Naru - Williston

I was really looking forward to enjoying some Korean food, so I decided to order online. Even though the "Open" sign was lit, the doors were locked when I arrived. Ultimately, I ended up going to another Asian restaurant that was less than five minutes away, which turned out to be a better choice.

I have been dining here on and off for decades. They once had a tofu dish that absolutely amazed me. I ordered food from here tonight, and it had the best kimchi I've ever tasted. I'm writing this review because this is one of the best Asian restaurants in the area, and I believe giving them only three stars doesn’t truly reflect their quality.

The egg roll was mostly just dough and quite bland. The summer roll was poorly constructed, with loose and excessive wrapping, and had no flavor inside. Even the rice paper wrap had an off taste—it shouldn’t have any strong flavors. The tiny shrimp inside were fine, but the dipping sauce was the only thing that saved any of the dishes. As for the pineapple chicken fried rice, are those canned pineapples? It was also excessively sweet! Where is all this sweetness coming from? I’ve never been one to waste food, but I couldn’t even bring myself to try to fix any of it. Straight to the compost. I won’t be coming back. I genuinely wonder about the taste preferences of the positive reviewers—how can their palates be so bland?

Starting with the Bulgogi with beef: the meat tasted boiled and stale, overwhelmed by sesame oil with no other discernible flavors. The broccoli was simply lightly steamed and utterly tasteless, with no sauce to enhance it. Then there's the Chap Chae with veggies, which was overwhelmingly sweet with hardly any sweet potato glass noodles and nothing but a cloying acidic sweetness. The egg roll was mainly just dough with no flavor, while the summer roll had a poorly constructed wrapper—loose and excessive—with no taste inside. Even the rice paper had an odd flavor that it shouldn't have had. The tiny shrimp inside were fine, but the dipping sauce was necessary to make any of the dishes palatable, along with some Korean BBQ sauce I had at home. Finally, the pineapple chicken fried rice tasted like it was made with canned pineapple—seriously? It was way too sweet as well! What is causing this excessive sweetness everywhere? Why?!

Probably the worst Korean food I've ever had. The meat in the Bulgogi and Kalbi both seemed to be boiled, and drastically underseasoned. Kimchi pancakes were the only thing that earned a star here. Service: Take out Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $20–30