On Dong

On Dong ... Are you Korean or Chinese?

That must be the number one question in the back of people's minds when they hear about and eat at this dining establishment. As we walked into On Dong and sat at our designated table, our first observations were
1. All the customers were Korean. 

2. All the workers were Korean. 

3. They serve Korean side dishes (i.e. Kimchee)

4. All the options on the menu were considered "Chinese Food."

5. The restaurant is considered a "Chinese Restaurant."

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So we asked a fellow Korean (Jadyne's mother) about the history of "Chajangmyun" aka black bean noodles. The reason for this, is that back in the Joseon Dynasty (late 1300s - early 1900s), many Chinese people moved into a town in Korea and brought the black bean noodles with them. Eventually Korean people adopted this and gave it their own twist. Which is why people consider it a "Korean-Chinese" food. Not one or the other. 

Chajangmyun is what this restaurant is known for, which is what Estelle, Emily, And I (Jadyne) got. While Michelle got "Champong" which is a spicy seafood noodle soup. We all enjoyed our food. It was Estelle and Michelle's first time here, so they said that it was very interesting to try this for the first time. Estelle enjoyed the richness of the black bean paste on the noodles. 

Service was okay, the waitresses looked extremely busy but were very nice at the same time. The downside of eating at this restaurant is that if you have left overs of your noodle dish, you can't take it home -- the noodles will become too soggy. There are many other delicious dishes at the restaurant though. 

Side Fact: The restaurant actually had a huge fire a little over a year ago, which caused a conflict between the main cook and the owner. Causing the owner to go off on his own to open his own restaurant. Both restaurants have gone down in quality unfortunately. 

On yelp, the restaurant rates a 4/5 stars. We would give it the same rating, if not -- 4.5/5 !


View our Episode 5 Podcast! (On Dong)