As Garden Grove institutions go, Mo Ran Gak is a no-doubter. The barbecue is a la carte style, and those translucent slivers of meltingly marbled chadol and nicely sweet marianted short ribs are definitely worth the price of entry alone. The true star of the show, however, is the naengmyeon — served authentic Pyongyang-style with a thicker cut of noodle, the icy, amber-colored beef broth is uncharacteristically rich and slightly salty. It's when you first bite into those incomparable noodles that you realize that Mo Ran Gak isn't a Korean BBQ restaurant so much as it is a naengmyeon restaurant with some excellent barbecue. For my money, it's the best bowl of naengmyeon anywhere in the States.

Chil Po Haemultang (formerly Won Jo Haemultang) has its specialty listed in its name: Haemultang, or a spicy Korean bouillabaisse, is a specialty of Incheon's Bupyeong District, where an entire street dedicated to Haemultang restaurants has invited fierce debate over which bowl of fiery seafood stew reigns supreme. More than a few native South Koreans, however, swear by the one at Chil Po — it's got serious heat and fresh seafood to give the broth an incomparably refreshing quality. What makes Chil Po extra interesting is that the Haemultang might not even be the standout dish. Its Hwangsil-Bossam (Imperial Pork Belly Cabbage Wraps) takes pork belly and simmers it with medicinal herbs and is served with a one-of-a-kind fermented-to-fizziness kimchi. It's unsettling in its addictiveness, and the unique take on bossam might be the best rendition in the Greater Los Angeles area, hands-down.

Gamja Tang House's Buena Park location is an offshoot of the original Garden Grove Gaesung Gamjagol. The ajeumma helming the original Garden Grove location left her son in charge of that location, moved out to Fullerton to start a second location and changed the name of both storefronts. Gamja Tang House's gamjatang, or spicy pork neck potato stew, is set apart from imitators in two major key ways: The meat-to-bone ratio on these pork necks is probably the largest I've ever seen, and the porky, rich flavor of the stew is complemented by just the right amount of heat. Add to that the option to dip your already-spiced pork neck meat in a little wasabi-soy-sauce slurry, and it's spicy, porky, delicious heaven. Be sure to come with a party of three or more if you don't plan on taking one of the giant jeongols, or elaborate casserole dishes, home with you — the portions run pretty large.

Yes, the fact that a Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong even exists in Buena Park hardly seems fair for other KBBQ restaurants in the area (Sorry Mr. BBQ, but you guys seem to be doing just fine). The Korean wrestler-turned-comedian-turned-perfect-Korean-BBQ-restaurant-scaling-mastermind's outpost in Buena Park has great natural lighting and crippling wait times, but the quality of meats are identical to the Koreatown flagship.

Jang Mo Jip specializes in... well, it wouldn't be fair to say exclusively seollungtang (Korean beef soup). Jang Mo Jip is a purveyor of all forms of soup-and-rice, and the little hole in the wall puts out some of the best dogani tang (beef's knee cartilage soup) and gukbap (spicy soup with rice) around at a more-than-fair price. Bonus points for ordering the kongnameul gukbap special: A clear, spicy soup of bean sprouts accompanied by a bowl of rice. It's spartan, sure, but it's usually not more than $6, and you'll feel like a true Korean elder O.G. when you polish it off with some great kimchi.

Servers swish around in hanboks (Korean traditional dress) with a muted deference at this traditional Korean food-and-sushi restaurant. Fullerton's well-heeled chatter softly in dimly lit, wood-adorned environs featuring traditional Korean ceramics along the walls. There's an assiduousness in Surah's attention to detail, and it's unrelenting at every aspect of the experience. From the service, to the decor, to the naengmyeon (delicious, chewy thin noodles and a positively tangy broth) to the silken savory egg custard and the rest of the banchan, it's evident this isn't your everyday Korean restaurant. Spare the grill and spoil yourself with one of Surah's phenomenal prepared dishes, including a meltingly tender galbijim, or short rib braised in sweet soy sauce, or eundaegu jorim, the braised black cod with daikon radish. It's serious Korean food in a serious Korean restaurant setting — just prepare to pay a serious premium.

Samgeoli's dwaeji bossam is an archetype of the dish — simple, tender simmered pork belly is sliced uniformly and served up with crunchy napa cabbage kimchi and fresh oysters. It compares favorably to Ye Dang's off Beach and Imperial, with better service and even better pricing. What a concept.

Min Sok Chon is Garden Grove's answer to OB Bear, Dan Sung Sa, or Dwit Gol Mok, or (insert other Korean beer-and-soju watering holes here). What stands out about Min Sok Chon isn't just how long it's been around, but a great paper-fried-skin chicken (tong dak) that's juicy all the way through, from white meat to dark. Add to that a killer corn cheese and a complimentary side of white radish pickles and you have enough delicious solid food to last you through your next 12 rounds of beer.

It's blood sausage, I get it, and some of us aren't fans, but Seoul Soondae has been around longer than most of us reading this article for a reason, and that reason is that it's prime take-home-and-eat-with-your-middle-aged-Korean-buddies-over-a-bottle-of-soju-or-seven food and if you're into that kind of thing, I won't judge. It's also got some great pig trotters (jokbal), but the main focus is on the soondae and soondae-guk, which has been nourishing hungover Koreans in Garden Grove through multiple generations.

Outside of Kim Bang Ah in the Rodeo Galleria in Koreatown, Im Bang Ah is one of the last bastions of old-school Korean tteok (rice cake) bakeries in Southern California. Sure, there are fancy rice-cake slingers on every corner and grocery store in Koreatown, but this is where you go for those old school rice cake displays you see at Korean weddings. The Korean Bakery and Deli (or Im Bang Ah, as it's known in Korean) is a cultural icon, one that's sadly becoming overlooked by those who prefer their rice cakes prepped, primed and put in fancy gift boxes to impress people. Im Bang Ah speaks to an older time, and any Korean-American kid who's grown up or been to a Korean function in Orange County will have probably tried their freshly made, still-somewhat-warm red bean rice cakes or perfect ovaline rice rounds in their New Years' dumpling soup at one point in their lives and wondered "wow where do you get these?" It's at this humble Korean rice bakery in this strip mall.

Hangari Kalgooksu has no relation to (the admittedly excellent) Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo in Koreatown, but it's a serious player in a competitive space. Big, shareable pots of knife-cut-noodles cooked to just this side of al dente in a rich broth of clams and green onions are just part of the story here. Try the accompanying bori-bap (oat rice) and chonggak kimchi (baby-radish kimchi) for a truly authentic experience.

China Station is a Korean Chinese restaurant in a forlorn-looking (and that's being gentle) strip mall across the street from a Big Lots, and what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in probably one of the best honey walnut shrimp dishes I've ever had. Thick, juicy, tempura-length shrimp are battered golden brown and topped with that warm mayonnaise-like sauce and served with candied walnuts. It's an indulgent pairing for your noodle dish. The jjajangmyeon is nothing spectacular, but the noodles have a decently springy consistency to at least somewhat offset the greasy sauce.