Myungdong (MD) Noodle House opens in Little Neck
MD Mandoo pork dumplings are the most popular appetizer at Myungdong Noodle House in Little Neck. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
We've all got a hankering for Korean food right now, perhaps because of Netflix's "Squid Game" or "Korean Cold Noodle Rhapsody," which showcase eye-catching restaurants that make their own noodles from scratch. While Long Island has some great KBBQ spots, you can now find a specialized Korean noodle house within easy striking distance in Little Neck, Queens.
Myungdong (MD) Noodle House has ties to a famous noodle and dumpling shop from Seoul, South Korea. The loosely-based franchise operation gets many of its recipes from Myeongdong Kyoja, a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick that's been in the Myeong-dong shopping neighborhood of Seoul since 1966. The brand also has a location in Fort Lee, New Jersey, plus a separate franchise in Los Angeles' Koreatown.
The new spot in Little Neck has a much larger menu than the original, served in a homestyle restaurant with a diner vibe within a former Chase bank building with a sizable parking lot. Servers mill around the brightly-lit space with carts of bubbling soups and the signature MD Mandoo pork dumplings ($15.95), which feature a diaphanous steamed wrapper that crinkles around the pork like a brain. Every meal starts with kimchi, a famous, fierce brew of sour garlicky ferment gussied up with a boatload of chili powder. It's about three times spicier than regular New York kimchi — and 10 times better.
Kalguksu, a knife-cut wheat noodle soup at Myungdong Noodle House in Little Neck. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
The staple is kalguksu noodles, a knife-cut variety of wheat noodle that's typically served in a clear chicken broth soup on rainy windy days. This noodle was originally an upper-class luxury item, but is widely accessible across Korea today.
MD Noodle House prepares kalguksu noodles in the New Jersey location, rolling the wheat dough into puffy ribbons that are cut with a knife. There's not much tooth to these noodles; they're more about wispy, clean flavor. The long white ribbons slip around the mild chicken broth, which is peppered with ground meat and more of those porky dumplings.
There's also a North Korean variety of buckwheat noodles called naengmyeon, the spicy amazing ones seen on "Korean Cold Noodle Rhapsody." These too are a destination dish at MD Noodle House, which serves them with toppings like raw skate fish doused in chili paste ($19.95). But although these cold noodles were historically eaten during the winter, most people will find them more satisfying in the summer.
The always-busy restaurant also offers a large menu of homestyle dishes, like soft tofu soups and less common samgye-tang, a whole chicken in an herbal broth enriched with, ginseng, jujube fruits and black sesame seeds ($32.90).
Galbi-jjim, braised beef ribs in a sweet soy sauce, is a winter special at Myungdong Noodle House in Little Neck. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
The most epic winter menu item is a mountainous pile of braised short ribs ($36.95) still on their bones. The crocket of galbi-jjim arrives at the table steaming and carefully stacked with fat mushrooms and carrots, brimming from the top with a leafy green herb. Scissors are provided to cut the meat from the bone. But in the end, you'll probably don a plastic glove and wrangle it with your fingers, savoring its sweet soy sauce flavor.
Myungdong Noodle House, 56-21 Marathon Pkwy., Little Neck, Queens; 718-819-8178, mdnoodle.com. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.
