The New Chinese...
I want to pose a question and get some feedback on something that I feel could very well happen. It has come to my attention that some people have been saying that the new "let's go out for Chinese" which became "let's go out for Thai" is now starting to turn into "Let's go out for Korean". Being that our Korea Town (where I in fact once used to live) is in fact the largest population of Koreans outside of Seoul, Korea I would love to hear your thoughts on the special Korean spots in K-Town as well as other parts of LA.
I do understand that there is a small limiting factor that I do have to deal with and that is the fact that some of the places in K-Town only speak Korean. I being Puerto Rican and Black am at a disability when it comes to that issue. That being said I am adventurous and if you think I should go and think that certain dishes are the ones to go for, I AM ALL ABOUT IT! Just sound it out to me in a post or email the dishes you think I should order.
And on a side note of things to come...I shall be doing another What's To Eat LA Week special edition within the next few weeks. I'm keeping a secret on what it's detailing but it's cheap and that's all I'm saying.
I do understand that there is a small limiting factor that I do have to deal with and that is the fact that some of the places in K-Town only speak Korean. I being Puerto Rican and Black am at a disability when it comes to that issue. That being said I am adventurous and if you think I should go and think that certain dishes are the ones to go for, I AM ALL ABOUT IT! Just sound it out to me in a post or email the dishes you think I should order.
And on a side note of things to come...I shall be doing another What's To Eat LA Week special edition within the next few weeks. I'm keeping a secret on what it's detailing but it's cheap and that's all I'm saying.
Labels: Korean food
posted by Aubrey at
1:43 PM
9 Comments:
Yay for special editions!
The two places I'm familiar with are Manna & Tahoe Galbi -- both are all-you-can-eat deals where for around ~$20/person you can grill all the meats you want. Both places are English-friendly (I believe Manna even has a picture menu).
Of the two I like Tahoe a bit better since it's a classier environment and they have fume hoods on every table, which definitely helps with the garlicky Korean BBQ odors.
Wiki's Korean cuisine page gives a a good primer on etiquette & the popular items @ BBQ:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_cuisine
Enjoy and can't wait to hear back about your experienes!
Oh yea, another favorite (especially amongst the afterhours) crowd is the 24 hours BCD Tofu House - which serves some barbecue specialties (not AYCE) along with their famous spicy tofu stews - a great way to perk up after a hard night partying ;)
Not all the BCDs are 24/7 though; so check their Webbie.
http://www.bcdtofu.com/
Indeed Jessica.
And H.C. ...you da man!
ok, let's see. i think koreatown is a magical place where there are amazing secrets to be found around every corner, and it's all right in our own backyard.
i like manna a lot. you can really satisfy the urge for kbbq, and it's in a tent, which is kinda festive in a third-world kind of way.
i also love dan sung sa, for a night of really gritty divey bar food and lots of soju. it's an all-korean menu there, but you can totally order in english. it's also hard to find as there is no english sign (they really are trying to keep out whitey.. or black-and-puerto-rican-y as it were, aren't they?!), but just look for the sign with kim jong il on it.
i have posts about both here.
shik do rak is also fun -- kbbq that you wrap in slithery squares of rice noodle -- but i don't think the marinade is as good as the more traditional places.
and finally, there was an article last week in the la times last week about the crazy/awesome cafes that are cropping up in k-town -- here's that link.
have fun!
I went to Manna on Sat, it sucked. The place is a grease pit! The floors are slippery with god knows what, it's smokey, the servers are rude, the meat is just so so.
I have been to Dong Il Jang before, and I am going again tonight. It's much better but not AYCE. They take all your leftovers at the end of the meal and cook up some fried rice, yum.
My usual go-to places in Ktown (in no particular order):
(1) Honey Pig (on 8th St. b/w Hobart and Harvard). The meat quality is pretty good (definitely better than AYE places). Plus, this place has the sam gyup sal (pork) equivalent of veal. Essentially, its baby pork - really tender. And they make fried rice afterwards.
(2) Park's BBQ. This place has overall great bbq, including the typical marinated Korean bbq.
(3) Han-Il-Gwan. On 6th St.at Kenmore (?). It's in the plaza across the street from Chapman Plaza. Great Korean home-style food. Depending on what dish you order, they will make rice afterwards.
(4) Ham-ji-bak. On 6th St. near Catalina. Great Korean bbq spareribs. And the jjigaes (stews/casseroles) are pretty good too.
(5) Seoul Garden (olympic, near alvarado). Great korean style shabu shabu known as jjing-gi-skan. They make jjuk (rice porridge) afterwards. The place's ros-gu-i (unmarinated sliced korean bbq) is really good. If you order this, they make fried rice after.
Just wanted to thank all the people who left comments and emailed me with their places of choice to hit. All are greatly appreciated and I officially have my work cut out for me.
I highly recommend Park's Barbecue - they have quality meat and fantastic banchan. It's a bit pricier than other bbq places but definitely worth it.
I would have to discourage you from going to Manna or Tahoe for AYCE. You should check out Soot Bull Gui Rim on 6th and Manhattan. Much better quality for AYCE. And they offer naengmyun (cold noodles) after your meal.
For soon tofu (spicy soft tofu stew), I'd suggest Beverly Soon Tofu or Sokongdong. Both are located on Olympic, just west of Vermont, across the street from each other.
Ondal (there are two locations) specialize in spicy crab stew/casserole. Very good - be sure to go with more than one person - portions are large.
Kyochon for korean style fried chicken - you have to wait a good 30 minutes or so for your order, there isn't much else on their menu (I think maybe a fried rice), but it's good crispy fried chicken, done korean style.
Kobawoo House (Vermont and 7th) has really good seafood pancake and dwaeji bossam (sliced pork served with boiled cabbage, salted shrimp and spicy radish).
Dan Sung Sa (6th and Berendo) is a war bunker style bar with good bar food. I'd recommend the pork ribs.
Enjoy!
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