savory-bites » Korea Town

Arang (in Ktown)

Jessie — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:06:55 +0000

This is what a table for two often looked like when Sabrina and I ate out in college. Nowadays, it’s usually less than half of what’s pictured.

Yesterday, Sabrina and I checked out Arang, this Korean-Japanese fusion restaurant in the heart of Ktown. It’s located on the second floor, next to the high profile Keun-Jip, but distinguishes itself in its playfully painted door frame with those saturated colors that even Andy Warhol would appreciate. The interior is completely different from the outside; inside, wood is the prominent choice of material, and the earthy tones along with the hanging art from both the ceiling and the walls almost remind me of Africa (although clearly, not).

Notice the arrow on the left of the menu (Photoshopped in). Highly recommended

We arrived at around noon on a Saturday and the place was empty, but by the time the food came out, there were four more parties that were already seated. We were told that the dduk boki is the dish to order by Sunny (the daughter of the owner). Supposedly, something like 85% of tables end up ordering it and if you saw it/had it, you’d understand why. It’s like the Korean version of a lasagna, with melted mozzarella and cheddar that just comes oozing out of this sizzling stone plate. It smells like heaven on a plate. If I hadn’t believed Sunny’s testimonial then about the dish, I would have, had I gone onto yelp prior to. Just about every review raves about the dish and how it’s in a league of its own because no other restaurant in Ktown has it.

Ojinguh dduk boki with cheese with Nalchi Al Bap (serves 2 people): Sauteed pickled cabbage, spicy pork, and rice cakes with melted mozzarella and cheddar cheese served with rice with caviar, sesame leaves, roasted seaweed, chopped Kimchi, and sesame oil ($19.95). Whew

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Crap, that looks delicious with all that bubbling cheese. But $19.95?! Isn’t that a bit pricey?

First, let me just start off by saying that this was taken with a 50mm lens so the stone plate is actually a bit bigger than it may seem. Second, I couldn’t really photograph the depth of the dish. I’d reckon its about an inch deep? An inch deep probably doesn’t seem like much, but the thing is completely filled with the rice cakes, pork, kimchi, and jalapeno. Third, it comes with rice, so even if you manage to polish off the whole thing, you get to mix the rice into the sauce. I wish the stone was still sizzling when we finally mixed in the rice because the rice would have crispened in all that spicy sauce.

So overall, worth it? Definitely. Especially since I think you can even stretch it to sharing it amongst three people, especially with the rice.

And that’s the rice right there. The sesame oil on the bottom of the rice really does give it more depth than the usual plain white rice. We also learned that shiso leaves are sesame leaves! I think I might start oiling the bottom of my rice at home with sesame oil going forward…

Banchan (complimentary)

I got a bit too excited there. I almost forgot about the traditional side dishes served in the beginning at all Korean restaurants. Arang served four “banchan” dishes including potato salad, pickled cabbage, radish with pepper, and pickled cucumbers (or was that zuchini?). My favorite was the potato salad.

Then came out the sushi. On Sundays to Thursdays from 4pm to 10pm, they have their “happy hour” sushi’s where you can get certain sushi pieces for $1, $2, or $3. Notice the word piece. It’s actually really Nigiri because it’s raw fish on top of a ball of rice (the usual term sushi refers to the Makisushi, which is the sushi you see at Japanese restaurants that’s rolled up in seaweed with other ingredients besides raw fish).

At $1, it’s a bit pricey, even if it is Nigiri, and I think the couple of dollars that you’d spend on the Nigiri could be put towards better use on other items on the menu.

Arang Specialty Roll ($7.95)

Above is kimbap, which upon first glance may look like the Japanese sushi, but is actually different since the rice used is seasoned with sesame oil instead of vinegar. I remember the first time I had kimbap. It was in Australia, where I tutored English after uni. This Korean girl brought in this large roll and you could actually smell it (unlike sushi).

What I love about kimbap is the use of egg. Whereas sushi is normally more a “high class” food, kimbap is like a light snack, something you’d bring to a picnic. If you’ve never had kimbap, I’d recommend getting a roll instead of sushi, just to try it out.

