Los Angeles · Korean
MDK Noodles
Wilshire Boulevard knife-cut noodle and dumpling shop for kalguksu, cold jjolmyeon, pork mandu, and garlicky house kimchi.
- Price
- $$
- Opened
- 2002
- Neighborhood
- Koreatown3630 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010
About
Chul Heay Shin opened the shop as Myung Dong Kyoja on Wilshire Boulevard in 2002, named for Seoul’s Myeongdong dumpling-and-noodle tradition. In 2019 his daughter Stella Shin and cousins Leah and Kyojae Shin took over and rebranded as MDK Noodles while keeping the bare-bones dining room and the same everyday comfort cooking. The kitchen is known for kalguksu (knife-cut noodles in long-simmered chicken broth), steamed or pan-fried pork mandu, and cold bowls such as spicy jjolmyeon when the weather turns hot. The Infatuation, Eater, and Time Out still treat it as a Koreatown noodle reference; the house kimchi is famously garlicky. Open daily from late morning through evening, useful for solo lunch, group bowls, or a pre-Wiltern stop.
Menu highlights
- Kalguksu (knife-cut chicken noodle soup)
- Steamed or pan-fried pork mandu
- Jjolmyeon (spicy cold chewy noodles)
- Tteok mandu-guk when ordered
- Garlicky house kimchi
Diners say
Public reviews praise the kalguksu, dumplings, kimchi, and reliable portions at a fair price. The same threads note a plain fluorescent room, lunch crowds, and a brisk service style. Diners who like it usually want a noodle-and-dumpling meal more than barbecue or a soy-crab feast.
Review synthesis as of 2026-07-30. Synthesis of recurring themes in public Yelp and Google Maps reviews sampled July 2026; not a rating or ranking. Cross-checked against The Infatuation, Eater LA, and Time Out.