Woo-Ri Mart, Bon Chon and Mandu Factory all under one roof

Update: Mandu Factory is now King Kong Mandu

With an ever increasing Korean population in Bergen County, Korean-owned businesses have increased to satisfy this growth. Take a look on Broad Avenue in Palisades Park and you know what we are talking about. As the populations have continued to expand North into Boozy Burbs country, we’ve been the beneficiary of new foods and culinary options (Korean Fried Chicken, Korean BBQ).

Mandu Factory is the latest prepared food vendor to pop up in the Woo-Rii Mart in Northvale. The section to the far left of the market houses made to order sushi options and is also home to a Bon Chon chicken outlet. Mandu Factory does one thing and one thing only: they sell Mandu (or mandoo or mahndoo) which are Korean Dumplings.

Small-sized Mandus Being Rolled and Weighed

It’s time to make some Mandu

To learn more about mandu, the first place to look would be from their menu. Interestingly enough, the description they had seemed eerily similar to the Wikipedia entry on mandu:

What is Mandu? It is similar to pelmeni and pierogi in some Slavic cultures or even the Spanish “empanada”. The name is a cognate to the names of similar types of meat-filled dumplings in Central Asia, such as Turkish manti, Kazakh manty, and Uzbek manti … mandu has become an exquisite, but yet common food in Korean cuisine. Mandus are usually made with meat and/or with vegetables and either steamed or fired usually in dough shell. Koreans have included Kimchi, a trademark or Korean food, to intensify the flavors hidden within the soft dough … Complimented with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce or red pepper paste, based salsa …

All orders come in a container with the Type and Size of your order with a sticker

The choices are limited (see the menu), dumplings can be either Meat or Kimchi. Sizes are 1 (called big) or 6 (like McNuggets) and either way you get them steamed (the menu says their is a fried variety which the owner says was a mistake for now). Dipping sauces are supplied as well. The meat mixture includes some scallions and other minced vegetables. The kimichi dumpling should be mentioned with a warning… it might be a little too hot for some palates. We figured we’d tell you ahead of time 🙂 And did we mention the price? A “Big” dumpling is $2 and an order of 6 “Small” ones is $4. Two of the “Big” ones could be a meal for some!

Large Steamed Mandu

Mandu Factory is far from the only place in the area specializing in these things. Best Dumplings opened in 2008 down a side street in Englewood and one would be hard pressed to find a Korean restaurant that doesn’t have at least one variant of them on their menu. It’s certainly nice to see a place trying to make one thing really well, instead of many things mediocre.

Meat Dumpling Interior

Kimchi Dumpling Interior

Mandu Factory (inside Woo-Ri Mart) 269-I Livingston Street, Northvale, NJ