Chung Oak Restaurant

Hands down, my absolute favorite Korean BBQ. The most authentic I've had in this area. I live in VB, and I will stop by any time I'm on this side of the bridge. The building is old, and its a hole in the wall...which means the food is gonna be bomb! Service is fast and friendly. Tables are clean. They don't let our water cups go empty. They're on top of it all.I always get the Spicy Pork Bulgogi. The meat is perfectly marinated. It has the authentic smoky flavor, like it was cooked over charcoal. They give you plenty of bonchan (side dishes) and are always willing to refill them. The lunch portion is perfect for me, and leaves just enough room for a dessert from The Bread Garden (Korean Bakery down the road.)100% recommend this place. I'd gatekeep this one, but I love this small mom and pop spot and hope they NEVER EVER close.

Sophia and I joined up with friends of ours from a meetup group to eat lunch here last Saturday. They've been around for quite some time and built a nice reputation for Korean food. With us being here for the first time, why not check them out?Inside, the restaurant is a bit outdated given it's an old strip market, but it's no biggie. A small size, but everything inside is clean and spotless. When we came, there were a lot of tables available even though we placed a reservation days prior. After a few minutes of looking over the menu, it was time to order. My lunch for the day was japchae with beef and vegetables. Pretty good. The noodles were firm and well cooked along with the protein and veggies. Full of flavor with each bite. I actually got full halfway and took the rest home with me. As a matter of fact, everyone took plates home. And the japchae tasted as good as it did once I warmed it up.Overall, a pretty nice visit. I can see ourselves coming back for another round soon. Till next time :)

Delicious food. When we eat at ethnic restaurants, we want food that tastes like their grandmother made it. Chung Oak hit the mark on authentic flavor. My whole party was delighted, including my picky 14 year old who was originally wanting McDonalds. Very tasty food, we had a variety of items ordered. I had the beef bulgogi and it was delicious. The owners were very knowledgeable about ingredients and took care with my allergies overall. I am allergic to sesame and typically avoid it. I don't have strong reactions but it causes inflammation in my throat that can build up. It was explained to me there wasn't much of an option without that for meats because the meats are marinated with it in advance. So I was very informed when I ordered it.

We've been wanting to try this place for a while and finally got the chance. The staff wasn't very friendly and didn't greet you much, just threw you at a table. But don't like that deter you from the food . The food is authentic and delicious! They have plenty of seating inside as well. Very inexpensive and you get a lot of food!

I have been eating here for a long as I can remember. They have never let me down. I haven't ate here for almost a year and it's just like I remembered it excellent. I feel bad for not coming in so long. I definitely won't let that happen again.

This restaurant is absolutely amazing! It's location is in an older and more humble plaza within Newport News. The staff members are incredibly kind, efficient, attentive to the customer needs. The menu is easy to follow and features both Korean and English translation, with a short description in English, of each dish. The food came out quickly and had incredible presentation. Most importantly, the food itself was amazing and tasted authentic. That customary appetizers of fermented vegetables were incredibly flavorful and had a hint of spice. The Bi Bim Bap, which I get as one of my entrées whenever I try a new Korean restaurant, included more spiralized vegetables than most places--which I really appreciated--and had the perfect over-easy egg. The cold buckwheat dish, which is perhaps my favorite, came with a side of there chili paste so you could titrate how much spice you can add. I can't wait to come back to this place for lunch! It seems to lunch specials will be a great deal.

If you are looking for a diamond in the rough and are craving some yummy Korean food, look no more! The owner here is the sweetest lady ever, the staff works really hard and they really make their food with love, it is the perfect comfort food on any day. I love the #25 buckwheat noodles and #4 Beef Short Ribs. Comes out hot and fresh. They also give side dishes that you can munch on before the food comes out. I would highly recommend stopping by if you haven't already! I see a lot of people doing take out as well, if that is what you prefer.

Stopped in because the one I wanted to go to was closed and I had a hankering for some Korean after making a trek up to NN. It was later in the afternoon, about 2:40 pm so I was relieved the "open" sign was lit when I pulled up. I was pleasantly surprised that there were a couple other tables being attended to. It's always a crapshoot if the service/food will be alright during off hours and I don't like feeling like I'm the only one disturbing the schedule when the workers are eating. But no worries here. A good sign.I'm not sure why it's called a "Korean Japanese restaurant", but I wasn't looking too closely to all the menu items, so I guess there were some Japanese items. Service was attentive. But I was a little bummed I just missed the 2:30 lunch cutoff. I mean, I guess they have to cut off at some time. But it meant my dish was like $4 more expensive for probably the same sized portion. And it's not like the lunch special came with additional combo items (at least not according to the take out menu). However, the regular portion size did come with rice and 4 banchan. Maybe the lunch doesn't? That would surprise me a little though. It would at least come with rice. But I won't know unless I return to order the same within lunch hours. In any case, I ordered a favorite, doenjang jigae, a fermented bean paste stew with tofu and vegetables. It came with 4 side dishes (banchan). I was afraid the stew might be watered down, but it was quite good and had a nice spicy kick. It was chock full with thinly sliced green squash and onions, tofu cubes, and some pork meat. Interestingly, it doesn't mention the meat on the menu description, so just note there is a little in there in case you don't eat meat or pork. I was happy the little meat there was wasn't fatty or gristle-y. It was a little tough but it was small enough pieces not to be a big deal. I have never had this stew with such finely sliced vegetables. It was not a bad thing and loaded up the stew nicely, but just something different from bigger chunks of the same I'm used to seeing in this stew. Actually smaller slices meant more veggies, so all good! The banchan were a mix of salt/pepper/sesame oil seasoned bean sprouts, cucumber kimchi, cabbage kimchi, and some shredded pickled radish. The bean sprouts were incredibly over salted, and the cucumber kimchi had an overly vinegary taste and just tasted off balance with flavor. I couldn't place it. I mean I ate them all up, but they weren't my favorite. The cabbage kimchi was not fermented much so it didn't have the "bite" and sourness I like. However, this seems to be common at a lot of places, and it was fine. The pickled radish was refreshing as it was sweet but sour and tasted as I expected. The star was really the stew, and if you're going to have one thing be good, the main dish is a good thing. All in all, I give 4 stars due to the yummy stew, the welcoming atmosphere and being open even off hours. However, I really wanted to give it more like 3.5 stars. While good, the banchan and rice didn't seem as "fresh"... the rice was a bit dried out, but fortunately I was using it to eat some of the broth while it cooled. I've definitely had better but it's a decent place if in a pinch and have a craving. The price for my regular priced stew was a bit much for the place. I'd expect the bowl to be a little bigger but I have a feeling it's the same portion size as the lunch special. I'd go again if other closer places were closed. I haven't tried the one I originally wanted to visit so not much comparison at the moment. This location was a little ways from the beaten path where I was, but not too far. Try to go during the lunch hours to save some $. By the way, bathrooms were nice and clean.

Not too many Korean options in this part of Virginia, so we'll take what we can get. After spending a few days in Williamsburg and taking an alternate route (south to VA Beach area before heading north) to head home, we stopped by Chung Oak for a Korean lunch.The prices are very reasonable and the lunch special uses pretty good cuts of beef. I would stay away from the bokum bap (fried rice) as it was too dry. otherwise, we had a good experience and ate well. If we're in the area again, we would definitely stop in here again.

Friendly, fast, and delicious! Very big menu and each item is so tasty. You can tell the people that work here love what they do. They are so sweet, and I cant wait to come back.