J jampong Ramen: Spicy seafood noodle soup ($8.95)

Mmm, ramen. The ramen itself wasn’t anything special- sorta like the Shin ramen I have at home, but the addition of the seafood was really good. I’m not a shellfish type of person, but I really liked the mussels in this dish. I still haven’t warmed up to octopus; the chewy texture really gets to me. Anyway, this dish really is spicy, in a way that makes your mouth break out a sweat and searching for water. But it’s a good type of spicy, if you can handle it.

Just make sure you spoon out the ramen if you’re splitting it or else it’ll get soggy. They have these cute shell-like bowls that we ate the ramen in.

Okay, so what exactly is this dduk boki and besdies the melted cheese, what makes it so great? According to translator Jlee, Dduk is a rice cake, although not the usual Quaker rice cakes that we Americans are used to. It reminds me of the nian-gao that the Chinese have and so I guess the most accurate description of dduk is a rice dumpling. Bokki is the method used to cook the dish.

The rice cakes come submerged in the spicy sauce and the bottoms are slightly crisped by the heat from the stone plane. The pieces of pork are succulent and sweet, almost like the marinated pork from Korean BBQ. There’s slices of jalapeno, which really give those bites a kick, but seriously, the cheese. Oh man, I’m salivating just from thinking about that cheese.

Sabrina and I already were full after finishing the nigiri, ramen, and one-third of the dduk boki, but there was still the rice! So Sabrina started mixing it in spoonfuls until Sunny came by and just mixed the whole entire thing in. By then, the plate was already cold; otherwise it would have been like dolsup bibimbap. But it was still delicious and made for great leftovers, which I look forward to tomorrow at work.

Overall, I’d definitely come back for the dduk boki, probably late night. A friend said that Arang is a great place for late night eating/drinking, especially when you’ve been out and are just craving something greasy and fullfilling. There’s a good number of long benches especially for those groups of 6+ people for some good eats, good laughs, and just good company. The afternoon lunch prices run until 6pm, so you may be able to catch the cheap eats at an early dinner.

MENU
9 W 32nd St
2nd Fl
(between 5th Ave & Broadway)
New York, NY 10001

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Photo du jour: “The morning after” (story behind the photo on flickr)

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Shanghai Mong: Late night eating at its best

Jessie — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:37:24 +0000

Jajangmyeon (자장면): Translation- Black Bean Noodles

This post comes a tad bit late, as lately, this blog as been neglected for the benefit of some other websites that I’ve been working on. But that probably doesn’t interest you, since, well, you’re here to read about Shanghai Mong.

So this was the last eat of my undergraduate career. It was completely unplanned as were most other events of the night. Remember that meal at DBGB that I blogged about way back? That was in the same night. Yeah, I had two dinners.

But before I even continue talking about our meal at Shanghai Mong, let me share with you how we got there. It went something like this…

Albert passes out after finals and neglects to pick up his phone. Lack of plans call for a spontaneous purchasing of AVATAR 3D tickets by Sabrina and me for a 10:30pm showing.
Albert wakes up, calls back, and becomes interested seeing in Avatar. Suddenly, 3 other people arrive to the theatre.
JLee misses his flight. Fail. Arrives to theatre and tickets are sold out. Crashes on Albert’s lap instead.
Movie’s great. Throw in 3-D glasses to the blue recycle box. Leave.
A few blocks away from the theatre- Jerry Z: “OMG GUYS. I THINK I JUST THREW IN MY REAL GLASSES, FML”
Rush back to find glasses. Pour out box to find at least a hundred glasses. JLee finds the real glasses.

Sorry Jerry, but this will NEVER get old.

And so after all that hard work, we wandered around for a bit, until half the group realized they were hungry. Of course, being a Tuesday night, where can you find a place that’s open at 2:30 am? KTOWN OF COURSE! Albert and JLee really wanted some Jajangmyeon and that’s how we ended up at Shanghai Mong.

Time for a brief history lesson. My buddy Seth, this is dedicated to you.

Jajangmyeon is actually derived from a Chinese dish called Za Jiang Mian (炸酱面). If we really want to get into the nitty gritty, it originated in North China and eventually found its way to Korea in the 19th century. If you pronounce both names phonetically, they sound very similar and translate to the same thing. The main difference between the Korean and Chinese version is that the Jajangmyeon traditionally uses black bean paste whereas its Chinese counterpart uses any of the following: yellow soybean paste, broad bean paste (doubanjiang), and sweet bean paste. My mother uses sweet bean paste with doubanjiang (豆瓣酱).

