Simbongsa

Amazing for the price point! Got the Set B and shared with another person. This meant we could try all the donut flavors and 6 of the savory ones - we picked bulgolgi, mozzarella, pizza, pork veg, crab meat, and corn cheese. My faves were the pizza, crab meat, and corn cheese. The mozzarella was Too Much Mozz and my least fave. It comes with a sauce that's like a spicy mayo, which was super yummy. For the sweet ones, my favorite was the black sesame and injeolmi. Even though it's fried food, it wasn't too heavy! That being said, 9 fried items are plenty between two people and we got full pretty fast. This could easily be a meal and a snack for later.There is no seating - it's more of a pick up kind of place, and hidden under the large event center sign. Plenty of parking though!

Simbongsa is located in the Santa Clara Elite Event Center, sharing a counter with Amazing Katsu. They offer Korean style donuts and croquettes, freshly prepared after ordering. I ordered 2 savory and one sweet croquette: the beef curry, the pork and vegetable, and the red bean, coming out to be $11.95 total. Since I was the only customer at the time, the lady working the register immediately went to prepare my order and it was ready within 5 minutes. I liked how fresh the croquettes were, making it really crispy on the outside. I preferred the beef curry over the pork and vegetable and would definitely order it again. The red bean was also really good, the filling was generous and not too sweet. This unique pop-up is worth a visit as their menu offers something for everyone.

With plenty of parking around, this is located in the big event space. When you walk in it's located in back. Shares a counter with amazing katsu. We got set B, 3 twisted donuts and 6 croquettes. For one of each flavour donut and we got the pizza, beef curry, spicy pork, red bean, crab and potato/ corn cheese croquettes. So many choices! It was not a long wait for the order. It was warm-ish when we ate it in the car so as crunchy as I thought it would be. It's pretty fluffy. Our favourites are spicy pork, beef curry, potato/ corn cheese, pizza and red bean (if you want some sweetness). Twisted donuts were very soft, enjoyed the original flavour the most. It's a pretty heavy meal, we shared between the 2 of us and got full before we finished it. Definitely want to come back again!

A quick, delicious, and unique snack stop! I came by and tried their combo plan which included the croquettes and donuts. For the croquettes I really enjoyed the spicy pork, pizza, and cheese! The exterior was nice and crunchy while the inside was packed with filling! I do wish it came out a bit more piping hot but you can always air fry it at home. The donuts were yummy but not my forte. I would definitely come back for the croquettes and hopefully get around to trying some new flavors.

The pickup counter for Simbongsa is located on the left side of Amazing Katsu, inside the Elite Event Center. I ordered online in advance, though it was hardly necessary with a 5-minute quoted wait time on a Monday evening. I opted for the 3-piece korokke (mozzarella, pizza, crab meat), and a magic hot dog. My order was ready when I arrived, with just a few minutes wait before staff was available to help me (she was helping another customer), and service was friendly and sufficient. There were self-serve sauces available at the counter, I just got some ketchup and ranch (even though I'm not a big fan of hidden valley, which is the brand they serve here according to the taste).My faves were the juicy magic hot dog and mozzarella korokke loaded with lots of melty stretchy cheese. But everything was surprisingly good, even the pizza and crab korokke which were a tad sweeter than I prefer, but very satisfying nonetheless. And all of the items were noticeably better than what I've had at the Pleasanton location, fresher preparation and ingredients, so I was very pleased with my recent experience here.

4.5 STARSAhhhh cheese pulls....*Cries in lactose intolerance*Apparently 90% of AZNs are lactose intolerant yet still indulge in cheese/dairy. Me included. What bubble guts and booty burps? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Simbongsa is a South Korean franchise that started as a street food vendor. They have 100 locations and this is their second U.S. Bay Area location in Santa Clara's K-town area (first location: Pleasanton). Soft opened on 11/29/24. Takeout only at Elite Event Center; ghost kitchen in a banquet hall. No restrooms available for customers. M E N U* Kkwabaegi/Quabegi: Korean Twisted Donuts - Original, black sesame, injeolmi (soybean powder) -- Available as 3 pc ($5.95) or 6 pc ($10.95)* Korokke: Korean Croquette - Pork, spicy pork, mozzarella, pizza, potato+corn+cheese, red bean, pumpkin+cream cheese -- Available as 3 pc ($11.95) or 6 pc ($21.95) * Magic Hot Dog ($4.95)* Combo sets ($20.95-$40.95) Coming soon - Chapssal: Korean mochi donut.All fillings are made from scratch, in-house. Items are fried-to-order. Condiment station: Ketchup, mustard, honey mustard, spicy mayo, and sesame mayo (didn't try any).O R D E R I N GQR code in-store or order ahead via Clover: https://www.clover.com/online-ordering/simbongsa-sj-santa-claraOrdered on Clover and order was ready as quoted in about 5 minutes. F O O D* Korokke: Korean Croquette (3 pc - $11.95)Unlike Japanese Korokke that's made with a mashed potato exterior, Korean Korokke is made with dough, a mixture of wheat flour and glutinous rice flour. -- Mozzarella: Fav of the three - https://tinyurl.com/33cspffeThe korokke's panko crust exterior had a flaky crunchy with a bouncy chew. When pulled apart, it exposes a layer of thicccc oozy, stretchy cheese. Savory and satisfying with good contrasting textures. Not salty or greasy. -- Spicy Pork: Tasty ground pork with potatoes, carrots, and onions. Baby kick of heat and sweetness - https://tinyurl.com/yc3kvvwy-- Crab: Maybe it was one off but this was more dough than crab filling which consisted of minced surimi with tangy relish.* Kkwabaegi/Quabegi: Korean Twisted Donuts (3 pc - $5.95)The donuts are made from the same dough as the korokke. -- Injeolmi (soybean powder): Fav of three, the hot donut was soft and fluffy with a good chew and roasty flavor - https://tinyurl.com/4ecr4pwy-- Black Sesame: Slightly sweet and nutty.-- Original: Dusted with sugar.These snacks are best eaten ASAP, fresh out of the fryer. R E H E A T I N GI was told if not eating immediately, to reheat in the air fryer at 375 degrees for several minutes. The korokke reheated pretty well the next day, the donuts not so much.Overall, if you're looking for a hot delicious snack, specifically a satisfying cheese pull, hit up Simbongsa!

