I was at this popular Korean restaurant with four others a while back. The place is pretty large, and we were set upstairs with the seating being quite comfortable. In general, I would say that the prices on the menu are a tad higher than the average Korean place, but I would say that the quality is a bit higher, and in most cases, the portion sizes make up for it. To drink, they gave us some boricha/barley tea, which was refilled when necessary. I also ordered a drink outside of this, and I don't really remember much unfortunately outside of it being summery and citrusy and being fine. The staff was friendly as well, refilling banchan and helping with some of the dishes. Speaking of banchan/side dishes, there were a bunch. My personal favorites were a tasty jeon/pancake (in this case with vegetables) along with some tteok/rice cakes. Outside of those banchan, there was a tasty eomuk/fishcake raw onion in soy sauce, two types of kimchi (standard cabbage and kkakdugi/radish,) and some type of namul/blanched greens.
The first thing that arrived was the two appetizers. My preference of the two was easily the Unyang Bulgogi/언양불고기 for $15.95, which is simply listed as grilled sweet beef. This came with two patties and had a small scallion salad otherwise. The texture of this was unique, being more like a patty and almost reminding me of tteokgalbi but with bulgogi meat instead of short ribs. I liked this dish a lot and I would recommend it. More standard was the Soondae/작은순대접시, or Korean blood sausage, for the same price, which also came with some scallions.
The rest of the dishes we ordered were quite large and obviously meant for at least two people, if not more in some cases. The cheapest and least favorite was the Sooyuk/수육 for $38.95, or slow-cooked pork belly served with raw garlic & assorted condiments. The pork belly was alright with my definite preference in terms of flavor and texture being some other places such as Her Name Is Han, among others. However, it did not help that the assorted condiments included some things that I can't eat, such as spicy raw squid, and others, so I might have liked it more if I were able to pair it better.
There was also the massive Kimchi Jungol (or Jeongol/뼈김치전골) for $52.95 listed as a spicy pork bone kimchi hotpot. The waitress mixed up the dish at the table, revealing many massive pieces of pork inside. The pork itself ranged in terms of texture, with some pieces having a little bit too much of a chew, but it was nicely flavored. I almost liked the kimchi more, which had some of the pork essence, though I wish it were a bit funkier. I still liked the dish.
The final main dish was the star of the night, which was the Galbi Jjim/평안동소갈비찜, listed as braised beef short ribs with oyster mushrooms, jalapeño peppers, and jujube. There is only a $10 difference between the small and the large dish, so we got the larger one for $79.95 (there is also a mini version served with a soup.) This was served in a large dish with a large bone on top of many pieces of tender meat. By comparison to many other spots, this was particularly outstanding with very tender meat while having a balanced sweetness. The mushrooms were tender, the peppers added a bit of heat and crunch, and the jujube added some sweetness when needed. I'm pretty sure this is the dish this place is mostly known for, and I can see why very easily.
There are several extra options to order for an extra $9.95 with said dish, and we went with the Bokkeumbap/볶음밥 (though I was tempted to order a mini naengmyeon also.) Bokkeumbap refers to fried rice with the server coming once we had finished most of the dish and adding said rice using the bone on the plate as one of the cooking utensils. The fried rice was fine, being a nice nightcap with the flavor from the stew well incorporated, with some of it becoming nicely crispy.
This is one of the more unique Korean spots, having a rather distinct menu, being much more family-style by comparison, especially with their best dishes. It's not my favorite I have been to, but I would definitely go back for that Galbi Jjim and to try their Jang Uh/grilled eel, which looked wonderful on another table. read more