Bang Ga Nae

[Hassouni]

Sad to find out that the area's really good, and only, North Korean restaurant, Pyongyang Soondae, went under, I was interested to find out from Tyler Cowen that it is now a Korean place specializing in goat.

From his review:

"Now they specialize in goat dishes, done three ways, spicy or not. Soft, tender, and juicy meat, try it even if you don’t like goat. Goes with excellent greens, and good cold vegetables with the meal, especially the tofu. At the end they pour some rice into the simmering sauce, pour in some black sesame seeds, and pour in some extra spices to make a Korean fried rice dish which is one of the area’s best, very theatrical too. The goat is first-rate and overall this place is highly original...Right now this is probably the best “specialty” restaurant in the Korean section of Annandale."

I love goat, and went for the first time tonight. I was blown away:

One of my dining buddies enjoying some first-rate daikon kimchi, and the spread of panchan and dipping sauces

The massive pot of goat (the #2 special), gochujang, enoki mushrooms, scallion, watercress, chives, and other seasongs

A delicious, tender morsel of goat with the supplied dipping sauce

The biggest haemul pajeon I've ever had, though not the crispiest. Still good though

Overall, the service was delightful. What appears to be the manager or owner stood by our table for much of the time cooking our goat, explaining about goat in Korea, and chit-chatting about other things. Another waiter frequently offered to refill our various panchan before they even ran out.

They make you get a minimum of two orders of goat, so three of us got those 2 orders, plus the pajeon, and a bottle of soju, all for $64. I highly recommend it!

[threestars]

Wow. Wonderful photos! It seems like you really had a great time. And yeah, that's a very big haemul pajeon!