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Jang Mo Jib Korean Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Korean Korean [Edit]
1719 Robson StVancouver, BC V6G 1C9
Neighbourhood: West End
(604) 642-0712
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 10 am - 2 am
Fri-Sat 10 am - 5 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
49 reviews for Jang Mo Jib Korean Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"seafood pancake is one of the best I've ever had." In 15 reviews -
"A hot piping pot of Pork Bone Soup is a welcomed comfort." In 3 reviews -
"...gam jal tang (or the pork hot-pot kind of thing), its the..." In 6 reviews
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49 reviews in English
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Review from Karen L.
1/4/2012 2 photos
Pork bone soup + Seafood pancake = Perfection
We were craving pork bone soup and this place had reasonably good reviews, so we decided to give this place a try. The pork bone soup was so good--it really hit the spot. And the seafood pancake was more like a seafood pizza--it was so big! It was perfectly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside (the squid wasn't chewy), and even when I picked up a slice with my chopsticks, it didn't fall apart. The absolute best seafood pancake I've ever had.
Selection of banchan was pretty slim, but it was a good selection, and you can always ask for refills.Listed in: Vancouver Eats!
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Review from Jay C.
Vancouver, BC
3/30/2012
Why 1 star? I've try this place back in 2006 and 2011 february... first of all reusing a banchan (small side dishes) is not sanitary and violating health code... how do I know? I can tell from the side dish that has been mixed and tossed on top of new one... eek!
Soup base... there is no flavor or the volume and richness to the stock... soup is suppose to be little heavy and rich but This guys I found the "Dashima" which is MSG pkg for enhancing beef flavor... which is not authentic and I do hope they don't show that in Kitchen it's disgusting and embarrassing...
Overall I don't want to go back no flavor blend tasteless tones of MSG food if you want it... but not for me -
Review from Tiffany C.
3/16/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place is weird....
The food was okay. I got the beef soup with potato noodles. It has a really aromatic smell, yet didn't taste like anything but milky water..odd. Also they gave me an equally large container of green onions as garnishment. Strange. Also got the pot stickers which were okay.
Other weird thing. We were pretty much one of two tables in the entire restaurant. We were seated directly across from the booth where the pay, yet they were unwilling to give us our check unless we stood up, walked to the window and waited there. Even when we did go to the window, they were insistent that we use the little hole on the side to slide our money though even though we were practically standing next to the waitress. -
Review from Annie W.
3/1/2012
As far as korean restaurant's go, Jang Mo Jib straddles line line of mediocrity perfectly. It puts out food that is neither excellent or horrible, in a restaurant that's neither "nice" or "dumpy," and with staff that provide service that is neither "good" or "bad."
They definitely make a decent pork bone soup, the seafood pancake is good (but definitely not the best I've had), and their Kimchi Soondubu makes for excellent comfort food on a cold day, and the Jap Chae is one of the better I've had in the city.
Having been spoilt by the mother of all ban chan restaurants in L.A. last summer (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...), the four little dishes that JMJ brings out seem pitiful by comparison. I like the potatoes, which are always nice and soft. The bean sprouts are my least favorite - they sorta taste like a$$ to me.
It's definitely good enough for the occasional revisit, but I wouldn't make a special trip out - have you seen the gas prices recently? -
Review from E C.
Vancouver, BC
5/21/2012 1 Check-in Here
The place is average. Food taste fine but nothing special. I think it is average Korean food. The place is a bit old and worn out. Hope this improves when they move to their new location. Didn't like that food is served on plastic plates. The place has potential if they put a bit more effort in.
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Review from Lolia S.
Updated - 10/6/2011 4 photos
The seafood pancake, hae mool pah jun ($19.95) is as good as I remembered though it's smaller in size. I can't think of how to improve upon this perfect seafood pancake, other than to make it bigger. It's more like a pizza than a pancake, filled with goodness. The squid adds a lovely chewiness and the golden, extra thin potato threads add crispiness. They add just the right amount of scallions. The pancake is soft, chewy and crunchy all at once. I can imagine munching on this pancake as my last meal on earth.
Most people order the seafood pancake and a giant bubbling hot casserole, perfect for a rainy day. They don't provide that many banchan dishes (4 kinds) but the banchan is excellent and you can ask for refills. Use the bell for service.Listed in: All things Korean, Canada, I love you
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/6/2008 First to Review
We ate here just about every day during our visit to Vancouver - it's that amazing. I still think… Read more »
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Review from Patricia L.
