Tag: korean

Categories
chinese lunch

Muk Eun Ji & Son Ja Jang Restaurant

I didn’t realize this place was two restaurants in one when I ate there. Muk Eun Ji Korean Restaurant and Son Ja Jang Chinese Handpulled Noodles. I picked this place because it wasn’t packed like the other places in K-town. I needed my kimchi.

I wanted another one of those Soju bottles with the hot chick on it, but the waitress suggested I get the Bek Se Ju Korean Ginseng Wine. The waitress said if I drink it, the bottle says I’ll live to 100 years old. I don’t know if that’s what I need, but the wine was pretty tasty with that Ginseng flavor.

I got the Handpulled Noodles with Spicy Seafood Soup lunch special $8.99. Big bowl. I was taking photos of it and the waitress came over to show me how to take a photo …taking my chopsticks and pulling out a giant glob of the noodles from the bowl. Even after four years of food blogging, I still have things to learn.

I liked the broth. The noodles may not have been too impressive, although this long video of how they pull the noodles is. It puts me in a trance like watching my hard drive defragment.

I also got complimentary Kimchi, Onion and Pickled Radish that I dipped into Korean Bean Paste. I couldn’t believe how good the raw onion tasted with that bean paste.

The walls of the restaurant were big advertisements for Jinan Maisan aged kimchi. The restaurant also posted this video on Youtube…


1:08 –Me So Hungry!

They gave me a little Yogurt drink at the end. I think this meal left me with some good stomach bacteria for my probiotic diet.

Muk Eun Ji & Son Ja Jang Restaurant – 34 W 32nd St (btwn 5th Ave & Broadway) New York, NY 10001

Categories
interesting lunch

Sik Gaek Korean Restaurant – $5.99 Lunch Special

I had recent dermatitis skin flare ups. So I looked online to see what helps diet-wise. I’ve suffered most of my adult life with dermatitis, so I’m surprised I’ve just looked it up. A found a lot of sites recommending fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut for their probiotic (good bacteria) benefits. So with my week off, I took the bus in front of my apartment towards Woodside, Queens to try this Korean spot I found on Yelp –Sik Gaek.

Cool looking place. Kinda reminds me of the Japanese spots on St Marks like Kenka.

Once they sat me down, they started the gas stove at my table. It confused me because I hadn’t ordered. But then soon brought over a pan and cracked an egg on it. Brought over complementary kimchi, rice noodles with hard boiled egg and a glass of hot water/rice. Can someone tell me if I’m supposed to drink that? Or what do I do with it? It tastes like hot water with rice. The kimchi was good and crunchy.

They got a several dishes on the $5.99 lunch special. A really good price. I went with the Doenjang Soup (fermented soybean paste with mixed seafood), which should also be good for the flareups. Dang, awesome soup! It had shrimp, clam, mussel, squid and a little baby octopus. The broth tasted great.

I had my food with a Coors light. But kept staring at the Soju posters all over the place. So I rang the service buzzer on my table for the bottle with the hot chick on it. The waitress said it was the lightest one. Shit. It still had 19.5% alcohol and was the size of my Coors light. This soju was easy going down. I was a big boy and finished it all.

A table of five sat next to me and ordered the Fresh Lobster Seafood Hot Pot. A huge plate of clams and seafood came out with a fresh lobster cut in half on top. The fucking lobster was still moving …both halves. The top half crawled off the plate onto the table. That was the most awesomely bizarre food thing I’ve seen in person. When it was all cooked, one of the claws was clamped onto some of the squid.

I read on Yelp, they do the same thing with Fresh Octopus. It comes out squirming while it’s cooking in front of you on your table. I want to do that.

I really like this place. The food was great. They gave me extra kimchi at no charge (…that shit is like $5-7 for a small container at my local vegetable store). Also complementary cucumber juice at the end of my meal.

Sik Gaek – 49-11 Roosevelt Ave. Woodside, NY 11377

Categories
restauranting

Elza Fancy Food in Brighton Beach

A Ramen and Friends adventure all the way down in Brighton Beach. That train ride was tough on a hangover. But it’s pretty cool walking out into a totally different neighborhood –big Russian community. The restaurant we were going to, Elza Fancy Food, is Uzbek – Korean. The menu looked like part Korean and part Russian. But I did recognize that Uzbek style bread.

The Borscht was great when sour cream broke up in it. The beef was tender.

The Plov looked like Beef Fried Rice, but it was better that what I expected. It was surprisingly great. I only ate about half of it. So stuffed from eating everyone else’s food and the side dishes that came out.

The Apple Compot drink was nice. And the 99cent beer we got from the bodega nearby was the perfect cure to my hangover.

