A really special place that you can feel they put a ton of effort into the food.
The banchan was great; the radish was crunchy and spicy, the mushrooms were deeply savory and sweetened to perfection, the lotus root was amazing and dressed like potato salad which made them super refreshing after a particularly greasy bite, and the green beans were wilted perfectly so that they were mushy but still had structure in the cells, and were salted perfectly. The only thing I didn’t particularly like was the potato scoop, which was just starchy and boring.
The main items were executed perfectly, and pushed to the ideal form of what they represented in my opinion. Truly my ideal place for traditional Korean food.
Korean fried chicken – Boneless chicken thigh double fried till the crust got crunchy and the flesh is tongue-tender. The actual fried chicken didn’t have noticeable seasoning aside from salt, but the sweet and sour KFC sauce gives you everything you need. I’ve never had korean fried chicken served this way before, but I guess like this the chicken stays crisp for longer and you can control your own sweetness level.
Haemool pajeon – Long strands of scallion cooked into a crispy thin pancake that’s packed full of seafood. I just love chewing on circles of octopus and chunks of clam. The peppers on top were actually spicy and well-cooked which was a nice topping. The pajeon sauce was great. A sweet but mostly vinegary sauce that cut through the oiliness and added another dimension of flavor. The pancake was also tender enough to cut with chopsticks, which I appreciated.
Soondooboo jjigae – This was very easily my favorite dish. A super savory and modestly spicy broth that hosted tons of floating delectable morsels. I loved fishing out the mussels and shrimp to then eat with my hands, and again the octopus and clam were satisfying treats that I paired with broth and rice. The dropped egg cooked to a perfect jamminess and added a lot of richness to bites it was included in, with the rest of the broth being deceptively light compared to the look of it I feel. The tofu was my favorite part though. Such a light curd that melts in your mouth and it really carries the flavor of the soup super well. The steamed rice absorbed the broth so well and added body to the soup when you wanted a more substantial mouthful. Super hot and warming but nothing overly so. If I could I’d have the broth in a sippy cup with me every day it hits below fifty degrees outside.
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think and what I got wrong (what I ordered, how I write, what I thought, etc.)
by kmpham2013