Vancouver, BC
Authentic Korean food found at affordable prices here! After many years this places has remained my favorite Korean restaurant. They give you all the yummy fixings and sides, kimchi, potatoes, seaweed etc.
And yes, their Seafood Pancake is fabulous! I love the Buckwheat Noodles here too and their Soon Da Boo (Spicy Tofu Soup) and their big meat bone hot pots are really good as well. They also serve lots of Soju (Korean Rice Wine - it's like Sake) here, so you can get pretty drunk while you eat.
Service is decent and they are open until super late (4 or 5 am I think). If you haven't tried them yet and you want to give good homestyle Korean food a try, then come here for sure!Listed in: I HEART Food!
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Review from Tee B.
3/16/2012
Had Seafood pancake and dolsot bibimbap for our meal. It tasted pretty good but nothing really earth shattering. I wish they had more side dishes.
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Review from Diana L.
Vancouver, BC
12/6/2011
This place was my first stop for Korean food in Vancouver... 10 years ago.
It used to have the best kimchi, half-cut cabbage that they'd cut again at the table. And out of this world gom-tang, simmered all day richness.
Went back with parents.
Fast-forward 2011. There are two jumbo screens playing the latest k-pop with speakers blaring. The gom-tang tasted off, as in weird smell, weird taste. Like rotten meat spoiled weird. The kimchi is not good. The kkakdukki was okay though. Anyway, their specialty is no longer. I'm guessing the ownership changed.
I also tried their soondae for takeout on another occasion and it was worse than H-Mart's.
Their bo-ssam was good.
My conclusion? Korean food downtown is not worth the walk to Robson/Denman area. Anymore.
I would say this is more of a hangover place to go with your friends. Or to start the night. But it's just not a nice family restaurant anymore.
Only upside? The waiters tend to be young and cute :) -
Review from Brittany W.
North Vancouver, BC
8/19/2011 2 photos
With two flat screens playing Korean pop and a ton of asians, this authentic Korean restaurant along Robson near Denman offers a super casual bustling dining experience and authentic cuisine that is simply delicious! The sell here is the food.
Ambience. It looks like a hole-in-the-wall with interiors like a cheap Chinese restaurant where you'd think menu items would be in the $8-12 range; it's more like the $10-28 range and worth it.
Food. The food is well-made, authentic, and well-portioned. You definitely get what you pay for! My friend and I shared two items for dinner and it was very filling:
Jap Chae, $18 - Recommend!
Sweet potato glass noodles with small pieces of beef, onions, mushrooms, zucchini. I love vermicelli, but these noodles were much better - loved 'em! Kimchi, seaweed, potato & a spicy vegetable dish are included too.
Steamed dumplings, $10
I'm not a huge fan of dumplings, but these were very good. Ingredients worked and were minced together well.
Service. The servers are Korean and very kind, but the service is hardly existent. If you need or want something, look alert and raise your hand! Nothing personal, that's just how they roll here :)
What's more:
- Specialty: Seafood pancake
- Price range: $10-28
- It's an independently-owned Korean chain (4 locations)
- Comfortable for all: single diners, a few friends and families -
Review from Andrea L.
Vancouver, BC
11/12/2011
Its a small little restaurant with a gi-normous TV/screen that is locked and loaded with lots of popular Korean music videos.
The food comes out quick and is delicious, but for some reason, I much prefer Ap Gu Jung across the street. More variety and its just nice and spacious.
Everything is decently priced and well portioned, but if you are looking for more variety and odd things with a twist, Ap Gu Jung would be a place to try. -
Review from Michael C.
Vancouver, BC
10/7/2011 2 Check-ins Here
If your gonna come here for one thing..... seafood pancake! Soooo good!
Seafood pancake batter poured into a hot cast-iron pan and baked with shredded kani on top. Yes, that's right, kani! I know it's not real crab, but when it bakes it's actually really good. Crispy top resembling like shoestring potato hash.
They are open late and usually have cheap beer! Not very good beer, but cheap!
Before coming here, make sure you done you're #2 at home cause their washrooms is something you wanna stay out of. -1 Star for the dirtiest washroom in Vancouver!!! -
Review from Norah L.
