yeah maybe on us for assuming they would…course it out? We had a server who answered questions and was like when you’re ready you can just put it in via the QR so I thought it was just to expedite payment/give visual references for the dishes but nope! The dishes we had were great but we were eating most of them cold because we were still catching up on our starters.
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Same experience two weeks ago @mzonelli, everything plopped down all at once.
I’ve been hesitant to comment, having tried about 1/3 of the menu, but ultimately the restaurant is so much less than the sum of its parts. The sujebi matzo ball soup is quite good, gojuchang prawns and biscuit gravy as well, but it’s expensive, hard to try much without a large group ($30 wings), and bizarrely paced/ not especially fun.
I’ve definitely thought, @hungryhungryhippos, about the gap between acclaim and the dining experience. I’ll probably try it once more, but this is a place where much of the food is good and I probably wouldn’t go back.
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would be tremendous if they had waiters and priced things reasonably. Reminds me of Isaan Station back in the day when everything was like between 12-13 dollars and a certain dish would be the best value meal you’ve ever had and then something else would feel like the worst rip-off of your life.
Not comparing the food, though I doubt Yangban has something as tasty as tom saab at Isaan.
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Isaan Station was my spot!! it’s still around right?
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Best gai yang in LA and Southern California.
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Guessing they’re hemmed in by that space. The arts district gjusta iteration didn’t work.
More broadly, have been tryna think through what makes a restaurant work in this post covid new reality. Maybe I’ll do a restaurant meta post. Wonder how much counter service in dining is like streaming in movies/tv, ultimately cheapening the product (half formed analogy I know).
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No. It’s kinda how they want to do things. They have all these wonderful cold case items and I’m like… perfect, I’ll get a three salad sampler! But they don’t do that. 
It’s all pump in and push out tickets. It makes things hard when it just the two of you.
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I vaguely remember when they first opened that was a possibility… Isn’t now, and maybe I’m misremembering. Anyway, totally agree, it’s a hard place for two and doesn’t seem to much care about the experience.
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Gjusta’s menu was also comparatively massive compared to Yangban 1.0. That part of the Arts District too is a bit of a bet on the working lunch crowd because most of the housing is north of 7th street. And having lived in the Arts District for years it’s just harder to make a point to walk over there past a busy street where there isn’t a lot else going on (no retail for instance) or drive when there isn’t much easy parking 
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As someone who usually dines single I’d like to be relatively confident that I can get the equivalent of a sandwich and a side from Gjusta for under 40. I’d like to support them but I’m not hearing the ‘you have to get xyz’ like we did when Gjusta first opened for lunch. Especially since when I went to that location when Lincoln Carson was there I had to park on a side street a couple blocks away by some warehouses and cross a busy street
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ugh ill try it again soon. it supposedly does still exist. that gai yang smh…
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oh that’s the bbq chicken? i have a dear friend i talk to daily that always uses native words and i’m having to translate… i think i’m going to switch to govorit s nim po russki chtob on toje ne xera ne ponimal
we love that dish! always ordered it for our kid. superb
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I remain fascinated by the gap between critical acclaim and civilian experience. David Chang now naming it his restaurant of the year…
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm2CEjHPJth/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
For me Yangban remains a place where I quite like a lot of the food but don’t really like the restaurant if that makes sense.
Maybe the trick is to go there with David Chang?
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Andy Wang had it among his best as well The Best New Los Angeles Restaurants You Should Visit Right Now
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prime time reservations wide open
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What does a reservation mean at a cafeteria?
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beyond the actual food, it’s a deeply unpleasant dining experience. something’s not quite right in that space.
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That’s huge for them.
Spoon By H got significantly busier with his recommendation
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Funny you say that because I haven’t really gone out of my way to try Yangban Society due to the reviews on FTC. Never even mentioned this place to my wife. My wife who is not on FTC but follows Dave Chang on IG says we should go here after his post. So I guess we’re going here now.
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