Gahwa - Queens

A hidden gem with convenient street parking available at night. The prices are very affordable.

Often, the vegetables in this spicy rice dish can be cut into awkward lengths and sizes, making them difficult to eat. However, here, everything was thoughtfully diced into small, manageable pieces, making it much easier to enjoy each bite—this minor detail was a pleasant surprise. The only downsides were that the pot wasn’t very hot, so the rice didn’t crisp up on the bottom as much as I would have liked. Also, I missed having an egg to include, which many other places offer. Nonetheless, these small issues aside, we appreciated the speedy service and the fact that they were one of the few Korean restaurants in the area open for early birds.

However, after taking just a few bites of my food, I felt something hard in my soup. I pulled it out to discover it was a coin—a dime! It was disgusting, and I wondered if it was intentional. This completely ruined my appetite, so I stopped eating. I regretted paying for the food I barely touched, and I even tipped 18% for such poor service. I will never return, and I hope the owner takes action to train their staff better. I understand that the staff may want to leave early, but if you're open for another 30 minutes, please treat your remaining customers with respect and ensure the food is not tampered with.

Inside (if we went loud, but it is the definition of cozy. The food is what I take to be Korean comfort food because I wasn't Korean, but there was a feeling of home and warmth: The broth of soup is great, but bland, so it is good that they have fed on the table

This was my first time trying seolleongtang (ox bone soup) and I really enjoyed it. The broth is so milky and concentrated but not at all heavy. As others have mentioned, just a bit of salt, pepper, and scallions will completely transform the flavor from bland to hearty yet subtle, even though I may have oversalted mine just a bit (be careful, a little goes a long way). This was such a comforting bowl of soup, and I felt the warmth reaching and soothing every bone in my body. The rice it comes with is also a little moist and sticky, which I really liked, though my friend wasn't as big a fan. The kimchi jjim, braised kimchi with pork rib, was at the opposite end of the spectrum, flavor wise. The flavors are so deep and pronounced, tangy and spicy and savory with a great sourness from the kimchi. It also has tofu, rice cakes, and pork belly slices to soak up the saucy goodness. The kimchi strips are long and hard to cut through, so make sure to properly chew through them as you're eating! Their banchan is simple but quality. We got fresh raw cabbage with ssamjang, pickled jalapeños, and two types of kimchi: the classic cabbage (baechu) and cubed radish (kkakdugi). Oh my lord, the kimchi was SO GOOD. You could tell it had been fermented for a while, because the flavor had seeped through to the core of each piece. So delicious and refreshing. I'd come to Gahwa all the time if it weren't so far away from me. But mark my words, this definitely won't be my last visit.