Vancouver, BC
1/5/2012
My Korean classmate likes to come here and swears that the food tastes just like what her mom makes, so I decided to try it out last month. I'm glad I was with her because the waitress didn't have the best grasp of English so my classmate had to speak to her in Korean. I liked that the prices are pretty good for those on a student budget, and the servings were generous. The staff was happy to accommodate me as I'm a vegetarian and the one vegetarian dish on the menu is something that I cook at home (incidentally it's a dish my classmate taught me to make) and so didn't want to order, so they whipped up this very, very yummy tofu and mushroom hot pot. I do think that the loud K-pop is annoying tho!
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Review from Allen W.
A busy little restaurant catering to a younger crowd. Can be difficult to get a table at peak hours, so plan accordingly.
It's no frills on the inside and has little ambience.
However, food is consistently good -- bibimbap, spicy hotpot, cold noodles have all been good.
Service is pretty good - if you need anything, just flag someone down. Payment is made at the odd little tollbooth looking thing by the entrance. Seriously, the dude is locked behind glass. -
Review from Steven S.
2/15/2011
Jang Mo Jib has been here forever, This mixed with greasy windows and a interior which seems to be designed by the man who also was the architect many the 70's Greyhound Stations would seem to make it not a place to risk a case of "Seoul Belly". But I can say do not let the look and feel of this place scare you the food is pure Korean comfort food, in what could best be described as a Korean Diner. The food is shiny but tasty and in good portions for one of my late rainy night food cravings.
I could say this is not a 1st date kinda of place, maybe a 20th date kind of place after a long walk on the seawall.
There is a place for diner food, food that just makes you feel good when you feel bad. I do not need to dine in cutting edge eateries every day and Jang Mo Jib is my kind of diner.
P.S. They must have gotten a great deal on plywood & shellac.Listed in: Best Places to Celebrate…
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Review from Sebastian P.
Vancouver, BC
1/19/2011 ROTD 2/25/2011
My korean friend introduced me to this restaurant right on Robson St. I have been many times either in her company or alone and was always satisfied. The food is great and the service not stellar but acceptable. I read about the borderline service in some of the reviews here but after all this is not a Michelin Star restaurant so let's keep expectations real...
Sometimes it takes a while for the main dish to arrive. You get a set of sides beforehand so this brings you over the first hurdle if you are close to starvation. The hotpot is great and the Bulgogi one of my fav's. Especially with hot paste... num num. :)
By all means, do NOT wear your favorite sweater, jacket or anything you want to wear the next couple days because it is due for cleaning after the visit. It is also remarkably warm. If you sit in the room by the side then it isn't as bad.
There is alot of parking around (Street) and the Safeway with associated garage right next door is also very convenient. *cough*
I find this a pretty authentic korean dining experience & always a good place for a good meal. -
Review from Edward L.
2/16/2011
A 1-star rating is reserved for those places that seriously piss me off. But this place, as popular as it may be, is one of them.
This place had one of the better seafood pancakes out there. But we don't know if it's still as any good, as that would involve coming back.
My friends and I used to be a regulars until one ugly incident. Haven't been back since. So what happened?
We went in as a group of 7, to get some drinks (beer pitchers). Even though we had no problems getting our drinks here just a week ago (I told you we were regulars), for some reason this time the waitress insisted we HAD to buy food before they could serve us liquor. Okay, no problem. we ordered a pancake. Had the munchies anyways.
We then ordered 2 pitchers of Canadian. The waitress returns with 1 pitcher, and we start pouring. Obviously 1 pitcher isn't enough to fill 7 glasses, so we pour the first 4, and wait. And wait. A few minutes later, the waitress comes back and tells us they can't make another pitcher.
Okay, great, now what? Why didn't you tell us this EARLIER?
We're stuck halfway. We can't go up to 7 glasses, but we also can't go back down to 0. Now this place also serves bottles of Canadian, so we ask them to open some bottles and just fill up a 2nd pitcher. They refuse, and insist we have to buy in bottle form at this point. Per unit volume, the bottles here cost about twice as much as the pitchers! So now we're potentially stuck paying another $15 or so for the same amount of product, just because it was delivered from a different container??