But at the end of the day, both are just noodles with bean sauce poured on top. End of story.

Jjamppong (짬뽕)

What’s that you ask? It’s a noodle soup that derives its flavors from onion and chili, though not limited to the vegetables, meat, and seafood that are thrown into the mix. Like Jajangmyeon, it’s another Chinese derivation. Check here for more info.

And how did it taste? I couldn’t tell you. But Albert and JLee seemed to thoroughly enough it… on top of their epic Jajangmyeon with seafood.

Half Jajangmyeon, half Jjamppong- the best of both worlds.

It was a bit messy. The other Jerry texted throughout the meal. Oh! And there was tea. To wash that late night grease down. I think our neighbors at the table to our right thought we were a bit strange. One, for the amount of food that was ordered. Two, for the people that just seemed to continually pile in although it was only 3.

Look who decided to join quarter way through! JMa and Pranav! Albert ordered them the Bok Eum Jjambbong (which I’m sure I’ve murdered the spelling of), but it’s just spicy noodles (as so eloquently labeled on the receipt).

And there’s Isabella. This must be near the end of the meal. Albert looks like he’s about to enter into food coma. His bowl’s empty!

At this point, JLee’s homophobia towards Pranav began to manifest. Or he just has issues. It’s hard to tell. But the other Jerry continues to text.

I’m not sure why this Korean place is named SHANGHAI Mong, but funnily enough, it translates to “Shanghai Dream.” How very Asian.

Thank you Shanghai Mong for your generically printed receipt. Up until now, I haven’t really talked about Shanghai Mong itself. The place is supposedly known for the Jajangmyeon, which I can’t dispute since it was quite delicious. At $7 a bowl it’s also a good bargain, not to mention it’s open 24/7 for your eating pleasure. So if you’re ever lonely and hungry in the middle of the night, that’s what the N,R,Q,W is for.

MENU
30 West 32nd St.
New York, NY 10001
Between Broadway and 5th Ave

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Jerry Lee & Co. get galbi at Seoul Garden

Jessie — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:35:03 +0000

Yang Nyum Galbi (marinated beef) sizzling!

This post is for Jerry Lee. (No, sorry not you, Jerry Zhao.) See him below? That’s him in the pink. Real men wear pink. I know he’s showing some more than average affection for the kid in the white, but that’s for another post.

Let me tell you a bit about Jerry. Jerry owns a PC. He’s originally from the mountains and likes to don loud colors of baby cyan and lime green. He wears shorts in 55 degree weather and can’t wait to ski. Sounds like a cool kid, eh? (hm… )

But I guess without Jerry, this dinner may have never happened. After weeks of craving galbi, or essentially Korean BBQ (marinated ribs), Jerry finally made the effort to spearhead an attempt to go to Seoul Garden in Ktown. It was tough, but he did it.

Saeng Galbi (non-marinated beef)

See all that meat up there? That was only 3/7 of it all. And we demolished all of it.

And there he is, cutting up the strips of beef- sacrificing eating time for the rest of us. You’re a good man Jerry Lee. Too bad it took him awhile to figure it out… See how much food there was?! It was like a feast!

OH BOY!! He’s finally got the hang of it!!

Isn’t it funny how the photographer always ends up with the prime seat? Yeesh, I wonder why. Anyway, shoutouts to Jerry and Jungyon for turning the beef over while we all enjoyed the galbi. That’s some hot stuff there.

Charred perfectly!

I don’t know what’s going on there, but that’s probably the other Jerry talking about Texas (yes, you Jerry Zhao).

Banh-Chan: Cauliflower, Kimchi, Acorn, Seaweed Salad, Bean Sprouts, Pickled Radish, and… that’s it

Banh-Chan are the little side dishes that most Korean restaurants roll out before the meal comes. This place just kept on piling it on after we finished. By the end, there was still some kimchi and acorn left over. I especially liked their pickled radish.

Setup for the galbi

With the galbi, they give you lettuce leaves, spiced/thinly sliced green onions, rice wrap, radish, garlic, and soy bean paste. You’re supposed to wrap the meat in the rice wrap and lettuce and then top it all off with the green onion and paste/garlic if you so desire. It ends up being very messy but also very delish.

