To Soc Chon

24 hour goodness :)

so apparently this location is the originally. I go to the location in Annandale, VA because I live in the DC area. I was excited to find a to soc chon during my NYC trip.
I always get the soondae gook which was good but I don’t like how they smother there radish kimchi with hot red pepper flakes, it was a little overboard. Food overall was good but the reason for the poor stars is because the service was terrible. my location in VA, the ahujmahs are so much nicer and know to bring me more radish kimchi! (I literally eat 3 bowls myself)

A very nice place to hang out with friends! If you like spicy Korean food, you will never be disappointed! The price is really good for students. I will surely come back for the future!

I know this place is famous for their pork head soup. I tried because of that but I’m not so impressed. I actually liked their potato and pork soup much more. It’s hard to find the place that makes good potato and pork soup.
Chicken stew was too sweet for me. But I would still go back there for the potato and pork soup.

The staff was accommodating and pleasant.
My food was great, whereas my parents were not pleased with the food. The pictures on the menu did not equate to the dishes that came out, although the waiter had already warned us beforehand as well. There was also a lot less soondae (there was only five little pieces inside the entire bowl) in the soondae soup than we had expected, and we left disappointed.
My experience was great here compared to those in other Korean restaurants, but my parents concluded to never come here again because of the lack of authenticity.
In my opinion, this is a great place for those who desire simple Korean comfort food on a cold day.

I came through Fort Lee with my family on the way back into the city from Palisades Center last night. By the time we got into Fort Lee, it was already 8:30 in the evening and we’d been shopping all day. Needless to say, we were all so tired and so hungry we could have eaten a horse. Unfortunately, To Soc Chon did not carry any aforementioned horses to please our appetite. They did however have an assortment of pig parts where if you order enough variety of dishes, you’d probably have yourself an entire pig.
We started the table with The Modeum Soondae, a heaping platter of korean blood sausages, pig lungs, and other innards. This dish is not for the faint of heart or those prone to gag reflexes. If you get past the fact that these are not your usual cuts of meat, you’ll be in for some tasty delicacies. Although I would suggest trying it this dish elsewhere as I’ve had this multiple time and this didn’t stand up quite as well as others.
We also had around the table several of the ‘tangs’, an assorted pork stew, a potato stew with pork bones, and a beef stew. The pork stew broth was a tad bland, the potato stew broth was crazy spicy and the beef stew broth was super sweet.
While I didn’t find the meal at To Soc Chon terrible, it also didn’t didn’t meet my expectations too well either. They have a small menu so choices are limited. I expected much better though.

Really had a delicious and pleasurable experience here! The restaurant is nothing fancy but the food is awesome! They have a limited menu but I guess that means they spend time perfecting their dishes that much more! :) I ordered the spicy chicken stew which comes with a small bowl of rice. While the chicken comes on the bone and could be challenging to eat, it was still so yummy and well worth all the effort! I’m talking about tender, fall-​off-​the-​bone goodness! I enjoy spicy food but to a certain extent — meaning, if it’s too spicy, it’s not enjoyable for me anymore but this spice was just enough! I got a bit of a runny nose from the spice but hey, it’s part of the experience. ;)
A small negative would be the banchan served. Totally great and edible but not very impressive (I’d say lettuce with some thousand island dressing). When I go to Korean spots, I get just as excited about the side dishes as I do the actual meal! So it’d be nice if they amped up that more.
Staff was awesome too — attentive and kind. Can’t wait to go back!

Amazing! Just amazing!
1) Me and my friend got the beef and chicken dakdori tang. Wow… Amazing stuff.
2) The service is great. They bring you salad, radish, and kimchi. And you can get unlimited refills.
3) The ambiance is nice. And parking is not hard to find.

Got take out tonight. Okay… I was a bit boring and got the gamja tang (pork bone in soup) but it was really good. It came with kimchee which was yummy as well. Next time I am definitely getting liver, lung, feet, ears, [head, shoulders, knees and toes] :-P .and will update!

