Hwang-Do Seafood Noodle

Where: 3615 Steilacoom Blvd. S.W., #102, Lakewood, 253.581.0985

Hours: Daily 9 a.m. to midnight

Cuisine: Korean comfort food

Scene: Casual, cafeteria-style, family friendly

Drinkies: Rice wine, sake, typical non-alcoholic beverages

Damage:  $3.99-$39.99



ANNOUNCER: Driving along South Tacoma Way toward the B & I can feel like a trip outside the United States. Once you pass South 70th Street, business signs in English begin to diminish, being replaced by those in Asian and Spanish. The corner of South Tacoma Way and Steilacoom Boulevard Southwest is occupied by a large non-descript building set back from the road that houses a Korean restaurant, Hwang-Do Seafood Noodle. In large red neon lettering, Hwang-Do is in Korean and Seafood Noodle “Soup” in English, much the same way a bakery advertises cakes and breads. What sets it apart from other Asian restaurants is full food service until midnight and takeout seven days a week. The 180-degree floor-to-ceiling windows make this cheery orange noodle joint a bright beacon to hungry travelers and area residents alike.



JAKE: What is it about unfamiliar, and therefore exotic, food smells that reduces me to breathing open-mouthed in an attempt to taste the scent?



JASON: I don’t know, but it’s weird, and since we’re the only white guys here, maybe you wanna knock it off. We thought Hwang-Do was an order at the counter kind of place until the waitress shooed us to a table and gave us a poster-size laminated double-sided menu with pictures. Since the place down the street closed, I’ve been looking for another humbow or dumpling spot. Six of these ground, spiced pork, white onion, rice and spice stuffed mothers is an appetizer obviously meant to be shared in keeping with Korean family-style dining.



JAKE: You skipped banchan, the most important side dishes on the planet. Eight shallow saucers filled our table before anything we’d ordered arrived. The banchan train started with mild, brilliant red kimchi, fermented potato-looking chunks of white radish doused in fiery red chili sauce, crunchy mung beans in sesame oil, and a typical green seaweed salad with a bit of nori (dried black seaweed) and thin bits of pickled white radish. Then came golden tofu strips with shaved carrot and sesame oil, half-moon slices of pickled yellow radish, and an odd fruit salad. The kicker was the dish of dried little fish with eyes and tiny faces that seemed to scream for rescue — too late little buddies.



JASON: You know who else screamed for rescue? Me — right after I ordered the beef ankle soup. It arrived in a boiling black cauldron, no joke. I put it to the side to let it mellow and started on the much more approachable but hard to pronounce janchigooksu or noodle soup with veggies. The clear broth needed some kick and that’s the point — it’s served somewhat bland so each person dining can spice it up to their individual liking. I added chili paste, rock salt with nori flakes, and a wallop of kimchi.



JAKE: I did the same with my pork mandugook, similar to wonton soup, with strips of cooked egg and long green onion. Mandu are handmade crescent-shaped dough pouches filled with seasoned pork, beef, tofu or vegetables. I over did it with the chilies and slugged back cold, sweet chungha (rice wine) to ease my pain. Let’s hear about your beef ankle now.



JASON: Uh, yeah. After the cauldron was merely at a simmer, I cautiously tasted the broth. The flavor was unnervingly meaty evoking memories of being forced to eat liver as a kid. The clear cellophane noodles were slippery and delicious. Spooning through the soup, the majority seemed to be cloudy golf-ball size cartridge pieces and a coagulated milky white substance that I just couldn’t stomach. Pieces of dark brown meat were scarce and gamey like rabbit, duck or lamb. This is a lover or a hater, not an I-maybe-like-it-sometimes dish. The waitress did warn me.



JAKE: Everything we ordered was family-size and take-home boxes were needed. The food didn’t even come to $30. My bottle of 13-percent alcohol rice wine was only $10.  I believe we are now cheap dates.



JASON: Our waitress told us Hwang-Do doesn’t do dessert. I made a sad face that got me nowhere. All this soup talk reminded me of something I’ve always been curious about. When is it OK to drink soup directly from the bowl? I’ve seen this on Food Network, but I believe restaurant etiquette is to watch other diners and see how they handle their dishes and food and follow suit.



JAKE: Hey, pervy nut-case, since you want to talk about etiquette guidelines, here’s one for you. When a waitress asks if she can get you anything, she means a beverage or appetizer, not a lap-dance or her phone number.