Yerp, that’s with the marinated beef. Although I liked the marinated alot better than the non-marinated, both were still good enough that I’d order them again. With the non-marinated, they give you this salted sesame oil to dip it into (I actually didn’t realize this until now. That explains why I thought I gained like 5 lb this morning… from all that oil!)

An aerial view of the girl’s side of the table. The guy’s side seemed to have alot more for some reason…

Daeng Jang Jigae: Soybean paste soup with tofu, anchovies, clam, shrimp and vegetables.

And after when you finish all that meat, they give you Daeng Jang Jigae. We ate it by scooping it onto rice. But Jungyon says that the proper way of eating it is to dip your spoon into the broth, scoop up a spoonful, bring it over your rice and into your mouth. I just scooped the tofu, omitted the seafood, and mixed it into my rice. I’m not a big stew person, but this was pretty good.

Look how happy Surekha is, her first time having Korean!

Yes, they gave us oranges and Jerry Z decided not to eat it, but to smile with it

The servers were really nice, especially considering how big of a group we were. Since we ordered so much meat, we couldn’t all grill it at the table so they had a portable griller which one of the servers manned. Don’t worry we left a generous tip. The total ended up coming out to $25/person. There were 8 people and we ordered 7 portions of meat. It’s about standard for Korean BBQ.

Sorry, couldn’t find a menu anywhere!
34 W. 32nd St., 2nd fl
New York, NY 10001
Near Fifth Ave. See Map | Subway Directions
212-736-9002 Send to Phone

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Gahm Mi Oak

Jessie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:44:29 +0000

Bibim Bap: Korean style jambalaya of rice, assorted vegetables and ground beef + long hot pepper paste ($13.95)

I’ve failed as a food lover in New York City. I’ve only been to one restaurant in Ktown. But since I have one more month left as a student living in NYC, I’ve decided that I’m going to go all out with eating out. I’m going to attempt to eat out once everyday. And you thought I ate out alot before…

So Jungyon, Seth, Albert, Jerry and I met up for a late lunch at Gahm Mi Oak. Despite all of the research that I did, it was pretty much an on the spot decision to eat there. Supposedly there’s a few in Korea, but the place is known for their Sul Long Tang.

Their Sul Long Tang is so well known that they separate it on their menu (see that on the far right?). And yes, that is the menu. But don’t fret, there’s a menu for non-Koreans too, with pictures!

If you walk in and speak Korean to them, they pretty much assume that everyone in your party is Korean. Han Chinese (Seth) and I obviously can’t speak Korean, hence the surprise when the waitress came by and Jungyon ordered. Everyone ended up getting the Sul Long Tang, but since soup is on the bottom of the totem pole in terms of food preferences for me, I chose to go with the Bibimbap.

Sul Long Tang snowy white ox bone soup with white rice and white noodle (add scallion, salt and pepper to taste) ($9.22)

Despite what it might look, the bibimbap was REALLY filling. I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t offer it in a stone bowl (Dolsot Bibimbap) because that meant no egg or sizzle. And then I was further taken aback when their bibimbap rang in at $13.95, the average price for Dolsot Bibimbap (which is generally more expensive). But the dish was really delicious and I have nothing to complain about, although a fried egg in there would have been nice.

As for the Sul Long Tang, I wasn’t the biggest fan. Soggy rice always makes me cringe, but if you like congee, you should give it a try.

Whereas most Ktown restaurants would give you a bunch of tiny dishes as their “Banchan,” Gahm Mi Oak gave us two giant plates of kimchi and leaves of white cabbage with long green peppers.

I haven’t had alot of kimchi, but I thought this was among the better ones that I’ve had. Jungyon testified to its authenticity and taste. Those giant chunks in there aren’t potato but radish. The kimchi is meant to be eaten with the Sul Long Tang and I guess with any main because it was great with my bibimbap.

(The peppers actually aren’t as spicy on the bottom since the seeds are located near the middle and top)

(Seth didn’t know how to properly use chopsticks. So we had to teach him…)

Overall, a decent meal, but I think I’m gonna get me some Korean BBQ next time.

MENU
43 W. 32nd St.
New York, NY 10001
nr. BroadwayÂ See Map | Subway Directions
212-695-4113 Send to Phone

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