Soondae was yummy!!!
BYOB

To Soc Chon is a soondae-​specializing restaurant. With so many Korean joints catering to the more popular cuisines such as bbq and soondooboo, a soondae establishment is most welcome.
Prices are affordable and if you come in a group, the casseroles are the way to go. The modeum soondae platter (blood sausage, liver, ear, belly?) is a staple choice, but the soondae bokkeum (stir fry) and gamja jeongol (pig shoulder) are great options as well.
Soondae is an acquired taste, so make sure you know what it is before you jump the gun. Banchan is a little limited, and alcohol isn’t available late at night. Parking is easy — right across the street there’s a huge parking lot.

This place is not for the faint of heart (read: American American). If you’re not familiar with soondae or jokbal, don’t come here. If you like hearty, rustic Korean fare, definitely come here.
My husband, a country boy, born & raised in Korea, loves this place. He loves their soondae & soondae guk and at times their jokbal.
Me, an American raised Korean that doesn’t eat pork or beef… well, I’m not a huge fan. What’s extremely disappointing for me is their very strange tasting kimchi (it tastes almost like pork if that’s possible) and this is perhaps the only place in all of the dozens upon dozens of types of kimchi I’ve tried where I can’t at least moderately enjoy it. I never refuse kimchi. What I can say is their mul-​naengmyun is very very delicious (but difficult to enjoy w/​o kimchi).
Perks — they are open late & will do take out & their customer service is great and fast. Also, for my MSG sensitive husband, he never gets sick so I’m almost positive they don’t use MSG.
You definitely can’t get this food in Ktown in Manhattan. Not even Flushing, IMO.

Normally, you’d never find me anywhere near blood. Especially cubes of pork blood or blood sausauge. Unfortunately everything on Unilocal recommended blood sausage for this place… so we ordered it. And shockingly enough. I LIKED IT!!!
It didn’t taste metallic-​y or gross or bloody but wonderfully savory with garlic nuances.
We also ordered a bunch of various soups that were quite filling and helped nip the cold in our bones since we walked over from the Spanish bus stop.
Highly recommended!

It’s not the type of Korean restaurant you should go to if you have a feening for barbecue, bibimbap or japchae. Yes, those items are all authentic Korean dishes but To Soc Chon’s menu does not include them in their short menu list.
Their menu is separated into «entrees» which are dishes that are perfectly portioned to feed one person. And the «casseroles» are bigger meals that can fit up to 3 – 4 adults.
I dream about To Soc Chon because Korean food in Manhattan’s Ktown is straight up lousy compared to To Soc Chon’s. And it’s conveniently located right across the George Washington Bridge, just like Brian Jin M. mentioned in his great review.
To first-​timers, the menu can be a bit intimidating since it does not describe what each of the dishes contain. So, let me try my best to do so.
My favorite «entrees» are the soondae guk, dakdori tang, and gamja tang.
1. Soondae guk is a chicken broth with floating pieces of cartilage, liver, beef, and soondae. What is soondae? Soondae is cow/​pig intestines stuffed with clear glass noodles aka blood sausage. You dump in a serving of rice and voila!
2. Dakdori tang is a less soupy stew made of a thicker, spicy chicken stock made mostly from red pepper paste and soy sauce. There are 3 – 4 big pieces of bone-​in white and dark chicken meat, chunks of potatoes, and other types of vegetables to add to the bite. This is served with a bowl of rice.
3. Gamja tang is just like the dakdori tang but instead of the bone-​in chicken, you get bone-​in pork! This is also served with a bowl of rice.
As for the «casseroles», my favorite are the soondae bokkeum, modeum soondae, gamja jeongol, and dakdori jeongol.
1. Gamja jeongol is a bigger version of the gamja tang. It is served in a huge wok that can fit 3 – 4 people easily.
2. Dakdori jeongol is a bigger version of the dakdori tang. It is also served in a huge wok that can fit 3 – 4 people easily.
3. Soondae bokkeum is a sauteed dish with a thick red pepper paste, red sausages, and lots of vegetables. The soondae (blood sausages) break apart since it’s sauteed in a wok but the outside shell becomes a delightful crispy.
4. Modeum soondae is a huge platter of the soondae (blood sausages). It is also served with pieces of liver and ear. It is served with a thick sea salt so you can dip the soondae, liver, and ear into. The soondae is delicious but again, I would recommend trying soondae before ordering this dish.
They also allow people to come in with their own bottles of soju, wine, and beer to enjoy with their food. I’m not quite sure if they have their liquor license but hey, this girl ain’t complaining about their lenient BYOB policy.
Also, the restaurant is extremely bare-​bones aka you won’t see fancy décor, let alone any décor. So, don’t be disappointed! Consider yourself warned.

