REVIEW | Mandoohyang - Mississauga's Korean restaurant specializing in dumplings

With locations in Mississauga and North York, Mandoohyang has always been a dinner staple for us with their well known dumplings,  galbitang (beef short rib soup), and other Korean dishes. 

Photo from Yelp

We’ve been to the Mandoohyang in Mississauga many times in the past with great food and service that kept us returning but have noticed a few changes recentl - a bit of a let down for us. 

On a busy night, they are either understaffed or not very attentive. There have been multiple times where we asked for tea or water three or four times before they finally brought it to our table. Consider yourself lucky if you get a table where there is a buzzer otherwise be prepared to wait to get any attention. 

The baan chan they offer is fairly standard with an assortment of pickled vegetables including kimchi and radish. As is the norm in Korean restaurants, you can always ask for your sides to be refilled if you finish them. 

The Gamjatang 감자탕 (pork bone soup) had a lot of meat in it and quite spicy. I found the broth to be a bit too salty but if you eat it with the rice it wasn't so bad. The gamjatang comes with the regular white rice. You can ask for the spiciness of the soup to be adjusted to your liking as well.

The Galbitang 갈비탕 (beef short ribs soup) has always been a staple entrée for us with its simplistic broth, meat bursting with flavour with a side of healthy rice cooked with chestnuts, beans and yam. The healthy rice did not come with the galbitang this time and based on the menu, it appears you have to pay more for that.  In our visits before, it was part of the entrée.

The Grilled Mackerel was quite tasty and probably the best part of the meal. It was cooked well and favourful with the seasoning. There's nothing like a deliciously grilled fish to have with rice!  Maybe that's the Asian genes in us talking.

The Spicy Pork Belly BBQ is prepared at your table on a stone plate so it can be cooked right in front of you.  Just be ware that with pork belly there might be a lot of oil splatters!  The dish itself is enough for 2 people.  The combination of pork and spicy kimchi radish is a delicious one as well!

With our most recent trip there being a letdown, we're not sure when our next visit will be but hopefully it will be a more enjoyable one!