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GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Korean BBQ beef brisket is ready to be cooked at Mo Ran Gak Korean B.B.Q. in Garden Grove, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A guide to Koreatown in Garden Grove: Mo Ran Gak

Mo Ran Gak is nominally a barbecue restaurant, but the thin, blushing slivers of thoroughly marbled brisket and buttery slabs of short rib are just a precursor for the true showstopper: bowls of the finest naengmyeon available anywhere.

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Korean BBQ beef brisket is ready to be cooked at Mo Ran Gak Korean B.B.Q. in Garden Grove, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Beef brisket ready to be cooked on the grill at Mo Ran Gak in Garden Grove’s Koreatown. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Exterior view of Mo Ran Gak Korean B.B.Q. in Garden Grove, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Mo Ran Gak, a Korean barbecue restaurant in Garden Grove’s Koreatown. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Korean BBQ beef brisket is cooked at the table at Mo Ran Gak Korean B.B.Q. in Garden Grove, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2019. In foreground is NK-style Bibbim Naengmyeon, left, and Moon Naengmyeon at right. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

In the foreground, bowls of bibim naengmyeon, left, and mul-naengmyeon, a North Korean-style cold noodle dish. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Korean BBQ beef brisket is cooked at the table at Mo Ran Gak Korean B.B.Q. in Garden Grove, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Cooked beef brisket at Mo Ran Gak. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Korean BBQ pork belly is cooked at the table at Mo Ran Gak Korean B.B.Q. in Garden Grove, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Samgyupsal, or pork belly, cooks on the grill. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Customers dine at Mo Ran Gak Korean B.B.Q. in Garden Grove, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Customers dine at Mo Ran Gak in Garden Grove’s Koreatown. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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