Korean restaurants in Japan

[torakris]

Korean restaurants have popped up occasionally in various topics but it is time they had a thread of their own.

There are a wide variety of Korean restaurants from the Japanese-Korean grilled meat (yakiniku) places to the little whole in the wall places in Korea town to chain restaurants.

About 2 weeks ago my in-laws took us to what is now my mother-in-law's favorite restaurant. It is chain called Chegoya. We went to the Machida location which is actually on the restaurant floor of Tokyu department store.

The lunch prices (which for some reason aren't on their homepage) are actually on the cheap side at between 800 and 1200 yen. Most of the lunch sets are combinations such as reimen (cold noodles) and bibimbap (stone pot rice dish). I ordered the reimen and yakiniku (grilled beef) salad set, the soup on the reimen was the best I have ever had and the "salad" was actually served on top of rice and proved to be more food than I could actually eat. All sets were served with a small dish of a variety of kimchi and all you can drink roasted corn tea (there are pitchers on the table).

The following aren't the best pictures since they were taken with my phone...

reimen

yakiniku salad

After mixing it up

My son had the kid's meal (he already ate 2 pieces of the sushi roll)

My husband the bibimbap and reimen set

When it comes down to yakiniku though, in my area nothing is better than Ichigoya. It can get really pricey at dinner but they have wonderful lunches.

[smallworld]

Has anyone seen gamjatang (pork bone soup) in Tokyo? I tried it for the first time on a visit back home this summer and now I'm craving it really badly. I've never seen it before in Japan, and while it could be available all over (it would be easy for me to have overlooked it, having only just discovered it) I kind of suspect it's not all that popular here. After all, Korean restaurants in Japan are all about beef.

[nakji]

I feel like somewhere in Shin-Okubo must have it. There are a few restaurants on the alleys off the main street that serve more than just the yakinikku/bibimbap standards.

[_john]

There is a lot of Korean history in Osaka especially in Ikuno ward. I used to live there and ate a lot of really good Japanese-Korean food. There is one place that I keep coming back to again and again. It is a reimen restaurant in Ikuno called Reimen-Kan.

Is it just me or is Korean food generally expensive in Japan?

[nakji]

Certainly more expensive than in Korea! I'm going back for Christmas, and I can't wait to hit a galbi place and order indiscriminately with no fear of the bill. And all the kimchi I can eat!

I haven't been to Shin-Okubo in months, I need to get back and see if I can find any place that serves ddalk galbi, my favourite dish. I also love the hotuk they do on the street - I miss street food.

[Hiroyuki]

Last night, I went to a Korean restaurant nearby, with my family and relatives. It's run by a Korean lady, and I think the dishes it offers are pretty authentic.

Two types of chijimi (pajeon, pa'jon), nira (garlic chive) and kaisen (seafood)

Seafood, to be grilled:

Complimentary dish:

We were also given kimchi for free.

Japchae

Potato nabe:

which contained ox(?) bones like this:

Bibimbap:

This wasn't spicy. The server brought some gochujang and told us to add it to taste.

Dish I forgot the name of:

Later, the server put some noodles to the nabe.

The noodles looked like this:

Tteokbokki:

I really wanted to have this.

This has been a dream of mine since I learned about Korean mochi from this here.

Closeup:

Another complimentary dish:

I enjoyed every dish, though I often thought, "Everything is just spicy!"

Did I have authentic Korean dishes?

[Hiroyuki]

We also got some Korean candies for free, which taste like scorched rice.

Can anyone tell us what's written there?

[smallworld]

Last night, I went to a Korean restaurant nearby, with my family and relatives.  It's run by a Korean lady, and I think the dishes it offers are pretty authentic. 

Potato nabe:

which contained ox(?) bones like this:

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That's it that's it! It's gamjatang, the soup I was asking about upthread. The version I had wasn't served as a nabe with all those fresh vegetables on top--it was pretty much just pork bones and a few potatoes.

Thanks Hiroyuki, it's great to know that it exists here in Japan. It just has a different name than I expected. "Jagaimo nabe" or "potato nabe" would be a direct translation of the Korean name, which strikes me as a bit misleading as pork is definitely the star of this dish.

