Loved KTeam BBQ. The thin pork belly with minari is a magic combination. This being a sister restaurant of Park’s BBQ, the beef options are also really good, the brisket is better here than at Park’s, and the thin sliced rib eye is similar in flavor profile to the now gone Dong Il Jang. The doenjang jjigae is robust and funkier than most places, too.
The last time Park’s tried a pork concept, it didn’t catch on (Don Dae Gam), but hope this place does catch fire cause it’s a lot of fun and definitely a different option to the other KBBQ spots.
Went to Mapo Kkak Doo Gee because I flagged it on Google Maps at some point and it’s two blocks from my hotel. The braised cod and some of the banchan were underseasoned to my taste, otherwise great. I liked that the default was (semi-, at least) mixed grain rice. $40 with tax before tip. Made me miss Jun Won.
Western Doma Noodle. Dumpling soup and japchae (not sure what the latter is called on the English menu, I just asked for japchae). All good. Nice greens (mustard?) in the dumplings, lots of veg in the japchae. Some unusual banchan, like vinegary spinach and al dente green beans. $37 before tip. Took half the japchae for breakfast tomorrow.
I was craving some simple beef so I tried Daedo, which is a branch of a Korean chain. The place was almost empty at 8:00 so I thought it was odd that they asked me to wait at the bar while they got my table ready, but it only took a couple of minutes.
i got the “Daedo Cut.” The eggplant is there to clean the grill if there’s too much fat. The green onion is optional, I guess you have to ask if you want it griddled.
This is the only detailed report on Daedo I find here.
Totally agree about the quality of the meat being a step down from Park and some others. I wouldn’t order griddled beef again but that rice is so good I’d try some other dishes, maybe the yukgeon. euno said the cold noodles were good.
Went back to Sun Nong Dan because they’re open late and close to my hotel. Wanted something light and this hit the spot. I love that Koreatown has such a wealth of restaurants that this was probably at most the fourth-best version of that dish available at 1 am.
I went with three friends last night and we had a blast. We ordered the “Halla Set” for $170, and threw in a kimchi pancake. The banchan were unremarkable verging on good.
Everything was great, all the meat was cooked perfectly by a huge cast of servers. With the set meal you get a corn cheese and a sizable noodle soup at the end. We drank four bottles of Cass and two soju.
The service was professional and brisk. They weren’t wasting any time asking if we’d dined with them before— but I never got the sense they were trying to turn our table. The meal lasted a bit past ninety minutes.
After tip our total was about $325. It’s absolutely a place I would take out of town guests, but I might not go there on my own for a casual meal.
