It was my first time trying this place and was excited to try the pork ribs. Came with a friend, my treat, and tried to order more food than I knew we would eat. The waiter was insistent that it was too much food, which I knew, and in the end he won. I wish I hadn’t let him.
We got the ribs. My friend loved them. They had great flavor, though I think the meat could have been more tender.
This is where I made my mistake. I wanted to get intestine and pork belly for the bbq, but went with just the intestine. I love intestine. I should have just waited to go back to Ahgassi Gopchang. The intestine tasted very chicken livery-y, with a mealy texture. Nothing like I am used to.
should have gone with the gam ja tang (pork neck bone soup); that and the ribs are the main reasons to go to ham ji park IMO. you order anything else and you have only yourself to blame if you are disappointed.
@secretasianman is correct - ribs/soup are both truly amazing. I would add that the kimchi rice is real good too.
But anything else there is dog food - as your dog, no doubt, happily, found out.
the pork ribs will never be as tender as what you may be used to with american BBQ ribs. These korean ribs are cooked on a grill at a much higher temp and for a way shorter time so the muscle tissues don’t have the time to break down like you would on a low and slow smoke. Having said that, I think they are absolutely delicious even if the meat doesn’t fall off the bone.
I guess my view on the place is, they do three things very well: The ribs, the pork neck soup, and the squid noodles. And that is more than enough to earn a place in the K-town rotation.
My mom and dad hated this place. They thought the ribs were too sweet and not very tender. Gamja tang was ok but they wanted more of the a kick and more leaves (perilla? or some other weird vegetable?)
Take this with a grain of salt bc my mom said her gamja tang and pork ribs are much better for a 1/4 of the price. She pretty much says this about most Korean restaurants except for Eight. She loves the meat at Eight.
i have never tried the kimchi rice there. but then kimchi rice isn’t high on my list of things to try at various korean restaurants. i guess i equate it with ordering fried rice at a chinese restaurant, which to me is something i can readily make at home.
Stone bowl, rice, scallions, ground pork, bean sprouts and egg - not something I would make at home but I like it there. I have always wondered why it doesn’t get super crispy like a great BiBimBop but I like the flavor profile quite a bit.
IIRC for dolsot bibimbap the bowl has to be hot for the rice to get crispy. but bibimbap is also IIRC made with fresh rice, while i’d expect something like a basic kimchi rice to be made with leftover rice and be the result of trying to get rid of old rice and kimchi being an inexpensive flavoring and in general a cheap way to feed your hungry kids. i can’t reconcile paying ham ji park prices for leftover rice with kimchi in it. kinda like budae jiggae - which i understand to be an equivalent but using US army surplus rations. i recall paying upwards of $35 to try it at chunju han-il kwan just to say i’d tried it once. but if i have $35 to spend in k-town, i’m not going to go back for a simmering pot of cheap ramen, hot dogs, spam, etc. with a bunch of go ju chang to up the scoville rating. but that’s me.
