavor of the broth shone though its spiciness and heat.

The donkatsu was also pretty good and very reasonably priced. I did not try any dishes with rice cake, kimbap (hot dog and cheese variants are listed!), or bing soo.

Probably go with at least one Korean because the menu translations are not very descriptive. They recommended the specials posted on the wall and those are probably dishes to try if you don't read/speak Korean. One of them is a bibimbap made with fermented soybeans that tasted good.

[deangold]

Three recent visits. It like dining in your Korean mother in laws house.  My mother in Law was from Indiana and nothing consumed at her house was not out of a jar {instant coffee} or a can unless Kay and I bought and cooked it.  Nothing against my mother in law, RIP, but I'd love to have a Korean Ajumma cooking for me!

Amazing boiled dumplings and kim bap, especially the bulgogi kimbap.  Other stuff has been good. Most of our guesses at what is good have been very good. One or two, like black sesame tofu were nothing I'd order again, but made fro a nnice thing to try.  Cheaper than it needs to be! Super nice service even if sometimes it is sign language and pointing to the non-English speaking servers.  This place should have a line out the door.  Right behind To Sok Jip across from Bon Chon.  

[TheMatt]

I agree on the bulgogi kimbap. It's addictive!