O Jang Dong Restaurant From Steve And Grace Yi

The dog days of summer have finally arrived in Southern California, making a cool lunch a coveted escape from the midday heat. One of the best icy meals in town, a bowl of naeng myung noodles, can be found at O Jang Dong's new digs on 3rd Street.

After selling their Olympic Boulevard iteration of O Jang Dong, owners Steve and Grace Yi shortened their retirement and reopened in a former suhl lung tang (beef soup) restaurant. Steve revamped his noodle recipe, and now pulls the long strands of fresh buckwheat dough daily in-house.

The mool naeng myun ($8), a traditional Korean barbecue accompaniment, contains Yi's wonderfully chewy noodles in a chilled beef broth that hardly needs any of the spicy mustard or white vinegar typically added to the dish.

For a different breed of slurping, order the tender white noodles of the hwae bibim naeng myun (pictured; $8), which come stirred with a sweet red chile sauce and slivers of raw skate wing. The skate lends the dish a surprisingly satisfying, chewy bite.

If you're straying from noodles, the steamed dumplings are delightful, and O Jang Dong's bevy of classic soups, such as spicy beef yook hwe jang ($7), will keep you warm when the weather turns chilly.

O Jang Dong, 4031 W. 3rd St., Koreatown; 213-365-0097