8610 W Spring Mountain Road,
Las Vegas, NV 89147
Monday – Sunday: 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Cash, credit card accepted
Cheongdam-dong: a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea known for its wealthy and famous residents. Despite this prestigious reputation, Cheongdam Food Hall takes its name and spins it on its head, offering a plethora of cuisines for a relatively affordable cost.
The building is separated into two parts: Smile Shota, an all you can eat sushi restaurant, and five other food stalls. While I won’t be reviewing Smile Shota due to its hefty price per person (I guess that’s where the “Cheongdam” part comes into play), I will be reviewing three out of five of the stalls.
The overall layout of the inside is quite confusing, as there’s only a half wall separating the two parts. I can definitely see customers accidentally walking into Smile Shota with the intention of eating at the food stalls. My family visited on a Tuesday night, and while the place was still pretty packed due to its soft opening, we were able to find a table easily. The place is nearly spotless thanks to the multiple bussers walking around and cleaning the area. In terms of decoration, the interior maintains an earthy color palette with imitation shrubbery scattered around the area.
The stalls are what you expect from a Korean-named building, consisting of Korean street food, Korean desserts, and– tacos? I appreciate any sort of taco appearance, but having a Mexican stall in a supposed Korean food court caught me off guard. In addition to this, there’s also a Japanese curry place and an all-day brunch stall; all of these are located on the left side of the building.
My family started at Hal Ga Tteok, the Korean street food stall, and we ordered the Rose Tteokbokki ($15) as a group appetizer. There were three options for the “tteok” or the rice cake, and we went with the ssal tteok which is made with 100 percent rice flour. There was also egg, sausage, and fishcake with the tteokbokki. The fishcakes reminded me of the fish balls my Filipino family enjoys. The rice cakes were much larger than anticipated, with a pleasant chewy texture. When it comes to the rose sauce, it had a familiar taste that I couldn’t distinguish until my dad pointed out that it tasted like spaghetti, which is something I enjoy very much. Even after we had finished our separate meals, the tteokbokki stayed warm in its container. I found myself craving this tteokbokki for several days after our initial visit.
I also tried one of my sister’s tacos ($3.99 each) from Tacos by Jose & Carmen. There were four different protein options: asada, pastor, carnitas, and pollo, with generous portions stuffed into each tortilla. Regardless of your choice, each taco was topped with your standard fillings of pico de gallo, cilantro, and onion. The few bites you get are what you expect from an authentic taco, so I have no complaints there. Despite this, a giant pool of oil formed at the bottom of the taco, coating my lips as I took a bite. I did wait to eat the taco about 30 minutes after we received it, but this was still the biggest negative of my experience.
Finally, I ordered the Organic Chicken Katsu Curry ($10.95) from Curry-Ya (my sister pointed out that it’s actually a pun for “Korea”). I’ve been craving chicken katsu ever since cooking it in culinary class last school year, so my mouth was watering when the massive plate of chicken, curry, and rice arrived at my table. Is my craving satisfied? Not quite, but I think that chicken katsu from culinary class was just so legendary that nothing can surpass it. The breading to meat ratio was balanced, and it remained crunchy even after a long period of time. The star of the show was the curry; I ordered it with a medium spice level, and it provided a nice kick that even those with a low spice tolerance can enjoy. The dish also comes with miso soup and cabbage salad. Both of these add-ons were nothing special, but they did compliment other aspects of the meal; the cabbage in particular gave each bite a well needed crunch that kept me coming back for more.
With everything we ate, my family felt completely full after our meal. In fact, we felt so full that I couldn’t even review the hotteok (sweet Korean pancakes) from Ho Ho Crunch like I was originally planning to. Although there could be more improvements to the establishment, such as mentioning where to put the ceramic dishes once finished with the meal, it was still an enjoyable place to eat.
All in all, this is a fantastic spot for an indecisive group of people as you’re bound to find something you’ll enjoy. I can easily imagine myself bringing my friends in to have a good time trying as much food as possible. And Ho Ho Crunch? I’m coming for you next time.