We were craving a Korean snack and came across Simbongsadoroke.We tried the following 3 croquettes:Spicy Pork - (5/5) this was our favorite! The spice is definitely present and we were warned about it but thankfully we LOVE spicy food and can handle a hefty amount of it at a time. The dough was chewy and balanced the spicy pork flavor. We went back and ordered 3 more of this to share with our family!Pork & Veggie - (5/5) this was our second favorite. Pork is juicy and veggies added a new flavor profile to each bitePotato corn & Cheese - (4/5) this croquette surprised us. The potato and corn flavors came through instantly and had a hint of sweetness to it. We enjoyed it and would recommend it for anyone who is vegetarian.DONT FORGET THE HOUSE MADE SAUCES!! We loved the spicy mayo but their sesame mayo is really good as well!Price: very reasonable! For 3 croquettes it was $13 including tax. The size and density of each croquette was enough to fill you up if you wanted an appetizer before a larger meal. We immediate went back to get more and ended up picking Set B ($26) - 3 twisted donuts (one of each flavor: original, black sesame, injolmi) and 6 croquettes (3 spicy pork, 1 pork & veggie, 1 potato corn & cheese, 1 pizza)Staff: friendly and happy to walk us through the menu + options!Location and Ambience: it's right next to Amazing Katsu in the corner of the Event Center of the plaza. The area was clean and busy!

The FoodI stumbled upon Simbongsa with my wife during our food exploration. Simbongsa is a Korean Croquette & Donut Shop. We got a chance to try their Quabegi (Twist Donut), along with their Spicy Pork Cheddar and Crab Meat Korokke. Both the Quabegi and Korokke are crispy when we got them. The Quabegi have a soft inside to contrast the outside. The Spicy Pork and Cheddar and Crab Meat Korokke were also very good, with a good filling to shell ratio. They also have another selection on the menu that's coming soon, so they might still be in a soft opening. I will have to return once they have their full menu.The MiscellaneousThis Simbongsa, interestingly enough, is not a restaurant, it is more of a take out location. It is located inside of the Elite Event Center. After entering the building, towards the back, you can find the take out location. During the time of this writing, they have the Quabegi and various flavors of Korokke. But it seems like there will be more items soon. The service was very reasonable and the staff were very, very kind! If you are a fan of donuts and korokke, give this a try!

Located in elite event center and right next to amazing katsu. This place is my go to if I want some small crispy Korean snacks. They are also to-go only with no seating, and order ahead since I had to wait 15 minutes for my order. The buns were fried perfectly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The savory ones fillings are very flavorful and I enjoyed every bite. Will come back again for their cheesy ones!!

I am not typically big on fried snacks, but these korokke and donuts are GOOD! Super easy to reheat and so affordable!Quabegi ($5.95 for 3 pcs) - good chew, the black sesame one was hitting!Magic hotdog ($4.95) - this one tasted just like hotdog, would probably skip next timeKorokke ($21.95 for 6 pcs) - so many different flavors (pork & vegetable, spicy pork, pizza, crab meat, mozzarella, potato & cheese, beef bulgogi sweet potato cream cheese, red bean). All the fillings are flavorful, good dough to filling ratio. And they have a few sauces to dip, but personally they are yummy even without any sauce. Upon reheating, it is crunchy, the dough is slightly sweet, giving a nice sweet and savory mix. It is located inside the Elite Event Center, where they share the space with two other food vendors. Would recommend ordering ahead for pickup as it takes some time for them to prepare. It is in a plaza with ample parking spots!