Mokran

Here we are with another Chinese Korean restaurant, Mokran in Langley (specifically Walnut Grove).  Just like the name suggests, the food is mainly Korean with Chinese influences.  Dishes such as Jajangmyeon, Tangsuyuk and Jjamppong are some common menu items that we find at these places.  When we arrived, the restaurant was super busy with a lineup for lunch.  Looking at the portion sizes, we could see why.  Combined with reasonable prices, they have 2 of the things needed for the trifecta of the perfect restaurant.  The last is factor is the actual food quality and taste.  Of course we did ordered a good selection to find out!

The first item we had was the Haemul Nurung Ji Tang served in a massive bowl.  This starch-thickened seafood hot pot was mild-tasting, but not lacking in flavour.  It had some depth, pepperiness and savouriness.  In addition, there was some base smokiness from the original stir-fry with the ingredients (before the broth was added and thickened).  The best part was the side of scorched rice that was super crispy and light.  Combined with the thick broth, these rice patties were super delicious.

The next dish to hit the table was huge plate of Tangsuyuk (Sweet & Sour Pork).  Each piece was fairly large, moist and tender.  Even the thinner slices of meat were not hard nor dry.  The batter was medium-thick and appealingly crunchy.  I liked how the starch batter was not gummy, such as other versions I've had.  As much as the batter does absorb quite a bit of oil, this didn't eat particularly greasy.  As for the sauce, it was on the tangier side, but that is my preference anyways.

Something along the same lines but very different was the Cream Saeu.  This was essentially battered and fried prawns in a creamy mayo sauce.  Even though the batter looked the same, this one uses corn starch while the Tangsuyuk uses potato starch.  Hence this one was a touch harder.  The shrimp itself was meaty with briny sweetness.  It sat on a bed of shrimp chips which began to absorb the tangy and sweet sauce.  Due to the heaviness of the mayo, this ate more robust too.

The most impressive-looking plate of the bunch was the Yangjangpi featuring stir fried onions and zucchini surrounded by julienned carrots, cucumber and beef shank, squid, shrimp and marinated jellyfish.  We also found some mung bean noodles on top.  When mixed together, this was quite the variety of textures and flavours.  There was some pretty smoky wok hei with the onion which added plenty of umami..  Loved the chewiness of the noodles too.

Even though the Fried Rice seemed like a boring choice off the menu, we picked it so we could experience more wok hei.  Although it is hard to tell from the picture, the rice was indeed subjected to high wok heat.  Hence, the rice was nutty and smoky.  Furthermore, each grain of rice was discernible without being clumpy.  The texture was on point with a chewiness and certain dryness.  Hidden inside, we found buttery shrimp and fluffy egg.  On the side, there was some black bean sauce and cabbage salad.

On the topic of black bean sauce, we did order the Jajangmyeon as well.  This is such a staple for these types of restaurants and this version didn't disappoint.  First of all, there was a wealth of chewy noodles covered with a thick and rich sauce.  It was lightly sweet from the onions and had only a mild saltiness from the black beans.  Plenty of umaminess though where it completely flavoured the noodles.  We kept eating this and it didn't seem like we put a dent into it.

Our other noodle option was the Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup.  Once again, there was no shortage of chewy noodles within the spicy broth.  Yes, it was noticeably spice with sweet and briny notes.  The seafood was mainly squid and shrimp which were cooked properly.  Overall, we really enjoyed the food at Mokran.  It was flavourful and things were prepared the way it should be.  Good wok hei with anything that was stir-fried.  However, the biggest draw is the portion sizes.  They are absolutely huge.  You will totally get your money's worth here.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Huge, and I mean HUGE portions
- Delicious
- Well-priced for what you get

The Bad:
- Super busy, be prepared to wait
- Seating can be tight depending where you sit