Yis Traditional Korean Beef Soup - Federal Way (WA)

5 /5 Chone Chone: If I could give more than 5 stars, I would love to give more. This place is hands down the best place seolleongtang place I’ve ever been. The broth is rich and feeling very soothing, nourishing and my body is warm after eating it. I wish I live close by but I live in Portland and it’s 100% worth to drive here for the soup. We love to pair with seolleongtang and their meat platter. Their Mandu and pancake is very delicious as well. The place is cozy. The bathroom is clean.

5 /5 Luke River: It seems the management, menu are changed since our last trip here over a year ago. They added tofu soup and other items to the menu. My favorite beef soup is still there. Their compliment freshly made crunchy kimchi has been the best kimchi we have had in greater Seattle area. Service as always has been amzingly friendly. The server made sure to bring out more kimchi when we finished tye first plate. Will return !!

3 /5 Michelle W: [NOTE: This review has been edited for more detail as I did not have enough time to write a more fulsome one at the restaurant. The rating itself has not changed.] My friends and I came here after a long day on the road and were looking forward to a hot bowl of seollongtang. We each ordered #3 Mixed Seollongtang (Brisket, Tripe, and Shank) (US$17.99) and Steamed Handmade Dumplings to share (normally US$8.99, but we got 50% off for this review). Overall, we thought Yi’s seollongtang was good, but we do prefer a more gelatinous version (which has a “stickier” mouthfeel) as it usually indicates that the bones have been simmered longer to extract more collagen. One of my friends also noted that, unlike our usual spot, the portion size here is smaller and the green onion is added beforehand. The meat however was quite generous. We also thought the mandu was decent and the banchan (kimchi and radish) was quite fresh and delicious. Where our experience could have gone better was in the service which unfortunately was not the best for our table. We waited for quite a while to get water and banchan, and on top of that, the server told us (with my friend translating) that they gave us smaller portions of rice because girls don’t normally eat that much. We were upset at this assumption and asked for our full portion, with the server then telling us the truth that they were running low on rice. Afterwards, we were given extra banchan and the server apologized multiple times; however, it would’ve been nicer and more understandable if they had been transparent from the outset.

5 /5 Karen Lee: It was my first time trying this restaurant and I was impressed by how hearty the Korean beef soup was! It reminded me of when I was in Korea last year~ the kimchi and radish kimchi were also delicious and fresh and not too fermented.

5 /5 Jackie Lee: This is probably one of the most authentic, soul-warming Korean restaurants I’ve come across in WA. Having tried seollangtang multiple times while in Korea, I feel like I’ve grown to recognize good quality soup and this is definitely it! Hands down one of the creamiest, milkiest broths I’ve tried among different seollangtangs. Other restaurants often have a more watery consistency that means they didn’t cook the bones long enough, and the quality of their soup speaks for itself. We also tried the seafood soft tofu soup, the hangover soup, and their new stuffed young chicken soup. The seafood soft tofu soup was packed with flavor and the server let us know that all of their soups, not just the seollangtang, are made with the ox bone broth base- a unique take on these classic Korean dishes, but one that absolutely builds on the flavor profile and enriches it. Tip- get the soft tofu soup extra spicy. The server let us know it comes out pretty mild, and if you’re a sundubu lover, then the extra spicy is probably the regular amount of spicy you’re looking for! It was perfect for us. This was my first time trying the Korean hangover soup in general, and I was very pleasantly surprised! Definitely more vegetable heavy than the soft tofu soup (but still has beef in it), but it results in a more refreshing, clean cut type of spicy flavor. As for the samgyetang (chicken soup), I have also tried a lot of those in Korea. This one is pretty great! You can definitely taste the seollangtang soup (need to add salt though like you would for the original seollangtang), but it’s kinda like a two for one- you get the chicken with the stuffed rice as one meal, and also get the seollangtang broth as another. Overall, a GREAT find and we will definitely be back for more.