take thou food: mandoo ahjussi (suwanee, ga)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 Posted by Sean at 10:22 PM

Mandoo is the Korean equivalent to dumplings and there happens to be an excellent place OTP of Atlanta where you can buy them. Enter, the Mandoo Ahjussi (Ahjussi = old man, ergo The Dumpling Man). Located inside the Suwanee H-Mart food court, this place is well known among the Korean community for its delicious mandoo. A lot of your favorite Korean restaurants around town buy mandoo from this place and use it to prepare their dishes.

They're made fresh, everyday and you can see them being made, steamed, boiled and fried right in front of your eyes. You can purchase them in 1 of 3 ways -- 1) freshly cooked for consumption now 2) made today and ready to be reheated or 3) frozen for use at home at your convenience.

There's 4 different flavors and 3 different types of mandoo you can purchase. The flavors are beef, kimchi, veggie (with Chinese chives) and shrimp. The types are based off how the mandoo are folded and made. The one on the very left is bigger, contains more filling on the inside and is best suited for steaming or putting in soups. The middle baby mandoo, which is the size of your index and middle finger, is best for putting in soups or pan frying because they cook so quickly. These little guys cooked with your Shin-Ramyun makes even a staple college food awesome. Lastly, the flatter mandoo on the right are best pan fried because of its wider surface area on the sides. Really though, these guys are good for pretty much anything.

While I've had all 4 flavors (and they're all tasty), my favorite is the kimchi. Mainly because I'm lazy and it doesn't require any accompaniments - just heat and eat. The veggie is actually really good and this is coming from a person who loves meat.