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I think that celery banchan is easily one of the best in all of Koreatown. The galbijim is certainly one of the best. I need to do another visit
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Re:6th visit
I think that might be some type of Korean mountain vegetable, âKorean thistleâ. These veggies are part of Korean Buddhist Temple food.
Itâs pretty rare to find in Koreatown restaurants. If that is Korean thistle, Soban might be the only place serving it in Koreatown.
The only other place I know is Han Yang in Buena Park they got a Thistle Rice. Itâs really good and probably one of the few Temple style dish you can get here in So Cal.
Korean food experts or Korean FTCâers please correct me if I am wrong
Taste like a mix of seaweed and spinach with some nuttiness right?
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No expert, but it definitely looks like Korean thistle, which Iâve only seen in Korean sticky rice dish (êł€ëë ë°„)
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That vegetable looks more like Ugeoji. Itâs often used as an ingredient in soy paste soup or in soy paste-based banchan. Korean thistle looks similar but tastes more seaweed-y.
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Hi @foodi,
Welcome to FTC! 
Thanks for the info! Next time we might bring along some Korean speaking friends to clarify with Soban, but either way it was delicious.
The food at Soban is delicious.
If only they had a liquor license or allowed BYOB!
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Soban
Continuing our tasty neighborhood journeyâŠ
15 Dishes of Banchan for 2 People! My favorites were the Mystery Greens, Savory & Sweet Egg Squares w/Mini Green Pancakes, Acorn Jelly (tangy, scallion chili sauce), Fried Tofu (same chili sauce) & Celery Banchan
I didnât want to be a pest and ask what everything was. So feel free to add nomenclature.
Multi-Grain Rice
Galbi Jjim - Braised Short Ribs, Sweet Soy Sauce, Carrots, Radish, Jujubes, Ginkgo Nuts, Rice Cake
Super delicious, tender but still good amount of chew to the beefy beef. Not sure if this is common but ours had a few finger shaped rice cakes.
Nakji Dolsot - Octopus, Vegetables on Rice in Sizzling Stone Pot
Complex flavors of vegetables, chili, garlic, onions, savory, heat, sweet, tangy, ocean, more things. The octopus was a little chewy, but lack of crispy rice underneath was the most disappointing. A server set it down and instructed us to stir it right away to get the crispy rice. I didnât see how that would do it. I was right. It didnât do it. But we liked the flavors enough to order it again, but with multi-grain rice like a neighboring table. Is it rude to ask for extra crispy rice?
Fellow Bottle Collectors
Lots of Love for JGold on the Walls
They only serve water, but itâs very fresh, purified water 
Really nice service. $62.40 + Tip. We had leftovers for dinner.
Looking forward to going back for the Soy Sauce Marinated Live Crab.
Thanks @Chowseeker1999!
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Nice report @TheCookie. So glad you liked Soban!
Isnât the array of Banchan just awesome? 
Also glad you liked their Galbi Jjim, delicious Beef Short Ribs.
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Yes, go for the banchan and stay for the meal. 
They were generous with it too. If we inquired about or praised a dish they brought seconds.
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hahahhah be careful with that! When we lived in Japan my mom complemented a friends Kimono and ended up walking out with it no matter how much she protested that it wasnât her intention! 
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man that dolsot bap look good. So hungry now.
I think the idea is that you mix the rice as soon as it arrives and start eating from the top. By the time you work your way down the bowl, the rice at the bottom should have crisped up as the stone pot retains heat well.
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Thatâs a big deal. I have a Japanese aunt who is the same way. So generous. My whole life, the minute we walk thru the door her first words are âYou kids hungry?â We rarely say no, but if we do she cooks anyway. She taught us graciousness.
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Ahhh okay. Thatâs what she was trying to tell us. Thanks!
Never ordered the galbi jjim at Soban but this looks worlds better than the over hyped Sun Nun Dang version. Real pieces of short ribs attached to bones vs. mostly slices of brisket.
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I miss the one at The Prince, they stopped making them and is not on the menu. Itâs been at least 5 years since they stopped making it. I know this doesnât help the thread, sorry.
RIP The Prince Galbi Jjim.
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Those looks very legit.
Looks much better than Sun Nun Dong. That is proper.
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