https://www.exploretock.com/sanhowon/experience/313454/new-years-rice-cake-soup-pickup-1231
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Some nice Instagram photos today of what I won’t be eating tomorrow. Happy not very new-seeming year.
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Nice! Finally someone went!
Is that a paejon I see up there with the banchan.
I am glad Chef Lee has potato salad lol with the banchan
The radish kimchi and spicy (raw?) potato salad came out with the housemade tofu amuse so they’re not on the menu.
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Walking in the place smelled as appetizing as any restaurant I’ve ever entered. I don’t know what all the aromas were.
Amuse: thin layer of housemade tofu with a complex sauce, radish kimchi, spicy potato salad. I’ve never had anything like that tofu, really nice starter. Radish was excellent. I’m not a fan of raw or al dente potatoes but my dining companion liked it a lot.
Artisanal soju, best I’ve had. We drank only half, the rest was even better the next night.
Fucking delicious.
Mandu were great. Dipping sauce was perfect.
Pajeon of housemade soondae. I’d been craving blood sausage. So good. Again perfect dipping sauce. Against my better judgment I polished it off.
Chonggak makes one of my favorite seasonal kimchis. This hit the mark. The nappa, pear water, and sesame leaf kimchi (which you can see in one of the big photos in my earlier post) were also excellent.
Egg souffle. The server poured some anchovy broth in the bowl and then added some egg. There was also a seaweed condiment you can see in one of the big pictures above sitting in a little dish on top of the broth pitcher. Best version of this dish I’ve had.
Wraps, herbs, sauces, and scallion salad for the meats. I’ve never seen such big perilla leaves.
Beef neck fillet, new to me, delicious and interesting cut. There’s some very soft cartilage or something running through it.
Rib cartilage, also new to me. Some meat attached. Delicious, great flavor and texture.
Spicy tongue special. Almost at the Raku level.
The galbi is a totally different dish from the usual. They sous-vide the ribs, then marinate them, then grill to finish. Fall off the bone, melt in your mouth.
We had a long, delightful chat with the charming GM who also handles the beverages. He wanted us to taste the desserts, which we were way too full to eat but almost finished anyway.
Like I said, the Bay Area finally has a good restaurant. I’m looking forward to going back very soon to try more things and not over-order.
My dining companion said this was the full-service model.
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If I could nitpick and split hair……
Cross cut ribs/ LA galbi? For a high end KBBQ?
I love that cut but not something I typically see for high end KBBQ instead of just galbi
I think the double-thick cut makes sense given the unconventional sous vide approach. It was literally falling off the bone.
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Probably going to be even harder to get in: #1 best new restaurant in America.
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We do ribs of all sorts at 275 for about 3 hours, brushing with sauce every 45 minutes.
Bill Addison weighs in:
Los Angeles has one of the most profound Korean dining scenes in the world. That said, there’s nothing in our city quite like how Lee and Hwang approach the genre of Korean barbecue. Hwang and his team grill meats (double-thick galbi, rib-eye cap, velvety beef tongue that arrives in burger-shaped rounds) over lychee charcoal; they prepare everything in the kitchen, forgoing the tabletop action. The lettuces and chile-spiked sauces for saam-style wrapping are impeccable in a California fantasy sort of way. … one meal is enough for me to tell you that it’s among the most exciting new restaurants in California.
nothing to add beyond what has already been said - this place is truly outstanding. the galbi being sous-vide[d] first made the texture of the cartilage around the bone almost fat-like in texture.
their last seating is at 10, and there’s often reservations that open up for 9:30 or 10 the day of or the next day, if you’re able to be flexible about when you go
true laurel a couple blocks away for drinks beforehand is an ideal combo
I missed the QR code for the glossary. What a great idea.
I had their takeout during the pandemic; it was amazing, especially the salads; lots of interesting unique Korean dishes I had not seen on other menus. Still need to make it out the brick and mortar!
one point on whether to reserve the house menu or general menu - i think for first time visit, house menu offers great value at the cost of not being able to choose some of the more interesting meats or other dishes not on the house menu, but after the first visit, a la carte is definitely the way to go
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That does sound very good and refreshing. Korean food does the cold vs. ‘hot’ contrast (iced broth vs. hot mustard and vinegary dongchimi broth) and chewy vs. crunchy (cucumber and maybe asian pear vs. tendon and jelly) so well, like in mul-naengmyeon. I haven’t had red cabbage in this kind of soup before, but I can see the crunch working. I like the idea of tendon in soup, great texture. I’d love it in naengmyeon and it’s great with Chinese ho-fun soup noodles as well.
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