Myungrang Hot Dog

Myungrang Hot Dog, a popular Korean hot dog chain, recently opened its first San Diego location. It is located inside the new H Mart food court.

The opening comes shortly after the opening of Chung Chun Rice Dogs, another Korean hot dog chain. So San Diego now has two options for the trendy Korean street food.

I visited Chung Chung Rice Dog several times during its soft opening but was also very curious about Myungrang, a chain I kept coming across when I was doing research on Korean hot dogs. They also have U.S.-based locations in Los Angeles and San Jose.

Korean hot dogs, sometimes referred to as Korean rice dogs or Korean corn dogs are hot dogs rolled in a rice flour batter and deep fried. They are then finished with sugar. The hot dogs come in several variations, including ones that contain only cheese and no actual hot dog.

Myungrang’s menu is similar to Chung Chun’s, though each of them have a few menu items the other store does not. On each of my visits to the new H Mart, Myungrang has had the longest line of all the food court restaurants. The order line moves fairly fast but you do wait longer for your order.

We tried the original hot dog, potato dog, squid ink, rice cake, and mozzarella.

The biggest difference between Myungrang and Chung Chun is the batter. Myungrang’s batter appears to have a higher ratio of rice flour because the texture of the coating is chewier, like mochi. Chung Chun’s batter also uses rice flour but the coating is fluffier and not as chewy.

Myungrang also rolls the finished dogs in sugar rather than just dusting them with sugar, resulting in a lot more sugar sticking on the hot dogs. However, you can request for light sugar or no sugar at all. I didn’t mind the sweet finish for Chung Chun’s version but I thought Myungrang’s was too heavy on the sugar for this mostly savory treat and had to request light sugar on mine.

Our favorite hot dog variations were the all mozzarella and squid ink. I’m not really a fan of the hot dogs they use so I preferred the ones that were all cheese or at least half cheese. Fortunately, they have a lot of cheese options. I would have liked the potato dog more if they used smaller potatoes because the potatoes did not crisp up enough.

So which place is better? I think both restaurants offer a good rendition of this trendy and tasty Korean treat. And it will really just come down to personal preference. There are aspects I like from each spot and I think they are both worth trying out to determine which place you prefer.

Here is a breakdown of the differences from each location.

Chung Chun Rice Dog

They offer a Volcano dog that uses a spicy sausage which is my favorite of the “hot dog” options.
Because it is a standalone store, you are able to watch your hot dogs being made, which is quite fun.
While the line to order can sometimes be long, once you place your order, it only takes a few minutes for it to be ready.
Their potato dog uses smaller potato pieces.
They offer a crispy ramen dog.
Their batter is more fluffy and less chewy.
They finish their hot dogs with a light dusting of sugar.