The owner spoke only Korean, and refused to negotiate. I felt bad for the waitress because she was caught in the middle. After about 15 minutes of arguing (us in English, the owner in Korean), he knocked about $5 off. But we were still off by $10. Unacceptable. We promptly finished our booze and left no tip. To be honest, we considered just walking out but felt that it might screw over the innocent waitress.
Way to treat a group of repeat customers. You lost 7 of them that night, and none of us have been back for the last year. Norboo and Apgujung across the street send you their regards, and thank you for the 7 new customers. -
Review from Michelle Y.
7/7/2011
Great memories here and I would definitely come back here if I was visiting vancouver.
I enjoyed their sullungtang. I am very very picky about my sul lungtang and this place is the only place in vancouver that gets it almost right.
The service sucks nad it gets pretty loud in this location. But as long as I get my stuff and nobody bothers me while i'm enjoying my sullungtang, i'm happy.
Just give me more of the kkak-doo-ggi and i'll be happy. -
Review from Amy T.
11/18/2010
Decided to grab some dinner before a movie and the restaurant wasn't especially busy. I think we were trying to wave the waiters over for at least 3 minutes. Doesn't seem like a long time, but seems like an eternity when you're hungry.
When our food finally came, a friend of mine had ordered her soup non-spicy and they had given us a spicy soup. They kept insisting that we didn't tell them this in the first place. Ummm.. there's 3 of us and we all heard her say non spicy. Anyway, they took it away and gave us a new soup and we finished our meal.
The food was above average, but wasn't the best Korean food I've ever had. Jang Mo Jib is more like a chain Korean restaurant. I find there are a lot more out there and more authentic as well.
All in all.. food is above average and service wasn't very good. -
Review from Ann C.
9/15/2008
AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE
Judging by the good reviews from Yelpers I chose my last meal in Vancouver at Jang Mo Jib. I don't know if I came on a bad day or if the chef decided take a smoke break and the dishwasher took over but the meal was horrible.
I should've known right when I saw the banchan (side dishes) that the place was gonna suck. Kimchi, bean sprout, some greens and bland potatoes. You can tell alot about a restaurant by the sides they serve at a Korean restaurant.
We ordered kalbi (korean bbq ribs), mool nengmyun (cold water noodles) and hot pot rice.
The kalbi was undercooked and for $17.99 I expected more than 3 strips of meat. This was by far the biggest rip off dish.
Hot pot rice is supposed to come out sizzling hot- so hot that the rice turns a bit crispy but at this spot the dish came out barely making a peep- no sizzle.
The nengmyun broth was lukewarm when it's called COLD noodles. I told the owner and she took it and brought it back w/ ice cubes thrown in. The noodles were mushy and nasty as if it sat in the broth for a few hours or days even! SAD.
I didn't touch the noodles and hoped she would notice and take it off the bill but she avoided eye contac when handing us the bill.
The bill came out to be ALOT. I don't mind paying a lot for a meal as long as it's worth it. I felt violated. Not only was the food gross but the service was shady. Shame on them.
It really gets me mad when korean businesses pull this kind of crap. The owner is making tons of $ by charging a lot for small portions. How the hell do you charge $20 for seafood pancake?! $12 for rice and veggies in a pot?! $18 for 3 slabs of meat?! This place got great reviews and many celebrities have eaten here so I'm truly confused.
Shame on them for making my last meal in Canada a disappointment. -
Review from phillip w.
8/7/2008 3 photos
I agree with Lolia here about this place, by far the BEST Korean restuarant Ive been to. The portions are huge and by huge I mean like I have to bring it to go cause we couldnt finish the food.
The seafood pancake..omg i wish SF had restaurants that made it just like they did. Crunchy on the outside soft on the inside, almost like hash browns on top with seafood inside. Their Kalbi was wonderful, tastey and a lil sweet and wasnt too chewy. They also had this beef rib stew...where you have a big pot with a big pieces of beef with bones cooking in the pot with onions and...forget it my pictures will show the rest.
Its not a fancy place, you dont need to dress up. As a matter of fact you might be more comfortable in sweats. We were a party of two and the table was a party for 4 packed with food *droooool*. Cant wait to go back to Vancouver again...my goodness~
Oh yea this place is located towards the end of Robson, so maybe when your done shopping you could head down here and grab a bite. Just be sure to call a taxi later cause your going to be too full to walk~ -
Review from Reena M.
