Nak Won Garden

Nak Won Garden, a fashion Korean restaurant in the Shadyside, is one of my favorite restaurants in the Pittsburgh. The atmosphere is warm and comfortable: orange walls, warm-light wall lamps, black sofa seats with cushion. The inner decoration is exotic: wooden masks in the wall, and traditional Korean paintings. Waitresses are friendly, and they are willing to answer any question about dishes. For people for the first time to try Korean food, Nak Won Garden is a nice place to go. There are six to eight dinner tables for four people, and three tables for pairs. The distance between tables are close; it’s a bit annoying. Menu is big: traditional Korean appetizers, jungol (hot pot), soup & stews, noodles, Korean bbq, and fish & meat. To sum up, Nak Won Garden is a good place to go with friends and family.

We ordered steamed Mandoo, a Korean handmade beef & pork dumpling. Honestly, it’s the best dumpling I had in the US. It’s a bit different from the one in China; Mandoo is somehow sweet, and juicier. The sauce with Mandoo is not vinegar, but more like the combination of soy sauce and sesame oil. We also ordered Pajun, a scallion pancake, with seafood, kimchi, or veggie. I always highly recommend Pajun to my friends. It is made from wheat flour, soybean paste, fish or meat, frying with vegetable oil. I can barely eat fried food (except french fries), Pajun is not too oily to eat. The scallion and vegetables balance the taste.

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Before eating the hot pot, kimichi is served. There are six types of kimichi: sweet potato, cucumber, bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, small cabbage, and tofu.

Haemul Jungol is a Korean hot pot, with monkish, clams, mussels, squid, octopus, shrimp, blue crab, udon noodles, tofu, spicy seafood broth, served with two bowls of rice. Haemul Jungol is my favorite, and I recommend everyone go and give it a try. Here I have some tips to share. Udon noodles are enough for two people, I think people who don’t eat much have no need to ask for rice. Also, I wonder if cook in Nak Won Garden is changed; it does not as tasty as usual. For monkish in the hot pot, they are parts near branchia and fin. From the photos in the below, it seems a lot, but it’s wrong. The bottom is udon noodles. The ingredients are too few for a $45.99 dish.

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