Review of Little Dipper

Raindrop, drop top, eating up good ramen in a hot pot.

Little Dipper, a modern Korean ramen hotspot here in Rockville, Maryland.

Hotpot is a Korean ramen style dish served to you on a huge bowl over a mini wooden burner to cook the food.

First thing I noticed when I walked into this restaurant is I loved how small and intimate it is.

Little Dipper also has a very sleek, chic look to it; I love the fact that it wasn’t basic, compared to other restaurants. Most restaurants serve everything in white, or silver metal dishes—this restaurant did it in black metal which was cool and something new to see.

The restaurant plays K-pop here, so if you’re a fan of K-pop this could be a new place for you to discover!

At the table, the restaurant already has a Chinese spoon and chopsticks ready. Next, the waitress brings over the dipping sauce; it includes Spicy Soy Sauce, Chinese BBQ sauce, and Sesame Sauce.The menu has about 10 options, as well as appetizers and desserts. They also have a ton of drinks available—alcoholic, soft and regular drinks including different types of teas & milk teas.

Being very confused about how the menu worked, the waitress was very informative and patient with me so I could understand it and personally I appreciated that.

After 10 minutes of trying to figure out what the heck I wanted, I ordered the Budae dipper, and my choice of protein was beef.

Before the main course, I had the spicy popcorn chicken. The chicken came to me in a reasonable size; it wasn’t too small. I noticed it was presented in a cool way, with a garnish of cilantro on top.

For the popcorn chicken, first thing picking it up I noticing that it had a great the scent of the popcorn chicken was very spicy. I immediately rip the chicken in half—on the inside, it was perfect white meat cooked to perfection. Taking the first bite, I immediately tasted the intricate spices it had; and on the golden crust of the chicken, unbelievable! Next, I really appreciated how well the chicken was coated with flavor and how golden and crispy it is. Mixing it with the different sauces was even better! If you’re a first timer, I would definitely recommend trying the popcorn chicken as an appetizer.

The waitress served the ramen, and from a far distance, I already loved how the ramen was being presented to me. First thing, I noticed was the sizzling sound of the ramen cooking in the Japanese silver bowl, which was big and interesting to see. Next, you could smell all the spices—cayenne, pepper and that kimchi smell does wonders to your nose. Next, while allowing that cracked egg to be cooked to perfection, the waitress adds in all the veggies, the onions, the cabbage and bell peppers. Then, here comes the perfectly sliced meat. My choice of meat was beef because it was basic, and since it was my first time coming here I did not want to be too adventurous with the food. The meat was presented in perfectly sliced, and incredibly pink.

Next, taking the chopsticks (and figuring out how to use them), I pick up the meat gently and put it at the bottom of the pot to cook. When it’s all done cooking, all that had to be done was mixing up the ramen correctly and enjoying the food. The first slurp of this ramen noodle was incredible, I never had a ramen noodle that could be so spicy and delicious at the same time. I also like the fact that they have different spice levels from nonspicy (which is level 1 ) to a level 5 (super spicy). I only had a spicy level of 3 and thought it was ridiculous!

Overall, the presentation of this dish was phenomenal! And I was definitely impressed. What impressed me the most was how much this ramen dipper had so much flavor to it! I also appreciated the uniqueness of the restaurant and it happens to be very appealing to the eye.This restaurant was really interesting and the staff was super nice and patient. It is also very unique and modern, which is nice to see in restaurants; just needs to be a tad less sticky (cleanness), but other than that I would definitely go back! Overall, I give this place a 4 out of 5 stars!