11/8/2009
Delicious hot pot; yummy flavours; and it probably should deserve 4 stars, except that means "yay i'm a fan" and the thing is, I'm not the biggest fan of hot pot in general of any sort. The seafood pancake was awesome though. And the beef BBQ was alright, but I do prefer the style where you can BBQ your own meat like at Choon Ha Choo Dong. And the noodles it came with (some sort of transparent brown noodle) was really tasty.
I don't know Korean food that well so it's difficult to judge it.
For 8 people, 2 pork shoulder hot pots, noodles, 2 tofu hot pots, and beef BBQ, it came out to be around $20 a person, leaving a really good tip. It's an average price. I'm just not a big fan of hot pot to want to spend $20 on it.Listed in: Anti-Valentine's Day List
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Review from Wei P.
Vancouver, BC
8/3/2009
The food in this place is good but other than that, nothing else is.
Every time when I visit this place we had real bad service plus there is that manager guy (I think he's manager anyway) who is always really rude and always trying to rush us out.
Seats are really cramped in there and the air smells dead.
Most items are reasonably priced except as Judy mentioned, the rice cake cost like next to nothing to make but they ask for $25!?
Anyway, I would rate this place as a 3.5 star based on price-quality ratio but have given them a 1 star because it seems like none of the workers cares about the general cleaningness of the restaurant.
However, after hearing from their ex-employees about how the owner treated them, I decided that place like this does not deserve any of my business. -
Review from Pete S.
8/8/2011
this place is AWESOME. great authentic korean food at reasonable prices. i'm a huge fan of the spicy pork bul goh gee (sic) and the bi bim bap.
big beers too! -
Review from Sarah P.
4/14/2009
If I am in BC, know that I will be here at least once. LOVE THEIR GAMJA TTANG!! It's the best thing ever. The meat falls off the bone, I love potatoes, and the broth is to die for....It's a huge pot and once my friends had teased me for not using a spoon, but the ladle as a spoon. So good!It's also a great hangover meal~
Everything else is great but that's my favorite! If you are looking for some good Korean food- You must come here. -
Review from Adam K.
Vancouver, BC
4/18/2009
this place is good. I've come here over five times now (this and the Richmond location) and i usually leave satisfied.
Their best dish is probably their Gahm Ja Tang, the meat is really tender and the broth has as much flavour as the meat, i think the whole point of it is that the bones make the meat and broth really tasty.
I would also recommend any of their Soon Doo Boo's (soft tofu soups) and their pork belly lettuce wrap dish, forgot what its called.
The major criticisms is that its fairly expensive and the service can actually be really bad. The decor reminds me of the real thing: a Korean BBQ / restaurant place in a university district in Seoul.
I won't give it the 4th or 5th star because the bulgogi or Kahlbee (Korean BBQ meats) aren't actually that good here I find and its actually fairly pricey. The service isn't fantastic either and I wish the broth for the soon doobu would be a little more consistent.
I have yet to explore what coquitlam but this is a good choice until I find something better. Final note: I find that the Richmond location is generally less consistent in terms of quality versus the Robson street one. -
Review from Jeffrey P.
7/26/2009
I don't have the best frame of reference when it comes to Korean food in general, and especially not Korean food in Vancouver. But my wife and I looked around online and got a feel for the different restaurants, and ended up going to Jang Mo Jib. We were happy we did.
We had a great order of steamed dumplings, which were very peppery and had a satisfying cabbage/meat filling. We also split one of the soft tofu soups (the one with small slivers of beef) and a bibimbap (also with beef) and liked both of them. Of course, we ended up slathering so much Korean chili sauce on the rice dishes that I'm not sure we appreciated much of the actual flavor, but it was satisfying.
Some of the dishes seemed a bit pricey, especially considering the fairly low-rent atmosphere, but the three dishes we ordered came out to a reasonable $40 for more food than two people should eat. -
Review from Rachael T.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 5/16/2009
1am in the morning.. haven't eaten dinner.. need FOOD!... JMJ is open.. so I drop by with my friends... I wanted dumpings in soup.. and thought of Hon's... no I've never been but I'm sure it's hit or miss.. but it was closed.
