December 19, 2006
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This past weekend we had a guest staying with us, so we took her to Won Jo because we wanted to go some place that used soot bul (charcoal). I think the only other place that does in the city is NY Gom Tang/Soot Bul Galbi, but I had been there once before and didn’t like it.
Anyway we had haemool pajun, Wonjo special galbi, bulgogi, chicken, and soondooboo. It was my first time here and the food was pretty good – galbi was the best meat. My favorite Korean restaurant banchan is potato salad (the round white ball below left). I know it’s not Korean but most restaurants have a Koreanized version and I just love potato salad!
Wonjo has dduk (rice cake paper) that you can wrap your meat in which I haven’t seen in NYC before. The soondooboo comes with a flame under it to keep it hot. I asked them to make it super duper spicy, but as usual it was too mild by my standards.
Our guest, who’s Italian, was amazed how much garlic Korean eat because we even eat it raw. Well I used to devour raw garlic when I was single, but I don’t want to torture Mr. Bee so I don’t anymore. That smell doesn’t go away for a couple of days. I liked the kimchi (Mr. Bee not so much because it was too syuh suh – fermented).
I still think the meat at Kun Jip is better even though they don’t have sootbul bbq.
What’s your favorite galbi/gogi place in your neck of the woods? Sootbuljib in LA is my favorite… but if you’re a pig (like me), you can’t beat all you can eat at Manna.
Comments (44)
I wish we had something like that here in CO, I mean the soot-bul. But I love the potato salad thing as well! Better than the American kind in my opinion.
I suppose the best we’ve got is Seh-Jong-Gwan or Seoul-Gwan.
do they still have the thinly sliced radish to wrap the meat in also or just the rice cake?
chung ki wah! elmhurst. go go go
Yeah… dduk bo sam. They have it at all the places in LA. BTW, I LOVE your weddingbee site! I check it every day. =D If you can’t tell… I’m a bride-to-be next November. Your site is definitely great in terms of resources!!!
mmmm, i’ve been looking for a place that has the dduk!!
Hi, Bee,
Long-time reader, first time poster! Love your site.
It’s all about Shik Do Rak (Garden Grove) down here in the OC. Their duk bo sam is sooo good. Mostly, their meat is chadulbegi and samgyupsal. They serve it with the duk, salad and some paper-thin slices of pickled mu (Korean turnip?). Their banchan selection is pretty good — kimchi, odeng, oi kimchi, miyuk, etc. And they also give you onions, pah, and mushrooms (button mushrooms and oyster mushrooms, which are the BEST). Add a little double-dish with hot sauce on one side and salt and sesame oil on the other and you’re good to go!
yummi! what’s the best place in koreatown? i have no idea what’s good or bad. i would def like to try the best (if there is) in koreatown.
there’s plenty of all u can eat places now in ktown (la)
I think they also have dduk galbi at Choong Moo Ro on 32nd St.
Sootbuljib is really good.
gosh i’m so hungry now. i’m not from oakland, but they have a place there called samwon that is sooooo good.
You should go to Germany and try their potato salad. Germans take their potato salad seriously.
at wonjo they never relight your friggin charcoal!
Bring your own matches if you go…
dduk bo sam is goood.
Ham Ji Bak in Bayside is my fav. It’s not ssut bul kalbi though but they have the best banchan and that thin sliced radish. That’s what I wrap my meat in. OooOOoohhh so good. ^^ Oh, and everyone gets their own mini dwenjang jjigae.
let’s hold a contest who could eat the spiciest! ;P
homemade
I love old (very fermented)kim chi. It’s the best for kim chi chigea.
Banchan…………hhhmmmm………eggplant.
I found ribs sliced across the bone Korean style at Sam’s club (of all places). So I can make some good bbq at home.
