JCD, an abbreviated acronym for Jang Choong Dong Wang Jok Bal, provides a clue to the restaurant’s must-order: Jok bal is sliced soy-braised pig’s feet served ssam-style with lettuce wraps. JCD is also one of the few restaurants serving soondae, sausage made from pig’s blood and cellophane noodles, bound with glutinous rice. Here, the springy dark brown slices are served simply as an appetizer and in a spicy stir-fry mixed with vegetables.

Nak Won is one of the more popular Korean restaurants in Beaverton, possibly thanks to its playful English-friendly menu item names like “Saving Private Canned Goods” a.k.a. military stew a.k.a. budae jjigae, or “Ice Ice Babe,” the summer-only dish of cold buckwheat noodle soup with beef, sliced radish, and cucumber. Silly names aside, the food is serious, especially the many-named stew filled with instant ramen noodles, sliced-up hot dogs, spam batons, bacon, and tofu.

This hidden restaurant overlooking the aisles of G Mart (no, not H Mart) might seem like a well-kept secret, but the weekend wait makes it clear everyone else is already in on it. Blazing hot soups — both in temperature and spice level — are the thing to order, particularly the variations on sundubu-jjigae, a fiery stew in cast-iron cauldrons teeming with soft chunks of tofu.

A star in the growing family of restaurants opened by Han Oak duo Peter Cho and Sun Young Park, Toki breathes fresh, moodily-lit life into Tasty n Alder’s former West End space. Menus change often here, but a few items remain on the menu consistently: Standout regular starters include fresh, handmade shrimp dumplings and a brilliant steamed bao burger. During brunch, opt for the egg and bacon breakfast bao, or the hearty Taco Bell homage known as the Brunchwrap Supreme. Beverages include a number of strong cocktail options, as well as mocktails — for example, a black pepper soda comes with a blend of savory and sweet spices, garnished with orange peel.

Bingsu is a fluffy-cloudlike Korean dessert best described as milky shaved ice with sweet toppings, and Pacific Northwestern-chain Snowy Village is bringing it to the masses on North Vancouver with a mix of traditional and contemporary varieties, all stacked impossibly high. Popular picks include taro and black sesame, but the layered blueberry or fruity pebble encrusted options get just as much love. The piping hot, made-to-order taiyaki pastries come in an equally extensive range of flavors, from red bean paste to Nutella to cheesy pesto. 

Like any proper hub for a buzzy food cart pod like Park the Carts, this Northeast MLK Korean restaurant offers cheap beer, reliable comfort dishes, and ample seating indoor and out for those seeking a substantial, sit-down meal. From the restaurant’s sticky-sweet yangnyum fried chicken to the cheesy buldak, a blazing-spicy chicken dish, K-Pub has become a go-to for Northeast Portlanders craving some of the greatest hits. 

The latest restaurant from Han Oak duo Peter Cho and Sun Young Park is a dip towards finer dining, offering a prix fixe menu centered around live-fired, whole animal ssam in a warm, sleek space under a canopy of hanging lanterns. Meals begin with banchan and inventive starters, things like dry-aged kanpachi with yuja chojang, or beef and pork mandu in a black vinegar-bolstered bone broth. The full ssam service changes frequently, based on what’s dry-aging, curing, and in season.

The crunchy, snow cheese-dusted wings coming out of this buzzy member of the Lil’ America cart pod on Southeast Stark are rapidly approaching icon status. Korean American, Texan-raised chef Sunny Hatch pulls from both facets of his heritage at this fried chicken cart, both in the double-fried chicken wings dredged in a blend of rice, potato, and tapioca flour and Southern-influenced sides like the kimchi mac and cheese and mashed potatoes with curry gravy. Opt for wings over drumsticks for maximum surface area and thus optimal amounts of the gochujang, soy garlic glaze, or salty crumbles of snow cheese.

In a tiny stall within the Zipper food hall, Sari specializes in ramyun, a Korean style of ramen often packing some serious heat. The restaurant offers a number of ramyun options, bulgogi variants, and rice bowls, but the move here is to order the restaurant’s Korean fried chicken with gochujang glaze. Eat it out on the shared patio, or take it home on a Friday night.

This fast-casual restaurant in the Hollywood District is now the home of Du Kuh Bee’s renowned hand-pulled noodles, so visitors might catch the master plying his dough-transforming craft on a table set up right next to the register. Beyond spicy noodles, the menu is short and sweet, with wings, dark and rich with gochujang, or novelties like fries topped with kimchi and bacon. 

One of Portland’s most outstanding food carts (and Instagram personalities), Han Ly Hwang’s Korean spot on Division is best known for its flavor-packed bibim boxes of garlicky galbi ribs or sweet bulgogi beef, not to mention Korean riffs on American classics like the KJG hot dog with kimchi mayo and pickled mango. If it’s on the menu, don’t miss his take on a Taco Bell munch wrap. 

Despite the name, this strip mall restaurant is fusion-free. It also features a solid roster of Korean hot pots and stews, plus cheesy buldak, a spicy chicken dish smothered in melted cheese. Chungdam is no longer a late-night hang, but the special menu remains (including the silkworm pupae and sea snail salad).

This longstanding cafe-meets-diner near the airport may look like it only serves pancakes and monte cristos, but Korean dishes hide throughout the menu, from beef kimchi stew and “soldier soup” (better known as budae jjigae) to mungbean pancakes under the traditional flapjacks. Breakfast is where things get wild: Sue Gee’s fusion pancake is loaded with rice and vegetables, topped with cheese; specials like kimchi hash and kimchi omelets stuffed with bulgogi, crab, or shrimp, almost always please.