Nakji you're right, Shin-Okubo would definitely have it, but now that I think about it a trip out thyere probably won't be necessary: I've seen a jagaimo nabe on the menu of a local Korean place. And to think I've been passing it up all these years because of the dull name!

[nakji]

Wow, Hiroyuki, everything looks like it was really authentic, based on my experiences in Korea. Especially the free kimchi! I hate paying for kimchi in Japan

Did this have lots of soft tofu in it? And did you break an egg into it? Maybe it was sundubu. Or if it had a lot of kimchi and firm tofu in it, it was probably kimchi jigae.

I enjoyed every dish, though I often thought, "Everything is just spicy!"

I thought so too, when I first lived in Korea, but after a while, I got used to the heat and was able to notice the subtlety of flavours. Although - it'll, to my mind, never have the complexity of flavour of Thai or Indian food, because, ultimately, there are a limited number of seasonings used in Korean cooking, in comparison to those cuisines. That doesn't make it any less delicious, I should hasten to point out - I think the marriage of pork fat and kimchi is one of the finest flavour combinations I've tried to date.

When I first arrived in Japan, I thought all food was just salty. But maybe that was because I was in Kanto.

This is the only dish that doesn't look quite right to my eye. The sauce should be much thicker, and coat the mochi smoothly. There shouldn't be so much soupiness on the plate. This is a dish best eaten on a paper plate with toothpicks, in a red-and-white striped tent on the street somewhere in Seoul, with a cold wind blowing in off the Han.

It says "nu rung ji flavour candy" - nu rung ji is the crispy rice crust on the bottom of the rice pot, and is a bit of a delicacy in Korea. I am an admirer, as well. Actually, I'm not sure if it's just the crispy rice bit, or the soup they make out of it by pouring boiling water on it. Hmm.

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks, nakji, for your detailed explanations!

As for the unknown dish, it had a lot of vegetable (Chinese cabbage?) and some eggs (not beaten?), if I remember correctly.

As for the saltiness of Japanese cuisine in Kanto: You are not alone! My Osaka-born brother-in-law used to say the same thing to my sister in the initial period of their marriage.

[melonpan]

hmm. that dish is probably either kimchi jjigae or sundubu jjigae, like smallworld guessed.

the ddeokbokki did look kind of soupy but i agree with smallworld that the dinner you had looked proper, including the free ggakdugi and free kimchi.

finally, like smallworld (basically i shouldnt have written this post bc s.w. said it all! !), korean cooking also strikes me as pretty simple in flavors: garlic, chile pepper, sesame seed oil, salt. maybe its because of my background but it strikes me mostly as satisfying comfort food.

have you ever seen japanese okoge flavoured candies before?

[Peter Green]

Thanks, nakji, for your detailed explanations!

As for the unknown dish, it had a lot of vegetable (Chinese cabbage?) and some eggs (not beaten?), if I remember correctly.

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Kimchi chiggae, definitely.

One of the finest breakfast dishes on this planet (in my opinion, if not the people breathing next to me).

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks melonpan and Peter Green for their input.

have you ever seen japanese okoge flavoured candies before?

No, I've never seen or heard of such things before.

Korean cuisine is more interesting to me now, thanks to everyone's comments here. I hope I can take another trip there and report back.

[torakris]

This is the only dish that doesn't look quite right to my eye. The sauce should be much thicker, and coat the mochi smoothly. There shouldn't be so much soupiness on the plate. This is a dish best eaten on a paper plate with toothpicks, in a red-and-white striped tent on the street somewhere in Seoul, with a cold wind blowing in off the Han.

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This is the same way I felt, though I have seen recipes and restaurant versions (in Japan) that look the same. I prefer mine with a really thick, almost syrupy sauce, that clings to the mochi. I am also a purist in that I want nothing but mochi on my dish, this is definitely street food.

I also had one of the best versions of my life at a place in Shin Okubo, I doubt I could find the place again.. Maybe it is the same one....