Of course I go to the Korean market for the marinating sauce and the banchan (I buy it already prepared in plastic packages).
jangtuh in flushing.
where is wonjo located? thanx~
i have to second shik do rak in GG too. it’s soo gooood.
i live in ny and the best place is sol bah oo nae (sp?) in flushing and kil mok in la… mmmm… kalbi and dongchimi gooksoo… heaven i tell ya
oh, the kimchi bokkum bap at wonjo is really good.
kinda seems like a waste of money to pay for kimchi bokkum bap
at a restaurant, but theirs is worth it.
there’s a place called Lighthouse BBQ in Fullerton, CA. They have melt-in-your-mouth kalbi. It’s so good…
yum looks delish
manna was one of the better places to go back in the day when ddukbosam bbq was new. but now there are tons of places in la with much MUCH higher quality meat. manna meat is actually disgusting compared to the other places. heh. i recommend trying the others.
OMG.. drooling*
People at work used to go to Jersey many times to eat Korean. I guess it’s convenient since they all lived in Jersey.
Wonjo II in jersey is pretty good. It has a great view of the Hudson and nY skyline. There are others but I forgot the names to them and I thought they were pretty good compared to the manhatten restaurants.
wonjo is pretty good but i like bogam for some reason. maybe cuz it’s cleaner looking? food is pretty good too.
I LOVE dduk bo sam!! There’s an all-you-can eat place in LA called Dahn-Chun-Oak that’s pretty good. I heard that dduk bo sam was created in America - there’s no such thing in Korea!
wow…i haven’t had real korean bbq in a few months. i might go this weekend…soondubu under a flame? not sure if i’d want that…tofu would burn the frak out of my mouth cuz i eat so fast. i remember when i went to yonsei for the summer program…the soondubu in the cafeteria only cost W600. tha’ts like 50 cents! ahhh-mazing.
i like mapo galbi or sansoogapsan in flushing. If you come to flushing, lots of places use sootbul and give you the dduk
for me, the best place for sam gyup sahl is hamjibak in bayside. however, the best galbi place i’ve been to is madangsui out in fort lee, NJ. they got soot bul bbq and their galbi is excellent.
on a side note, madangsui has THE BEST bibimbap i’ve ever had in my life! and i’m not even exaggerating. (they have different types of bibimbap where you choose the meat and they cook it right in front of you on a griddle. you should definitely try the galbi bibimbap) the only downfall is that the bibimbap is only available during lunch. i’d give it 5 out of 5 stars
mmmmm…looks good.
choong moo ro has the dduk and pickled radish. i usually go there or bogam for kalbi. my favorite is san soo gap san in flushing. huge portions and really good banchan.
yummmm – I’ve only been to one krn restaurant here, so I’m not really qualified to pick what my “favorite” is – but YUM im craving korean food now!
I like the kimchi radish thing… i dont know what it’s called…..
I agree with surly_girl, I used to go to chung gi wah all the time when I was little, I loveeeeed it you could smell the galbi from down the block.
Hamjibak in Bayside does have the best sam gyup sal! And Met Dol in Flushing has good sam gyup sal too. Plus all the banchan is super fresh.
I like Sansoogapsan galbi too.
Big thumbs down to “Northern Buffet” the new All you can eat galbi & sushi buffet on Northern Blvd. The meat was tough and chewy and the yang nyum galbi made the grill turn sludgy black from all the cornstarch they put in the marinade. YUCK.
^ whoops, I didn’t mean corn starch I meant CORN SYRUP
I’ve got to agree with Sootbulljip! Otherwise, if my family doesn’t head out to LA for some special event (and Korean bbq), we usually eat at Jang Soo (between Bloomfield and South) or at Ishinehjip (on South and Norwalk), both in Cerritos.
shik do rak in GG is the best!
omg makes me so freaking hungry…
ooo! dduk bo ssam, theCatandtheHen posted a recipe for that a year or two back
it’s sooo good!
Manna! mmm i drool just thinking about it. Ü -L
i personally think NY Komtang/ Sootbul is by far THE BEST korean restaurant in K-town!!!!
cham sut gol in garden grove on garden grove blvd has by far the best ddukbosam i have ever eaten. i personally think it’s better than manna.