For those wondering what in the world is this "Budaejjigae" and you're confused about it, I don't know how else to help you other than say it how you're reading it. Korean is a pheonetic language and thus you need to ensure you're saying it as you read it.
Budaejjigae is loosely translated to "army base stew". Short history, during the Korean war, the US army would be camped around the South during the fight and obviously, the native Koreans would be in destitute poverty. Once the fighting stopped, the American soldiers who left the shores also left behind a slew of stuff, including Spam. Yes they had Spam back in the mid-50s as well. Koreans loved the stuff so much they included it in some of their traditional stews and it's basically what they got from the army base, hence the name "army base stew".
Think of it in terms of the "kimcheejjigae" which is a stew made from the kim chee side dish. The difference here is the broth is made from a beef stock while the kimchee stew is generally out of a pork stock (there will be variations). And they basically throw in everything but the kitchen sink. Some places throw in the instant ramen noodles and fishcakes while others are simpler with less, but the Spam is important as that is literally the essence of the stew.
This restaurant took the place of the Busan Fish Cake Factory.
Suffice to say, this place was underwhelming in terms of the flavor. This stew is supposed to be rich and here, it wasn't. There was a light-ness to it that was disappointing. They also skipped out on the ingredients.
Maybe the one person serving is less for whatever reason as all I had was some rice cakes, sprouts, scallion piece, strips of what looks like mini-Eckrich Farms sausage slices, and mini Spam. No ramen, no fishcakes, nothing that screams chock full of the ingredients that make this stew what it is, a plethora of goodies. This was just your average stew with literally nothing that made it impressive. It didn't pop out to me and the fact that normally, you're supposed to bring out so that it cooks in front of you... didn't happen. And they skimp on the rice. In order to sufficiently finish my $10.99 solo stew, I need to two bowls of rice and even then, the rice wasn't adequate to fully empty the stew bowl but I wasn't about to ask for a third bowl and get charged (they didn't charge for extra rice by the way!)
This was a massive disappointment as I dropped $13.00 which includes tax and the tip on an underwhelming stew. Granted it was filing, but that's all it was, was filling. Lacked the enjoyment factor in my opinion as this stew was supposed to have a rich, deep flavor of gochujang, red pepper flakes, and a deep beefy flavor. It lacked all that. It was just hot in terms of temperature and a higher smattering of MSG for that savory factor, or at least that's how my mouth felt afterward as MSG is known to give you that extreme thirsty feeling after you're done.
Service was great. Very energetic upon entry. Not very attentive during your meal as they operate purely on the bell system which I guess is staple for Korean joints here in the ATL. But they are quick to greet you as you leave the restaurant.
Overall, I wasn't impressed with the food itself and this place is named for this dish and to me, it didn't deliver what a signature dish should bring as the namesake suggests.
But if you never had it before, it's worth trying. Just come with friends as you might get more in your stew than riding solo... I know I did.
No ramen noodles?! No fishcake?!
Seriously disappointed... read more