At Jang mo Jib.. they had sliced beef with flour noodles.. I wanted dumplings but that option wasn't there and they weren't willing to accomodate. Oh well, I was hungry and wanted soupy noodles. My friend ordered Bimbibap.... It came on a sizzling plate with lots of vegetables and noodle slices. It was good but could have been saucier. My bowl of noodles was small and had minimal noodles :(. The pork broth was very tasty though.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/12/2009
This Place is GOOD. So I was intoxicated and hungry.. but I can only hope that the quality of food… Read more »
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Review from Judy H.
Vancouver, BC
5/20/2009 1 Check-in Here
No thanks. Dirty inside, with grimy grease everywhere. Mediocre food. OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive food.
Seriously, if you don't know Korean food, you could pay $25 for two servings of ddeokbokki. Yes, you heard that right -- the snacky rice cake things one typically buys from a street vendor in Korea, the stuff that's known to be cheap, spicy, and fast. Jangmojib charges $25 for a table-top setting of ddeokbokki -- which, in my book, is like paying $25 for 2 donut holes.
Their soup is ok for pick-up/to-go, and cost around $8 each. Like the beef "hangover" soup and the blood sausage "sundae" soup.
I took a couple of friends from out of town partly because we were really hungry and tired, and the lines were too long at the Japanese ramen places (Kintaro and Benkei). Boy, was I embarrassed. I'll never go again. -
Review from Henry C.
2/4/2009
The Summary:
Good food and prices, very questionable service. Would recommend it to anyone, especially if you are Asian since that seems to be the key to good service.
The Background:
Conveniently located on Robson, this traditional Korean restaurant provides quick, cheap, and good food that is mostly healthy. The place is not very large and the décor is nothing special, but I was there for the food which was quite good. The portions are about average (for an American with a large appetite.)
The Positives:
The food here is pretty good. I'll be the first to admit I couldn't tell authentic Korean food from westernized Korean food, but from I can tell, the entire restaurant is pretty Korean (from wait staff to owner to cooks) so hopefully that speaks to its authenticity. I ended up one of there clear broth soup bowls which was pretty mild yet still quite tasty (probably had to do with the meat on bones.) My friend had the tofu soup as spicy as they could make it (which was really quite mild.) To make it even better, the food was quite cheap too. I think our meal came in under $18.
The Negatives:
The service was really quite questionable. I think once they realized that I was no Korean, they pretty much ignored us the entire time. We ended up having to ask for the extra spice 3 or 4 times before they served it to us. They didn't ever come by to refill water or the tea for us while they did spend a lot of time talking to a lot of the other customers who apparently spoke fluent Korean. Also, while both my friend (white) and I ordered both our foods extra spicy, his food came out incredibly bland while mine came out as spicy as they could make it. -
Review from Hoa Q.
3/3/2009
We ran out of ideas for food, so we randomly stopped by this Korean restaurant. We chose it because it was near our hotel and looked like a hole in the wall. The outside and inside décor doesn't say much for the food, but the food was actually really good. The service was a little poor, but that can be forgiven considering how busy the short-handed staff was and how polite they are when you actually do get their attention. They spoke little English, though. The least expensive dduk bok ki soup was really spicy but delicious. We had enough leftovers for dinner the next night. Unfortunately, the leftovers were a little to dry because we had let the soup burn up in the pot. Be prepared to spend a little or share to save money.
For more pictures, check out http://tamarindandthym... -
Review from Serena H.
1/27/2010 5 photos
My friends brought me to this place, it was a fun experience. We came here after we done shopping on Robson, very convenient. This is a chain store; other locations are in Metrotown, Richmond and Aberdeen.
We came here around 7pm on Saturday. The restaurant was packed with people, but the waiting time wasn't that long for 3 of us. While we were waiting, the photos, which posted at the cashier of the owner and a few Korean stars, attracted my attention. It looks like this place is truly famous. Their most popular dish here is GAM JA TANG, the spicy pork spin hot pot. And I'm not exaggerating, literally, every single table has this. It was extraordinary! Huuuuge pieces of pork spins with meat falling off, very tasty! We also ordered seafood pancake and the glass noodle. Very nice too.
A couple of things I noticed here, waitresses take your order with iPhone.... It's creative, but can't they have better system than that? That just amused me. Another thing is this place is very generous about their side dishes, which doesn't happen in most Korean restaurant, waitresses would bring a bucket of the item and fill it up at your table.
All in all, if you are here visiting, this is definitely a place to stop by. -
Review from Willow L.