We discovered this place because we love hot soup and the nearby tofu soup place is always packed. And this is our new favorite! We love naturally tasted broth, and Soondae Guk soup based is hearty and only lightly seasoned. You can eat with hot pepper and salty shrimp as you like. The soup is loaded with pork, lung, tongue, stomach (?) and the blood sausage. It will cure the soul on a bad day.

Boo Boo and I have been meaning to come here for a while and because she likes soondae and I love Korean food. We only ordered the casserole with soondae. The portion is huge. I’m sure it can easily feed 4 people. After my 5^th serving of the entrée I was tired of the same flavor. I would have like to have a better selection of banchan or a smaller and less expensive entrée so we could have shared 2 dishes to help mellow out the spiciness of the entrée. The Banchan were kimchi cabbage, kimchi radish, and lettuce with Thousand Island dressing. I understand this type of place is for lots of drinking and sharing of this type of food. I imagine business negotiations for the mafia type scenario.
The busboy was on point he refilled my ice tea water 3 times without having to flag him down.
The whole restaurant got really quiet when the Korean team lost to the Dutch team in the speed skater event.
The bathroom was clean but floor was very wet like many bathrooms. CC was accept.
I’d come back but order smaller item.

THUMBS UP!
I came here with a group of six seeking to try Fort Lee’s good Korean food. I don’t remember having a conversation with anyone after receiving the food at our table because I was too busy stuffing my face.
We got the soondae (blood sausage) platter, soondae soup, and dakdoritang (chicken/​potatoes). The place was BYOB so we also split two bottles of wine there. The soondae was not dry but delicious and the chicken was spicy– just to my liking. The only bottom side was that we had to wait about 20 minutes before getting our table but we were in a bigger group so none of us minded!

When my cousin and his wife used to live in Fort Lee, we frequented this restaurant a lot since his mother in law worked there and we would get freebies or extra portions for no cost.
Their soondae or Korean blood sausage are very good and scrumptious as well as their stews and meat dishes. Their banchans or side dishs are also very fresh and nothing like the low quality ones you find at Korean restaurants on the 32^nd street strip.
I also like the fact that this place is authentically Korean and most servers are Korean ajoomas… nope not the pushy types you encounter in K-​town in the city that rush you before you even placed food in your mouth (*cough cough Kunjip*)
If you want REAL KOREAN COMFORT OR SOUL FOOD but don’t want to travel too deep into NJ, this is the place to go, it’s literally right across the GW bridge! I miss their food as I no longer go to NJ as often as I used to!

Always in the hunt for the best soondae in ny and nj and this is one of the places at the top of the list. This no frills eatery reminds me of a school cafeteria but their staff is friendly and efficient.
Upon ordering you receive tea and panchan. Not a huge variety but a good amount for the price your paying.
Small menu means they strive to serve the best of what they put out. They have soondaeguk, dweji gukbap, gamja tang and dakdori tang as their soups all within $ 10-​$ 12. For a larger group you can order a «chungol» casserole, family style entrée for $ 20-​$ 30. Give this place a try its authentic and delish.

This is as good as it gets. low price of ten bucks for a great soup chock full of pork. tasty delicious pork soup.
There was no fatty chewy or unwanted content in the soup.
Their kimchi is very good. Some of the best.
The servers are very nice.
Did I mention its open 24 hours a day? and its byob…
This will be my new soup spot. I cant wait to come back and try the sausage soup.