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2012-04-04
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It has never been easy to choose a Korean restaurant in Hong Kong, especially on Kowloon side, since there are so many to choose from and the food comments are usually quite balanced. Since one of my relatives introduced this restaurant to us, we've set out eyes on this restaurant for quite a while. On one Saturday evening, after drinking with two friends, we noticed that this shop was still open (it's closed on what I feel to be random days, so booking is perhaps a more sensible thing to do) an
There were some newspaper cuttings posted at the shopfront. Most of those comments focused on the history of this local shop, which had apparently been around for quite a long time, the friendliness of the staff and the hearty food they provide. I didn't notice any particular signature dish highlighted in the papers so I figure it should be focused on Korean style BBQ.
It was 9:30 in the evening and we could get a table easily. The interior was a typical old-school, homey type of Korean diner (very different from high end Korean restaurants like "Kaya" or "Sorabol", but unlike the recently popularized Korean fast food shops like the "Hungry Korean" or "Myung Dong Express":
The menu consisted mainly of BBQ of different types of meat, seafood, as well as about 3-4 pages of typical Korean dishes like pancakes, vermicelli, different hotpots, rice, rice cakes and omelette. They were all reasonably priced.We ordered a dish of Calbi (Beef spare ribs) and lamb. We also ordered a fried Vermicelli, a spicy tofu soup, a bibimbap and a kimchi pancake.
Alcohol-wise, since we already had some nearby, we decided to take it easy. We ordered a portion of Korean Rice Wine "Makkori", a small bottle of Soju, and "Hite" beer:
These are the typical appetizers served in most Korean restaurants. What is worth mentioning was that the Kimchi was very nice. It was very crisp. It had a very nice balance of chilli, vinegar and garlic. It's spicy enough but not too strong (Ramen Tatsuya used a similar Kimchi in their ramen). Everyone liked it very much.
The Korean Rice Wine is really light and easy to drink. The alcoholic content was not that strong and won't give you any trouble the next morning. It looked and almost tasted a bit like sweet almond soup. It had a lot of soluble fiber and is supposed to be good for your body (at least not too bad for your health anyway ). It is also similar to a type of hot sake served during Japanese new year, "Amasake 甘酒", but it's served cold in Korea and available all year round. As you could see from the photo, it came in a large bowl and the size was quite substantial. Some restaurants served it in a brass pot. Notwithstanding the size, it's easy to finish it because the rice wine is really easy to drink.
I'm not sure whether this is Jinro "Original" or Jinro "Fresh" (or words to that effect). Having been drinking Japanese Sochu for the past 3-4 months, this Jinro tasted refreshingly sweet and easy to drink as well. I believe it should be the lighter version. Drinking it with cucumber is another recommended way of drinking Jinro.
For those who haven't tried "Hite". Hite is a bit similar to "Kirin" beer, which tasted a bit stronger than other lager and had more hops in it. Hite is stronger than "Cass", another famous Korean brand, and had more bubbles inside. I find Cass more similar to Sapporo beer but a bit flatter.
The staff were very friendly throughout. The female Korean boss also spoke Cantonese, Japanese and a little bit of English. But after we ordered some Korean alcohol and said thank you in Korean, she really lightened up significantly. It's just about respecting others. I invariably try to learn a phrase or two to say "Thank You" in different languages. (However, my Urdu was completely incomprehensible to the waiter when I was having an Indian meal at "the Indian Restaurant" in Kowloon City. He just smiled politely while I not so subtly switched back to using English).
Then came the BBQ meats: Beef and lamb. The staff then helped us switch on the stove, which took a while because the stove was a bit old. Since the ceilings were quite high, the ventilation was not too bad.I had a taste of the lamb. It was excellent! Very tender and very well marinated. Definitely one of the best barbequed Korean dishes I've ever tried in Hong Kong. I'd say it was even better than both the expensive Kaya and Sorobol. The meat in those restaurants, other than the beef, were nothing special and usually a bit dry. Kaya is famous for their cold noodles anyway and Sorobol for their beef only.
I did not try the beef but my wife told me that it was very delicious too! It was equally very well marinated All my friends were very happy with it.
Then came the "Chapchae", fried vermicelli.
The Korean vermicelli is very different from Chinese vermicelli. It used a lot of potato starch instead of rice. That's why it's a lot chewier. It was fried with some carrots, pork and mushrooms. It was also stir fried with some Korean soy sauce and tasted a bit sweet. This was a lot less oily that what we've tried in other Korean restaurants.
The Kimchee pancake is a vegetarian dish. It was made with Kimchee, onion and some green pepper. Since the quality of the Kimchee here was good, the Kimchee pancake tasted equally good. Importantly, it was nice and crispy.
The Bibimbap was not one of my favorites in this restaurant. Although it was also crispy and had quite a lot of vegetables, I find it a bit sour and not spicy enough. Perhaps I should have asked for extra sweet chilli sauce but I was busy drinking and talking to my friends. The bibimbap was just OK in my opinion.Luckily, the Spicy Tofu Soup came at the end of the meal:
I think this was a very good finale for the evening. The tofu inside the spicy broth was very smooth. Definitely equal to, if not better than, tofu specialist shops (like Ishikawa, for example). The kimchi was again the good quality kimchi. It also had onions, chives, spicy spring onions and of course, a lot of chilli powder. Very good for waking everyone up from the alcohol! Recommended. As I'm writing this comment, it suddenly got my thinking about the food order. The order in which the food is served is somewhat like your own health - you'll only start noticing when there's something wrong with it.
The order in which the dishes were served was excellently planned. First came the appetizers almost at the same time as the drinks were served. Then the barbequed meat and the vermicelli arrived shortly afterwards. So you could start eating the vermicelli without waiting for the grilled meat.
The kimchee pancake arrived only after we've finished the vermicelli. It was quite a nice change of flavour and ensured that the pancake would not be left aside for too long. So customers could eat it while it's still warm and crispy. Although I didn't like the bibimbap that much, the timing of the bibimbap was also good. It didn't jam up the table with carbohydrates all in one go.
The spicy vegetable/tofu soup came last to wake everyone up. The vegetables and chilli were also good for stomach and may help prevent indigestion after all the heavy stuff which came before it.
By the time we finished, it was already near 11:30 p.m. and we were the only table in the restaurant. The boss and staff were just casually having their dinner. They were very chilled and did not rush us at all. We asked what time they close and the boss told me that they close at about 1:00 a.m. She told us to just relax and enjoy. The bill came down to about HK$180 per head, which was very reasonable for all the food and drinks we had (I couldn't keep check of the Hite - about 1/2 dozen).
My wife told the friendly boss: 맛있었어요! [Ma-ssit-ssot-sso-yo] (??) - which means "delicious" in Korean. The boss was so happy and escorted us out all the way to the shopfront. She also told us in Cantonese and Japanese "See you again!" and indeed, we will.
Recommended.
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