Vancouver, BC
1/1/2012
Great Korean food. I should know, since my whole family's Korean. I only ever order the seafood soon doo bu here, and sometimes the soon dae. Service has deteriorated a bit though. First time I was here a few years ago, there was this really cute waiter who came over and talked to us and regularly filled up our drinks, and the manager lady was really nice, like an ajumma-type. Oh well. Now that's replaced with two hug TVs with Kpop music videos...good place to sing along to the songs. Under your breath. Or else people will be staring at you instead of the TV.
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Review from Johnson C.
Vancouver, BC
After finding out my favourite Korean drinkhole down the street, E Hwa, stopped serving alcohol for the night - we stumbled down Robson in search for Korean food and one last drink. Jang Mo Jib (no, I will not abbreviate it out of respect to Jam-Master J) was still open and their signs proudly proclaimed they were open until 5AM on the weekends.
I don't usually mind dirty places or care about decor, but I absolutely hate the cheap, bright fluorescent lighting. Whatever, after some coaxing of the servers, we got some soju cocktails and beers served to us. The beer pitchers were $17 (pretty standard) but the soju cocktails were a big rip-off at $15 for a tiny pot. I would have flipped out if I didn't love grape-flavoured drinks and the grape soju cocktail was so damned good.
The appetizers were pretty bland and didn't seem to be prepared with any care (i.e. the radish and kimchi were sliced into 2 giant pieces each). We ordered the pork rib hot pot (~$30) and japchae (~$20) - which is pretty expensive. However, the portions were big. Despite our pizza pit stop earlier in the evening, this was more than enough food for 5 drunk dudes. Also, both our selections were pretty good - shooting a nod at the Latino chef that wandered to the dining room. I'm not experienced with Korean food, but my buddy that frequents LA K-Town was pretty happy with the food.
The service is poor - while they were attentive when we wanted to adjust the hot pot temperature (then again, they were probably scared the drunk guys were going to start a fire) - we had to flag them down to get refills and were usually nowhere to be seen - that is, until we start fiddling with the burner. Oddly, I prefer this system over the ubiquitous Korean table buzzers.
At the end of the night, the bill was only $120 for the five of us - which isn't bad considering it's Korean hot pot (we were stuffed) with drinks included. But I can't shake the feeling that the quality and decor doesn't merit the price point.
There was a constant stream of people coming in for some post-drinking eats, so it is pretty popular. If my review was based on food quality alone, my rating would be higher - but crummy service and so-so value means I'll probably be heading elsewhere next time. -
Review from Charles S.
7/19/2009
I haven't had good Korean food for a while, and a Vancouver native recommended this to me, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
I had their soon tofu and my friend and their korean (stuffed?) fried chicken. My friend's order took almost 30 minutes. That was way too long. Finally, when we both got our orders, I thought my soon tofu was tasty, and I liked my friend's fried chicken. My friend replied that "she's had better."
The place itself is kind of cozy. There's K-Pop music blasting in the background (a bit too loud for my tastes). Also, the waitresses here seem to only be able to speak Korean well. In fact, the other customers also spoke Korean most of the time too. Maybe that's a sign of authenticity? Either way, there were times when I felt like I was watching a Starcraft match. -
Review from Daphne H.
8/11/2008
Ahh...Jang Mo Jib.
My reliable Korean hotpot joint I can go to after a day of skiing and snowboarding. A hot piping pot of Pork Bone Soup is a welcomed comfort. Come here with friends, get some soju and order a BIG pot and sit here & eat and drink for hours.
Another favourite of mine? The Seafood Pancake. I've had many a dinners here but over the years, the standards have dropped slightly and it doesn't feel as home-cooked as it used to. Probably due to its growing popularity but its still worth going back to once in a while. -
Review from Janel Y.
2/28/2010 3 photos
Was in the mood for some Korean food so a friend brought us here. It's a quaint place that dishes up authentic Korean food. The place was pretty packed on a weekday around 6:30PM, but we were able to get a booth right away. The place isn't that dirty and there's not a lot of decor, but I was there for the food so it didn't matter to me.
My friend told me that their soups were really good and I guess, what they're known for. I don't know what I was thinking and instead of ordering a soup dish, I went for the standard Bee Bim Bap but I ordered it wrong and ended up with the cold version.
