A Night Out With Friends in Lynnwood’s K-Town

Give yourself at least two hours and start at the co-ed Q Sauna & Spa. With a $40 entrance fee and no limit on how long you can stay, I’ve found that a four-hour visit is a more comfortable timeframe.

With its roots in Buddhist cleansing practices, contemporary jimjilbang (Korean bathhouses) tend to feature a similar array of spa and sauna amenities. You and your companions will be given a uniform of shorts and a t-shirt for the shared dry area and a locker in the sex-segregrated wet area. 

In the dry area, make the rounds through various temperature saunas—the Charcoal, Jade, Yellow Clay, Mineral Rock Salt Rooms—and intersperse it with visits to the Ice Room, where you might find yourself swapping stories about the walk-in freezers of restaurant days past. There are chill-out areas with massage chairs and places to lounge or nap. 

The wet area features three different plunge baths ranging from ice cold to body temperature to hot jacuzzi; a steam room sauna; and two dry saunas. This is also where you can get any number of scrub, wrap, and moisturizing services. I recommend the basic exfoliating full body scrub ($75 plus a discounted $20 entrance fee), and if you’ve never had one, don’t be alarmed by the gray chunks of skin that litter the table between rinses. Prepare to feel like a baby seal after. 

I have yet to go to Modoo Korean Restaurant when it isn’t hopping but don’t let that dissuade you. If you have a planner in your group, they do take reservations Tuesday through Thursday but not Friday and Saturday. The service is fast and efficient, with all the wait staff monitoring the tables to an almost stealth degree—I dropped a chopstick and within moments, a fresh set was slid on the table. 

Barley tea is served when you are seated followed by banchan, an assortment of small dishes. Modoo’s banchan includes properly spicy kimchi, rape weed (spinach), cabbage, stir fried fish cake, sweet potato leaf, and what you might think of as onion but is actually thinly sliced radish. 

During my last trip, even though the rice didn’t end up as crispy as I like it, I appreciated the waiter making sure I was ordering the Stone Pot Bibimbap instead of just the straight Bibimbap. The Seafood Pancake is delish and I have it on good authority that the Army Pot and Tofu Stews are the best in the area. While Korean food is very meat heavy, there are a handful of vegan options on the menu including a pancake and the bibimbap. 

Okay so maybe you’re not totally spent but are fully rejuvenated and ready to keep the party going. If that’s the case then it’s time to circle back because tucked behind Modoo is Eunia Plaza, home to insurance offices and medical care and Big Bang Karaoke. A 21 and over club with private rooms, most song selections are in Korean and English but they also have songs in Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipino. There’s no website, just vibes but the hours below are what’s posted on the door. Rooms are $25/hour and no outside food or beverages are allowed.