An outing to Shin Okubo would be a great way to spend a fall weekend, one of my best friends here is Korean and she may be interested in showing us around (and getting us some good food). If anyone is interested I could try and get an event going.

[prasantrin]

An outing to Shin Okubo would be a great way to spend a fall weekend, one of my best friends here is Korean and she may be interested in showing us around (and getting us some good food). If anyone is interested I could try and get an event going.

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What about me!?!?!??!?!

[torakris]

An outing to Shin Okubo would be a great way to spend a fall weekend, one of my best friends here is Korean and she may be interested in showing us around (and getting us some good food). If anyone is interested I could try and get an event going.

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What about me!?!?!??!?!

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Rona,

You are always welcome! Give a us a date that works well for you to make it up here. The place is small but you are more than welcome to crash in the kids' bunkbeds...

[melonpan]

nakji, i hope you will pardon me for mixing attribution up between you and smallworld!

i actually meant to refer some of my comments to nakjis postings!

so sorry!

[Hiroyuki]

Do you have expressions equivalent to Itadakimasu and Gochisousama (deshita) in Korean? If so, are they imperative or just optional?

[Peter Green]

I asked Yoonhi about this earlier, and there really isn't a Korean equivalent, not the sort of response that I found in Japan. It's polite to say "chal mokkettsumnida", which is a nice way of saying that "I'll enjoy eating this very much" but it's something you'd say at home, not in a restaurant. It's more like saying "that's great (for the food)! Thanks!" Some families always say this, some don't. But it's just for the home.

I've got some things I sing at our dinner table, but I'm getting stern looks, so I'll keep quiet.

[Hiroyuki]

I asked Yoonhi about this earlier, and there really isn't a Korean equivalent, not  the sort of  response that I found in Japan.  It's polite to say "chal mokkettsumnida", which is a nice way of saying that "I'll enjoy eating this very much" but it's something you'd say at home, not in a restaurant.  It's more like saying "that's great (for the food)!  Thanks!"  Some families always say this, some don't.  But it's just for the home.

I've got some things I sing at our dinner table, but I'm getting stern looks, so I'll keep quiet.

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Thanks, Peter Green. It's sad to hear that there are no exact equivalents in Korean...

Does anyone know any words, phrases, sentences, etc. that will make the chef and the server smile?

[melonpan]

Does anyone know any words, phrases, sentences, etc. that will make the chef and the server smile?

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i guess it seems like were not as polite, but i cant think of anything other than "it was delicious!", as far as standard set sayings go.

맛있게 먹었어요

"ma-shit-geh muh-gus-suh-yo"

[Hiroyuki]

Does anyone know any words, phrases, sentences, etc. that will make the chef and the server smile?

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i guess it seems like were not as polite, but i cant think of anything other than "it was delicious!", as far as standard set sayings go.

맛있게 먹었어요

"ma-shit-geh muh-gus-suh-yo"

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Thanks, melonpan.

How do you say "spicy and tasty" and "spicy but tasty" in Korean?

And, will they win a smile from the chef and the server?

[melonpan]

How do you say "spicy and tasty" and "spicy but tasty" in Korean?

to say "spicy and tasty" you would say "mehb-go ma-shit-da" (맵고 맛있다)

and to say "spicy but tasty" you would say "mehb-ji-mahn ma-shit-da" (맵지만 맛있다)

And, will they win a smile from the chef and the server?

it should work!

[nakji]

No worries, Melonpan! I'm flattered to have been mistaken for smallworld.

I can't help but feel there is some expression in Korean that the server in restaurants says when she sets down the food in front of diners, which means essentially, "Bon Appetit", or similar. I used to hear it all the time in restaurants in Korea, but now I can't remember it.

Anyone?

[melonpan]

I can't help but feel there is some expression in Korean that the server in restaurants says when she sets down the food in front of diners, which means essentially, "Bon Appetit", or similar. I used to hear it all the time in restaurants in Korea, but now I can't remember it.

Anyone?

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do you mean 맛있게드세요? ("ma-shit-geh-deu-seh-yo")