Beef Soup At Han Sung Restaurant

Yuk gae jung with age tofu and chapchae in the back

The cold is coming, and you should start looking for warm dinners to get you through.

Yuk gae jang is a Korean beef soup perfect for your winter, and Han Sung Restaurant in Ellicott City will ladle it out for you.

Han Sung is a small casual restaurant just south of Rte 40. Many of the people coming through were eating sushi or tempura. But there is a small variety of homestyle Korean food, and I'm looking to eat beyond the barbecue and the Korean-Chinese noodles that I love.

Yuk gae jang is a bowl thick with shredded flank steak, scallions and noodles in a red-tinged broth. The soup has a spicy zest, but it's not the fiery flavor that you can get in some Korean dishes. It's a filling dish. The beef cooked tender. The noodles soak up the broth. On the side you get a metal container of rice, which you spoon into the bowl and adds a nice heartiness.

Han Sung doesn't have the panache of Shin Chon Garden, which is our repeat joint for Korean. But we're trying new spots, and I directed us to Han Sung -- and to yuk gae jung -- based on a Yelp review by Ji K. They put out a nice table of vegetable panchan, and it seems like the right place for a dinner of soup and sushi.

One note: Ask for the main dish serving of yuk gae jung ($11). It's in English on the takeout menu, but the regular menu lists the main dish soups only in Korean. Next time, we'll try the mandu gook -- dumplings in a beef broth -- or the seafood pancakes. Anyone else suggest dishes at Han Sung?

Han Sung Restaurant
3570 St. Johns Lane
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-750-3836

NEAR: Han Sung is in a small commercial development on St. Johns Lane south of Rte 29. You drive past a cemetery on the right, and then turn right into a brick commercial building just before the next intersection with Frederick Road. Han Sung is around the corner and faces Frederick Road.