Cheap Korean Food in NYC?

[Guest WitchGoddess]

For a college student

I decided to get off of my meal plan in College and make food on my own, because it's cheaper. And now that I can choose what I actually eat, I want to buy Korean food. Unfortunately, (I live in the Union Square Area) and there are no places for cheap Korean food. All the restaurants are ridiculously expensive. Like Dosirak is where I go if I'm feeling desperate for dukboki but its $13! For DukBoKi? No way. There is Boka, but it's super expensive too.

I know there is a place in Koreantown called Woorijip but going there would cost like $5 with the subway fee.

So anyone know a place to get cheap Korean food, especially in the Lower East Side, West Village, and East Village areas? I am pretty desperate :/

[Guest terrorist]

lol if i lived in union square.. i would walk to woorijip.

other than that i think everything is expensive in the city.

[Guest 4807]

lol if i lived in union square.. i would walk to woorijip.

other than that i think everything is expensive in the city.

Agreed. Its not that bad of a walk. 15 minutes or so, I think.

[Guest Fueled by Ramen]

yeahh just walk to woorijip. it's not super far from union sq. I've walked there from chinatown a few times.

unfortunately idt there are many cheap places for korean food in the city... you could try going to hmart and stocking up on supplies to cook yourself some, but even there is expensive. ><

[Guest -untiliflyaway]

woorijip in ktown!

[Guest ashjjang]

i would agree that woorijip is the best cheap korean food option within reasonable walking distance from where you are. its cheap, yet good, and there's a wide variety. you could either eat there buffet-style or stock up on some of their packaged foods which you can stretch out if on a budget.

[Guest SilkInfused]

I've never been there but apparently, there is a Dok Suni near St. Mark's Place.

http://cheapassfood.com/eats/show/386-cute-korean

119 First Ave.

Their menu page: http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/dok-suni/menu

And...

Awful suggestion but Korean-owned delis might have certain Korean food, lol.

[Guest terrorist]

I've never been there but apparently, there is a Dok Suni near St. Mark's Place.

http://cheapassfood.com/eats/show/386-cute-korean

119 First Ave.

Their menu page: http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/dok-suni/menu

And...

Awful suggestion but Korean-owned delis might have certain Korean food, lol.

OH ACTUALLY something really clicked on my head after reading this.

there is a korean restaurant AT union square. if i remember i'll let you know.

they sell bibimbap and everything. and it's cheap from what i remember

[Guest Prot]

Do you have a stove? Cooking is the cheapest thing, restaurants are always going to be pricy especially in manhattan. Your best bet is woorijip.

[Guest chdairkld]

walk to korea town! it's not that far. i agree though, the korean food in east village is expensive, even just like fried rice. *sigh*

and since at woorijip they have packaged meals, you could bring a few things home to store in the fridge and save walking for a few days.

[Guest k4nch1]

woorijip = werichip (very cheap) lol...

[Guest WitchGoddess]

Haha thanks for the tips. But I'm a girl from the suburbs. I used to drive from my house to my high school which was 1.5 miles away. I absolutely hate walking anywhere (ironic I came to nyc for college).

Oh but I found a couple of places:

Express Kitchen Manna: http://www.yelp.com/biz/express-manna-kitchen-new-york

and

Cafe Hanover (this place just opened at St.Mark's Pl)

It's not the cheapest, but it beats ordering from Boka.

[Guest borkborkbork]

I agree with the cooking part... especially living around union square. I'd take advantage of the farmers market during the summer when the prices are cheaper. It's not too hard to make some types of banchan. I'm over-simplifying here, but you can pretty much take any vegetable and either 1. cook then add gochujang, sesame seed oil, garlic, bit of sugar or 2. stirfry with sesame oil, garlic, chili flakes (gochugaru) and a little soy sauce. You can marinate meats with similar ingredients. A pantry for Korean food can start off pretty simple.

This also might seem simple to me because I love to cook.

[Guest Julnyes]

Yeah, cooking would be the cheapest option, but when you don't want to leave Union Square then Manna is the best option.

Side Note - if you are going to be in New York for the next 4 years or so you should probably reconsider your opinion on walking.

[Guest mz simmonz]

i agree with woorijip. and if you're willing to walk down to LES from union square, Ktown is actually a better, more straight forward walk if anything.

[Guest i.excellent]

Wait, I don't get this--why don't you just cook your own korean food?

You can buy korean ingredients online if you need them, but don't they have really good farmers markets in union square? Buying korean food in restaurants, especially in ktown, is the BIGGEST waste of money in my opinion.

[Guest kayana20]

Also if you go to 34th next to macy's like a block up is an area called Korea Way. They have little restaurants and a supermarket that sells all types of korean food. The prices are not that bad it's cheaper than some I have been too. I also know of one on Canal street which has the best prices on food, snacks, candy, and just everything. I will find out the name and post it here. Don't waste your time buying korean food in some restaurants it's way too expensive.I am a foody so i will post the best places to go because there are some good inexpensive places in Ny.

[Guest koumi]

Actually if you walk to ST Mark's Place, you can find two Japanese markets where you can purchase Asian foods. They have similar products like the Koreans. If they do it's more to Japanese palate of course. You can try to visit Sunrise Mart at 10st and 2nd ave. The other one is called Jas Mart. Like other said, it's cheaper to make your own food sometimes.

It's closer than going to Korea Town in 32nd st. You can get many of the ingredients there to make various meals. If you still prefer to buy food then there's little buffet/grocery store in that area,too. It's close to pink berry.