Elza Fancy Food - 3071 Brighton 4th St (btwn Oceanview Ave & Brighton Beach Ave) Brooklyn, NY 11235
Ramen and Friends post
KikaEats post

Categories
lunch restauranting

Dokebi Korean Bar & Grill

Met up with Todd and Elissa at Dokebi Bar & Grill, hoping they were serving brunch, because it sounds interesting –Hot Stone Pork & Grits, KimChee Fried Rice Omelet… But no luck. We got lunch specials –Korean Tacos, Cold Soba and myself, the Beef Brisket Stew …which was alright, but maybe shouldn’t have gotten hot spicy stew on such a hot steamy day. One day I will have a Korean Taco myself and see why people stand in long lines.

I got a Taiwan Beer and like the look of the can. I haven’t had a can with such a small hole (or regular size hole) in a long time. It’s all about the wide lip or Vortex these days …maximizing optimal refreshment.

I suppose Dokebi is decent Korean for Williamsburg …what you’d expect. I’d try to go for brunch.

Dokebi Bar & Grill - 199 Grand St (btwn Bedford Ave & N 1st St) Brooklyn, NY 11211

Categories
restauranting

Madangsui’s Fish Roe Casserole

After band practice for Shonali’s show this Sunday, we went for Korean food nearby. We tried to go to Cho Dang Gol, but the wait was long. Dang. We went towards the lighted animated sign that said “Make Happy Memorables…”, which was this other Korean restaurant, Madangsui.

I got the Al-Chigae (Fish Roe Casserole in Spicy Broth). Lots of clumps and pouches of fish roe. It did have a bit of a livery flavor. Not too bad. Shonali’s bibimbap was nice and crusty on the hot stone bowl edges.

Madangsui – 35 W 35th St (btwn 5th & 6th Ave) New York, NY 10001

Come see us play this Sunday. Rusty and a very special comedy guest will open up.
What: Shonali Bhowmik – 100 Oaks Revival Album Release Party
When: Sunday, March 20th, Doors 7:00pm – Show promptly starts at 7:30pm
Where: Littlefield, 622 Degraw Street, Brooklyn, NY
Cost: $5

…Hold My Place from the her new solo album.
Shonali Bhowmik – Hold My Place by Little Lamb Recordings

Categories
restauranting

NY Kom Tang Soot Bul Kalbi – Korean BBQ

When Jay and Sally were in town, we had a crew going for some Korean BBQ at NY Kom Tang Soot Bul Kalbi. This the oldest of the Korean BBQs in Koreatown and they still use wood charcoal.

Most of us opted in for the Korean BBQ. The lady came around to help cook it. I got stuffed. I wouldn’t say it’s the best of the strip, but this place sure has a cooler grimier scene.

NY Kom Tang Soot Bul Kalbi – 32 W 32nd St (btwn Broadway & 5th Ave) New York 10001

I took some slow motion shots from dinner along with shots from the San Gennaro festival and made this video…

Categories
lunch street

Boki Korean Food Cart

I was looking at the menu on the side of this Korean cart and thought the Bugolgi Bowl looked really good. I got that -$6 with white rice. The server was Latino and the guy dealing the money looked Italian. Not that they aren’t allowed to make Korean food, but I wonder how they’ll fare against all the Asians around the corner on Korea Way serving Korean food. My guess is that they’d do better away from that street.

The Bugolgi Bowl didn’t quite look like the photo, but in a white styrofoam container. The guy scooped a ton of the juice in there. It was pretty much soup with rice and beef. Tastes alright, just soupy. It isn’t until now that I realize that the bugolgi photo on the cart is a photo I took from KOFOO. Maybe that’s why I thought it looked so good. They tricked me …or I tricked me!

Boki Korean Food Cart – 5th Ave between 32nd & 31st St. NYC 10016
…I see UltraClay just wrote about this cart the other day. His looks less soupy.

Categories
partying restauranting

Natural Tofu Korean Restaurant

We had pre-karaoke dinner at Natural Tofu. It’s interesting that there’s also BCD Tofu House on the same block. You get the usual Korean (banchan) side dishes, but the fish on the side is the some of the best I’ve had at a Korean restaurant. I believe it’s smelt and has a very fishy flavor. Much more interesting than the usual fried fishes. There’s some darker meat close to the head that shook me up with a strong oily flavor, similar to cod fish oil. I wonder if you can just order complimentary fish & side dishes, because that’s mostly what I like and just want to eat.

I ordered the Natural Tofu hot bowl + beef short ribs. The menu says you can get it “vagetarian”, but I went with the combination instead. You have to be quick and crack the egg into the hot bowl right when you get. I’m always too slow because I’m taking photos and the egg never really seems to cook. I don’t know about these tofu hot bowls (in general). It’s never as exciting or flavorful as it looks. Disappointing for being the entree. The beef short ribs were really tasty though.

Then karaoke at Duet 35. Lot’s fun. You can ask for the Jesus fish tambourine at the desk.

Natural Tofu – 34 W 32nd St (2nd floor, btwn 5th Ave & Broadway) New York, NY 10001
Karaoke Duet 35 -  53 W 35th St (2nd floor, btwn 5th Ave & Avenue Of The Americas) New York, NY 10001