I didn't really try any of the other dishes, but the Bee Bim Bap was good, full of fresh veggies. I forgot to add the spicy sauce so about 3/4 of the way through my bowl, one of the waiters asked if I had used the sauce and when I replied "no," he told me to put some in because it'd make it taste better. He apologized for intruding, but wanted to make sure I was eating it right and experiencing Korean food right. I did add it and it was just what that dish needed: a kick of flavor.
An authentic place with good service, using cutting-edge technology to place diner's orders (via iPhone)...had a good experience here. Would like to come back and try their soup dishes. -
Review from K N.
Updated - 11/29/2011
Agh! Walked in and ordred shoju and continued to look through the menu for munchies. Ten minutes later, a younger guy comes by with tea and finally takes our order. We order just fried dumplings and I ask to hang onto a menu in case we want to order more. Five minutes later, original gentleman asks if we want to order, I told him we already did. He asks, "Shoju?" I'm like yeah, we ordered that first. Then he says we only serve alcohol if you order food... I told him, "I know, we already ordered." He smiles and says, ok ok, sorry sorry. Nearly 10 minutes later, banchan arrives and 10 minutes after that the shoju finally arrives with the dumplings. We finished everything pretty quick and I'm sad to say I really enjoyed the fried dumplings, but we'll never be back. After the crap service and long ass wait for everyting, the guy had to nerve to ask why we didn't tip. Like, he stopped us at the door and says we have to tip! Who the f*ck HAS to tip?! It's not like we were a party of 10, ordering $300 worth of food. Two people, $20. Since when did restaurants feel so damn priviledged as to demand tip from a customer. We threw down a $2 coin and left. So much more in Vancouver to enjoy than to put up wtih such arrogance.
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4/11/2011
After a few drinks around the West Side on a Saturday night, I was starving and had a craving for… Read more »
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Review from Edward B.
Vancouver, BC
11/8/2009
I went to this restaurant 3 times already (not the same spot though, they've got a branch in kingsway) and guess what? I'M ALWAYS SATISFIED ON EVERY VISIT!
Everytime I came here I always order: gal bi (korean bbq ribs), jap chae (korean rice noodles), and gam jal tang... if I'm not mistaken (its the huge-ass hot pot thing with porn ribs in it). They're the best in here, like... no kidding...
I've also ordered chicken wings, seafood pancake and pork sausage (which is apparently blood and instestines). They're all good!
One thing to notice is that this restaurant serves titanic portions. So bring all your friends and families and your ancestors and the whole zoo even to eat at this place in order to share the bill. Every dish costs around like $14-25... quite pricey but the portion is big, and like I said, you should eat with lots of people. I ate there last time with 6 of my friends and ordered 4 dishes and it cost like $120. But I was so fricking full, and so is my friends.
Service... its below average. Servers are mostly busy and you gotta call em several times till they will actually serve you. In Kingsway branch, you got this bell to call the waiter but when you press it, their next month's electrical bill probably already arrived before the waiter gets to you. Waters are not that friendly either. Well therer's the store owner ( a lady) sometimes, and she's the nicest one there I guess. She HAS to otherwise you should just throw crap at the restaurant.
I strongly recommend you try out the gam jal tang (or the pork hot-pot kind of thing), its the best there. -
Review from Jespeter L.
Vancouver, BC
12/16/2010
When I started moving to this area, I had a bad case of a cold and fever. Not wanting to spurl on a huge hot meal such as Kintaro, I took the chance to test this place.
Being a student, I took the cheap lunch set.
The server leaves me a whole small pitcher of tea, a big bowl of chopped onions, a bowl of sea salt, and a whole bowl of something red and spicy (sorry, I don't eat spicy so I can't name it). At least the food came quickly, but when I tasted it, there was only the flavor of the pork and vegetable base.
Perhaps they are saying, "You can't rate us poorly because you were in control of how salty or flavorful your meal is" or perhaps it's also because of my lack of experience in Korean restaurants. But I do have something against them using instant noodles in their hot pots. And as you can see, it's a major turnoff for me- who'd want to eat out and pay for instant noodles? Like seriously?
Overall, they have fresh ingredients and you can personalize your meal to the extreme of no flavor to as much salt as you can dump. But I think there are so many better quick bites around this area, I wouldn't suggest it a bother to come here.
