Koong has been around forever: it gained fame for having the founder of the restaurant, a North Korean war refugee, make the dumplings in the restaurant's window, well into her 90s. It also gained fame because it's the best Korean dumpling experience I've had.

The dumplings are Gaeseong style (Gaeseong is one of Korea's ancient capitals) and they're big, fat dumplings with thin, pasta-ish skins, not doughy like the "wang mandu" you can get at the dollar dumpling stands, and the pork and vegetable mix inside is savory and fresh. The dumplings are far and away the best part of the meal here, dipped in soy or served in a soup. The ddeok soup is also good: the ddeok comes in little sticky rice pellets instead of flat cakes, as is common in ddeok soup, but, again, they're fresh and springy, and not too heavy.

Jeon (seafood pancake) and bindaeddeok are also available as a side-dish if you're with a group, and the jeon is quite good, crisp and huge, but really, I recommend that unless you're in a larger group, stick with the soups: mandu soup, or my favorite, ddeok mandu soup. It's just right for a lunch or a smallish dinner, the broth is simple and wholesome, without all kinds of overbearing flavors, and full of fresh ingredients.